The goal of the study was to examine the Leaders’ and women’s perception of the influence of culture and social factors on forced marriages of adolescent girls well-being and propose detailed strategies to reduce the number of girls married before the age of 18 so that they can achieve the highest level of professional development possible in Kenya's Kajiado West sub-county. The study specifically sought to assess the influence of culture and social factors in forced marriages on the well-being of adolescent girl. This study will benefit the Government in purposes on legislation policies in cultural and social factors in forced marriages on the well-being of the adolescent girl, secondly assists stakeholders and investors in decision-making in the well-being of the adolescent girl, and finally assists local administrators, scholars, and academicians as a source of reference in cultural and social factors in forced marriages on well-being of the adolescent girl. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional research design. The target population was all women who were married below the age of 18 who had challenges on their well-being. The target population comprised of 686,992 adolescent people in Kajiado County. The sample size was 434 obtained by purposive sampling from the target population. Out of the sample size of 399, the responses received were 305 while from 35 administrators 23 responses were received translating into 328 which is 76% response rate. Data collection instrument was questionnaires. The data was analyzed using inferential statistics. Regression was used to test whether culture and social factors in forced marriages have influence on the well-being of an adolescent girl. It was established that the leader's and women’s perception of influence of forced marriage was a significant positive predictor of the well-being of an adolescent girl. The findings are expected to be of value to the community, parents and leaders and form a basis to deal with forced marriages for the well-being of adolescent. Keywords: Leaders & Women’s Perception, Cultural & Social Factors, Forced Marriage & Well-Being of Adolescent Girl.
Debbie Maloba Mbayo, Eliab Seroney Some, Musa Nyakora
This study assesses the determinants of teenage pregnancy among adolescent girls aged 15–19 years in Kaloleni Sub-County, Kilifi County, Kenya. Teenage pregnancy remains a significant public health challenge globally and disproportionately affects adolescents in low- and middle-income settings, with Sub-Saharan Africa recording the highest burden. In Kenya, although the prevalence of teenage pregnancy has declined over time, it remains a persistent issue with geographic variation, including continued burden in Kilifi County. Existing evidence highlights multiple contributing factors, including socio-economic vulnerability, low educational attainment, limited access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, early sexual debut, and socio-cultural practices such as child marriage. Despite ongoing governmental and programmatic interventions, gaps remain in context-specific evidence at sub-county level to inform targeted responses. This study addresses this gap by generating localized evidence on determinants of teenage pregnancy in Kaloleni Sub-County. A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional design will be applied, using structured questionnaires to collect data from adolescent girls aged 15–19 years. The study will examine the prevalence of teenage pregnancy and its association with three domains: socio-demographic factors, socio-cultural factors, and health system factors. The findings will inform evidence-based adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health (AYSRH) programming, policy formulation, and intervention design, with potential applicability to similar settings within Kilifi County.
This study explored the reasons for persistence of child marriage among Maasai girl-students in Tanzania. Three research questions guided this study, namely: Why does girl students’ marriage among the Maasai community of Tanzania continue to exist? What is the position of education stakeholders in protecting girls from child marriage? What strategies should be taken to address child marriage in the Maasai community? The study employed qualitative research approach where a case study design was used to explore the problem. It adopted interviews, focus group discussion and observations as research methods. Purposive and snowball sampling strategies were employed to get 39 participants who were involved in this study. Data were analysed qualitatively through thematic analysis strategies. The findings revealed that child marriage is still practiced in the Maasai community where the legible age for marriage of Maasai girls range from 6 to 15 years depending on the number of competing men and the economic status of the family of the boy or girl. Society members employ persuasion and pressure, transfer of students, pregnancy and corruption to enable marriage of Maasai girl students. In addition, the findings revealed that Maasai traditions and customs, fear of early pregnancies, corruption and irresponsibility of leaders, poverty and undervaluing of education are the factors contributing to persistence of child marriage among the Maasai girl students. The study recommends that the government in collaboration with other stakeholders should aggressively implement laws protecting children. A close monitoring of local leaders’ actions by top government leaders to help combating child marriage is also recommended. Moreover, joint efforts are needed to educate society members and girl-students on the negative impact of child marriage and the importance of girls’ education.
Background: Strong social norms around early marriage put pressure on parents to marry off their adolescent girls at an early age. Early marriage is widely practiced in many parts of Ethiopia. However, early marriage studies rarely address the role of social norms. This study aims to examine the role of social norms on parents' intention to marry off adolescent girls early in Eastern Ethiopia. Method: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from September to November 2019. A multistage sampling procedure was applied to select the study participants. Factors related to parents' intention for early marriage were assessed through the lens of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Adjusted Prevalence Ratio (PR) was calculated using a log-binomial model to identify factors associated with intention toward early marriage. Results: < 0.001]. The intention for an early marriage was higher among mothers and fathers with favorable attitude towards early marriage, in those who believe that most people in their reference group conform to early marriage norms (empirical expectation), in those who believe that most people in their reference group expect them to conform to early marriage norms (normative expectation) and among fathers who did not know the legal age of marriage for adolescent girls and those who did not know the health consequences of early marriage. The prevalence of intention toward early marriage was lower among mothers (APR = 0.49; 95% CI: 0.36-0.65) and fathers (APR = 0.62; 95% CI: 0.49-0.78) in urban areas; and among mothers (APR = 0.41; 95% CI: 0.27-0.62) and fathers (APR = 0.50; 95% CI: 0.38-0.67) with higher educational level. Conclusion: The social norms that promote intention for early marriage are still high among parents, especially among those living in rural areas and uneducated. Hence, interventions that aim to reduce early marriage need to address locally relevant social norms.
Unequal power and gender norms expose adolescent girls to higher risks of HIV, early marriages, pregnancies and coerced sex. In Uganda, almost half of the girls below the age of 18 are already married or pregnant, which poses a danger to the lives of young girls. This study explores the social construction of gender norms from early childhood, and how it influences adolescents’ agency. Contrary to the mainstream theory of agency, which focuses on the ability to make informed choices, adolescents’ agency appears constrained by context-specific obstacles. This study adopted qualitative research approaches involving 132 participants. Of these, 44 were in-depth interviews and 11 were focus group discussions, parcelled out into separate groups of adolescents (12–14 years), teachers, and parents (n = 88), in Western Uganda. Data were analysed manually using open and axial codes, and conclusions were inductive. Results show that gender norms are established early in life, and have a very substantial impact on the agency of young adolescents. There were stereotypical gender norms depicting boys as sexually active and girls as restrained; girls’ movements were restricted; their sexual agency constrained; and prevention of pregnancy was perceived as a girl’s responsibility. Programs targeting behavioural change need to begin early in the lives of young children. They should target teachers and parents about the values of gender equality and strengthen the legal system to create an enabling environment to address the health and wellbeing of adolescents.
Anna B. Ninsiima, Els Leye, Kristien Michielsen et al.
Adolescence is a time for school, friends and figuring out who one is. For girls in child marriages that window is often closed early. In Silale Ward, Tiaty Sub-County, Baringo County 27% of girls aged between 13 and 17 years are married already. This cuts them off from their peers. Increases risk for isolation, stress and poor mental health. This study examined whether social support makes a difference in their lives. Guided by Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) Transactional Model of Stress and Coping and Cohen and Wills’ (1985) Social Support Theory the study surveyed 106 girls aged 13–17 years in child marriages who were enrolled in schools or NGO programs. Ryff’s (1989) Psychological Wellbeing Scale and a Social Coping Scale were used. Results showed a positive relationship. Social support accounted for 40% of the variance in wellbeing F (1 96) = 64.12, p <.001. For every one-unit increase in support wellbeing increased by 0.518 units. Girls who belonged to groups and had trusted women to talk to reported higher outcomes. The findings suggested that while ending child marriage is a long-term goal strengthening connections meanwhile can protect girls’ mental health. The study recommended creation of girl spaces, mentorship by local women and community dialogue to reduce stigma and improve the girls psychological wellbeing.
BACKGROUND: Child marriage has powerful implications for a young woman's reproductive health, education, and personal development as well as the development of communities and nations. Child marriage frequently marks the beginning of a young woman's sexual activity and early childbearing. As a country where child marriage is common, Ethiopia has placed additional emphasis on addressing child marriage over the past years. METHODS: Using data from Ethiopia Demographic and Health Surveys for 2005, 2011 and 2016, this paper explores trends in child marriage over the last decade in various locations and regions of Ethiopia. RESULTS: Between 2005 and 2016, the percentage of young Ethiopian women married before age 18 declined from 49 to 40%, a reduction of 18% from 2005 levels. The percentage of women married before age 15 experienced even greater reductions, declining by 26% in the same period. The greatest reductions in child marriage took place in the Addis Ababa, Amhara, and Tigray regions. Over the period, estimates for Oromia and Somali suggest that child marriage has increased in these regions. Notwithstanding recent declines, Afar, Beneshangul-Gumuz, Somali, and Oromia are regions where nearly half or more of all girls are married before age 18. CONCLUSIONS: Nationally, Ethiopia has experienced impressive declines in child marriage over the last decade. However, progress has also been uneven. Trends in the last decade have resulted in a geographical shift in where child marriage is most prevalent. In particular, locations that are challenging in terms of access, including the most remote and hard to reach, pose persistent challenges to those attempting to eradicate the practice. Intensifying efforts in rural areas and underserved regions can facilitate further declines in child marriage in Ethiopia.
Many adolescent girls in Kenya face considerable risks and vulnerabilities that affect their education status, health, and general well-being. In addition to low educational attainment and health risks, other factors that impact education and health outcomes include household poverty, lack of economic independence, limited income-earning opportunities, illiteracy, violence, and social isolation. Younger adolescent girls who live in environments laden with these vulnerabilities are at risk of experiencing negative outcomes such as school dropout, early sexual initiation, unintended pregnancy, early marriage, and sexual and gender-based violence. The Adolescent Girls Initiative–Kenya (AGI-K) delivered multisectoral interventions to over 6,000 girls aged 11–15 in two marginalized areas of Kenya: the Kibera informal settlement in Nairobi, and Wajir County in Northeastern Kenya. This report describes both the intervention and research design of AGI-K, and presents findings from the midline data collection. The objective of the RCT is to describe and compare the impact of the different program packages. Endline data will be collected in 2019 and will reflect the impact of the program packages two years post-intervention.
Karen Austrian, Erica Soler‐Hampejsek, Joyce Mumah et al.
In South Sudan, child marriage is often positioned as a cultural practice tied to conflict and displacement as well as gender norms affirming that girls should marry. Based on findings of a multi-sectoral gender assessment conducted by Save the Children in Rumbek, Torit, Malualkon, Bor and Kapoeta, our paper draws attention to multiple, connected drivers of child marriage. Drawing specifically on findings related to child marriage, we suggest the need to understand child marriage in the context of cycles of poverty and inter-clan fighting. In many communities, cattle form the basis for the ‘bride price’, driving cattle raiding, due to pressure on males to marry. The ability to pay the bride price may be an indicator of manhood in some pastoralist communities of South Sudan. We suggest that while humanitarian interventions tend to fixate on empowering girls or addressing gender norms girls face, less attention is placed on the ‘demand side’ of child marriage – on the gender norms pushing boys and men to marry girls. Our paper emphasises the importance of tackling norms from both the perspective of girls as well as boys and men within a broader context of improving livelihoods in South Sudan.
Michelle Lokot, Lisa DiPangrazio, Dorcas Acen et al.
Abstract Background: Early marriage and early childbearing are common practices in Ethiopia. Girls who got married and give birth at a very young age are more likely to experience several health problems including anemia among others. However, the effects of early marriage and early childbearing on anemia status of adolescent girls have not been quantified in previous studies. In this study, we assessed whether early marriage and early childbearing measured at both individual and community levels are associated with adolescent anemia. Methods: We analyzed data from the 2016 demographic and health survey of Ethiopia. Our study concentrated on 3,172 late female adolescents (15-19 years). For bivariate analysis, we used the chi-squared test and spearman correlation coefficients. The relationship between early marriage and childbearing with anemia was evaluated using multilevel binary logistic regression models while controlling other determinants.Results: Overall prevalence of anemia among female adolescents was 23.8 (95% CI; 22.3-25.2). Our multivariable multilevel analysis showed that individual-level marital status (AOR=1.53, 95% CI=1.06-2.02) and community-level childbearing status (AOR=2.80, 95% CI 1.25-6.29) were positively associated with anemia among female adolescents.Conclusion: Our findings show that the consequences of early marriage and early childbearing on adolescent anemia are significant. There is a need to avoid early marriage and childbearing in Ethiopia to improve the health status of adolescent girls.
