In February of this year, the CDC released sobering data: nearly three in five teen girls experienced sadness and hopelessness in 2021. This is double the number of boys and represents an almost 60% increase as well as the highest level over the past 10 years. Further, nearly one in three considered death by suicide, an increase of almost 60% over the past 10 years. One in five girls was the victim of sexual violence in the past year, an increase of 20% since 2017. Moreover, finally, one in 10 have been forced to have sex, an increase of 27% since 2019. These numbers are noted to be even higher in LBGTQ+ and minority populations of girls.
Background: Pregnancies and childbirths previously widely accepted among teen girls are universally frowned upon these days owing to the health hazards they pose to young mothers and their newly- borns. The World Health Organization estimates that a teenage mother has a 50% chance of dying during childbirth. The purpose of this study is to analyse the epidemiological and clinical aspects and to carry out a diagnosis and prognosis of teenage births at the Mother and Child SOS Hospital. Method: The study was carried out over a five-year period extending from January 2018 to December 2021 covering descriptive and retrospective aspects of teenage girls aged from 10 to 19 years at the child and mother SOS hospital Results: The prevalence of pregnancies among the patients under review was 5.18%. The average age of the teens involved was 17 years with 67% aged between 18/19 years. 47% of the group was made up of school girls with a level of education not exceeding secondary school for 40% of them. 52% of the patients attended at least four prenatal examinations and 98% of the patients did not develop any pathology during their pregnancies. 90 % of them had natural births and the rest delivered their child through C-sections. 26% of the mothers endured acute fetal distress and 19% suffered from narrow pelvis. The main maternal complication was post-partum tear of the perineum among 26% of the mothers. 15% of the babies had very low birth weight. The Apgar score was below 7 for 4% of the newborns at the first and fifth minute. Three babies were still born and the rate of perinatal mortality was 1.09%. Conclusion: There is clear evidence of existing of risks relating to precocious pregnancies and child births among teens but they seem to occur as much as a result of unfavorable socioeconomic and sanitary determinants as from factors of biological immaturity. The prevention of these obstetrical risks point to the need to pay more attention to the pregnant teen through the provision of adequate and specifically targeted prenatal, perinatal and postnatal care.
Background: Child marriage is a serious human rights violation that disproportionately affects girls, harming their health, rights, and future opportunities. This study focuses on five South Asian countries Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives to explore the link between education and the prevention of child marriage. It aims to analyze current trends in child marriage and the challenges girls face in accessing education in the region. Method: Based on quantitative methodology, using secondary data from UNICEF, Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), and the World Bank data from 2006-2023, the study conducted descriptive and comparative analyses of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. This identifies trends, patterns, and correlations between the female child marriage rate as the dependent variable and the female lower secondary education completion rate as the independent variable. Results: Between 2006 and 2023, a declining trend in child marriage rates was observed across five selected South Asian countries: Bangladesh (65% to 51%), India (45% to 22%), Nepal (50% to 35%), Sri Lanka (13% to 10%), and the Maldives (4% to 2%) respectively. In this region, Bangladesh continues to report the highest child marriage rate, while the Maldives reports the lowest, Sri Lanka ranked as the second-lowest. During the same period, female lower secondary education completion rates increased in all five countries. However, negative relationship identified between education levels and child marriage. Moreover, in Maldives, the highest female education completion rate identified (100.9%), and the lowest child marriage rate was (2%). In contrast, Bangladesh (91%) and Nepal (103%) show higher education rates but still report high child marriage rates (51% and 35%). This indicated that factors beyond education, such as socio-cultural influences, may contribute to early marriage. Conclusion: The findings revealed that education plays a crucial role in reducing child marriage. However, addressing socio-cultural barriers, especially in countries like Bangladesh and Nepal, is crucial. Key obstacles to girls' education in the region include poverty, inadequate infrastructure, gender inequality, political instability, and unsafe school environments.
Ethiopia has recently seen a remarkable fall in the proportion of girls who marry in early adolescence, reflecting the country’s lauded efforts to tackle child marriage. However, aggregate national figures mask a more complex reality. This article explores this complexity, drawing on qualitative data with adolescent girls and boys, their caregivers, service providers and community leaders, from the Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) longitudinal study baseline. Our findings highlight the complex interplay between cultural norms, economic factors, individual voice and agency, and collective support thereof, on the part of leaders and service providers, from grassroots to national levels.
Nicola Jones, Elizabeth Presler-Marshall, Guday Kassahun et al.
Child marriage is a well-recognized barrier to education, and exposes girls to an increased risk of violence along with other negative health and developmental outcomes. A quantitative survey was conducted with girls selected from 14 communities in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Data from 350 girls (ages 13-14) were analyzed using mixed effects logistic regression models. Findings revealed that child marriage was associated with lower levels of participation in formal education as well as higher rates of physical, sexual and emotional violence. In particular, when adjusting for age and girls’ level of participation in formal education, being married was associated with more than a three-fold (OR: 3.23) increased risk of experiencing sexual violence (p<0.001). Married girls were also significantly more likely to affirm the belief that they would be forced to marry their perpetrator in the event that they were raped (p=0.017), suggesting that a portion of girls within this sample may have experienced this occurrence. Although higher levels of participation in formal education were associated with a reduced risk of violence among non-married girls, these differences were not observed for girls who were married. Findings reveal that child marriage has a significantly negative effect on the relationship between girls’ level of participation in formal education and experiences with violence. Taken cumulatively, findings from this study suggest an overall harmful relationship between child marriage and girls’ safety, education and well-being, and that efforts to prevent its occurrence in the DRC and beyond are urgently needed.
Debbie Landis, Kathryn Falb, Ilaria Michelis et al.
Introduction: Early marriage is a persistent public health problem with intergenerational consequences for adolescents, mothers, and children. Because knowledge is a modifiable determinant of health behavior, school-based education may strengthen adolescents’ understanding of early marriage, parenting readiness, and child health risks. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a school-based early marriage education session on adolescents’ short-term knowledge of early marriage, parenting readiness, and child health consequences. Method: The study used a quasi-experimental one-group pre-test–post-test design involving 89 adolescents at Christian Vocational High Schools and State Islamic Senior High Schools Model Palangka Raya in 2025. A single educational session was delivered using interactive presentations and discussion. Knowledge was measured before and after the intervention using the same structured questionnaire, and paired comparisons were analyzed with the Wilcoxon test. Results: Knowledge improved significantly after the intervention (p < 0.001). Post-test findings showed a clear shift toward the good and very good categories for knowledge about early marriage, parenting readiness, and the child health consequences of early marriage. Conclusion: A brief school-based educational intervention was effective in improving adolescents’ short-term knowledge. The findings support integrating early marriage education into school health programs while highlighting the need for controlled studies with follow-up to assess persistence of knowledge gains and behavioral relevance.
Adelgrit Trisia, Dian Mutiasari, Lia Sasmithae et al.
Child marriage under the age of 18 is considered as a criminal offence and a violation of the state’s constitutional law. Most of the time child marriage occurs in Bangladesh due to poverty and lack of awareness of its consequence. In Islam, it is strongly discouraged to arrange the marriage of girls without taking their full consent. However, this paper explores the present scenario of cultural practices of child marriage occurring in Bangladesh. The study will also focus on highlighting the major causes that led to child marriage under the age of puberty. The paper will also highlight the states’ constitutional law on child marriage and their jurisdiction over the issue. The current study adopts qualitative methods to meet its objectives through investigating existing available literature related to the issue concerned. The study finds that child marriage often occurs due to high-rate poverty, normative thoughts about the position of girls, high rate of uneducated parents and lack of strict implementation of constitutional law on those who are involved such kind of act in the family and in society. The study also finds through its discussion that due to early marriage young couples go through certain serious issues which affect their life crucially, i.e., psychological trauma, reproductive health issues, increasing domestic violence and increasing illiteracy rates in the family and in society. Finally, the present study will analyze how to prevent child marriage based on the Islamic teachings set by the Qur’an and Sunnah
Muhammad Faizul Haque, Sumaiya Islam, Mst. Rikta Banu
I recently did a media interview related to an earlier CABL commentary (Walters, 2018) focused on the underdiagnosis of ADHD in girls, prompting me to look at the recent research on the topic. Interestingly, the journalist I spoke with shared an article that noted the rising numbers of women ages 23–29 years and 30–34 years diagnosed with ADHD. Although still a relatively small percentage compared to female children, this percentage has almost doubled from 2020–2022 (Russell et al., 2023). In addition, the percentage of males versus females of any age diagnosed with ADHD increased from males being 133% more likely to be diagnosed in 2010 to females 28% more likely in 2022 (Russell et al., 2023).
It is estimated that half to three‐quarters of all women with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are undiagnosed. Boys are more likely to be given an ADHD diagnosis (13.2%) than girls (5.6%). Girls are also diagnosed, on average, 5 years later than boys (boys at age 7, girls at age 12) (Foley, 2018).
Pernikahan anak secara luas diakui sebagai pelanggaran hak anak, namun remaja di banyak daerah pedesaan tetap sangat rentan. Data dari Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS) Indonesia dalam “Laporan Statistik Pemuda Indonesia” 2024 menunjukkan bahwa 21,49% anak muda di Indonesia menikah pada usia 18 tahun atau lebih muda, 18,55% menikah dalam kelompok usia 16-18 tahun, sedangkan 2,39% menikah sebelum usia 16 tahun. Meskipun penelitian global telah dilakukan secara ekstensif, bukti empiris tentang pengalaman hidup remaja putri di pedesaan Indonesia, khususnya di Jawa Barat, masih terbatas. Studi ini mengeksplorasi pengalaman remaja putri yang terdampak pernikahan anak di Desa Sukaharja, Sariwangi, Tasikmalaya, Indonesia. Dengan menggunakan desain deskriptif kualitatif, data dikumpulkan melalui wawancara mendalam, observasi partisipan, dan tinjauan dokumen. Lima remaja putri yang dipilih secara purposif, yang semuanya telah menjalani pernikahan agama yang tidak terdaftar, berperan sebagai informan kunci. Data dianalisis secara tematik untuk mengidentifikasi pola dan wawasan utama. Temuan menunjukkan bahwa perkawinan anak terkait dengan kerentanan sosial ekonomi dan rendahnya pencapaian pendidikan, yang dipicu oleh kehamilan di luar nikah, rasa malu sosial, dan sanksi adat. Konsekuensinya meliputi putus sekolah, kurangnya sertifikasi formal, pengucilan sosial, dan masa depan yang tidak pasti. Persepsi masyarakat bervariasi, dipengaruhi oleh adat istiadat setempat, media sosial, dan pendidikan kesehatan reproduksi yang terbatas. Temuan ini menyoroti perlunya intervensi terkoordinasi, termasuk penyebaran Undang-Undang No. 16/2019, pembentukan forum perlindungan anak, dan pengembangan inisiatif desa ramah anak, yang menyediakan strategi berbasis bukti untuk melindungi remaja di pedesaan Indonesia.
Bambang Rustanto, Tuti Kartika, Aryohaji Istyawan et al.
