New Findings on Child Marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa

<p>Despite increasing global attention and commitments by countries to end the harmful practice of child marriage, each year some 15 million girls marry before the age of 18. The preponderance of the evidence produced historically on child marriage comes from South Asia, where the vast majorit...

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Autores principales:	Suzanne Petroni, Mara Steinhaus, Natacha Stevanovic Fenn, Kirsten Stoebenau, Amy Gregowski
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Ubiquity Press 2017
Materias:	adolescents child marriage early pregnancy gender norms sub-Saharan Africa Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/729d0e04d43f4cc980f34a95ad3229bc
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:729d0e04d43f4cc980f34a95ad3229bc2021-12-02T05:30:09ZNew Findings on Child Marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa2214-999610.1016/j.aogh.2017.09.001https://doaj.org/article/729d0e04d43f4cc980f34a95ad3229bc2017-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/148https://doaj.org/toc/2214-9996<p>Despite increasing global attention and commitments by countries to end the harmful practice of child marriage, each year some 15 million girls marry before the age of 18. The preponderance of the evidence produced historically on child marriage comes from South Asia, where the vast majority of child brides live. Far less attention has been paid to child marriage in sub-Saharan Africa, where prevalence rates remain high. The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) recently conducted research in Kenya, Senegal, Uganda, and Zambia to contribute to greater understanding of the drivers of child marriage in each of these contexts. Synthesizing findings from 4 diverse countries provides a useful opportunity to identify similarities and differences, as well as understandings that may be applicable to and helpful for preventing child marriage across these and other settings.</p><p> Across the 4 countries, ICRW's research echoes the existing literature base in affirming that child marriage is rooted in inequitable gender norms that prioritize women's roles as wives, mothers, and household caretakers, resulting in inadequate investments by families in girls' education. These discriminatory norms interact closely with poverty and a lack of employment opportunities for girls and young women to perpetuate marriage as a seemingly viable alternative for girls. We found in the African study sites that sexual relations, <a title="Learn more about Unintended pregnancy" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/unintended-pregnancy">unplanned pregnancy</a>, and school dropout often precede child marriage, which differs from much of the existing evidence on child marriage from South Asia. Further, unlike in South Asia, where family members typically determine the spouse a girl will marry, most girls in the Africa study settings have greater autonomy in partner choice selection. In Senegal, increasing educational attainment and labor migration, particularly by young women, has contributed to reduced rates of child marriage for girls.</p><p> Our findings suggest that improving gender equitable norms and providing more—and more equitable—opportunities for girls, particularly with regard to education and employment, are likely to improve child marriage outcomes. Providing comprehensive sexuality education and youth-friendly reproductive health services can reduce rates of early pregnancy that contribute to child marriage. Finally, identifying ways in which to improve communication between parents and adolescent daughters could go far in ensuring that girls feel valued and that parents feel heard as they make decisions together regarding the lives and opportunities of these adolescent girls.Suzanne PetroniMara SteinhausNatacha Stevanovic FennKirsten StoebenauAmy GregowskiUbiquity Pressarticleadolescentschild marriageearly pregnancygender normssub-Saharan AfricaInfectious and parasitic diseasesRC109-216Public aspects of medicineRA1-1270ENAnnals of Global Health, Vol 83, Iss 5-6, Pp 781-790 (2017)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	adolescents child marriage early pregnancy gender norms sub-Saharan Africa Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270
spellingShingle	adolescents child marriage early pregnancy gender norms sub-Saharan Africa Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Suzanne Petroni Mara Steinhaus Natacha Stevanovic Fenn Kirsten Stoebenau Amy Gregowski New Findings on Child Marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa
description	<p>Despite increasing global attention and commitments by countries to end the harmful practice of child marriage, each year some 15 million girls marry before the age of 18. The preponderance of the evidence produced historically on child marriage comes from South Asia, where the vast majority of child brides live. Far less attention has been paid to child marriage in sub-Saharan Africa, where prevalence rates remain high. The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) recently conducted research in Kenya, Senegal, Uganda, and Zambia to contribute to greater understanding of the drivers of child marriage in each of these contexts. Synthesizing findings from 4 diverse countries provides a useful opportunity to identify similarities and differences, as well as understandings that may be applicable to and helpful for preventing child marriage across these and other settings.</p><p> Across the 4 countries, ICRW's research echoes the existing literature base in affirming that child marriage is rooted in inequitable gender norms that prioritize women's roles as wives, mothers, and household caretakers, resulting in inadequate investments by families in girls' education. These discriminatory norms interact closely with poverty and a lack of employment opportunities for girls and young women to perpetuate marriage as a seemingly viable alternative for girls. We found in the African study sites that sexual relations, <a title="Learn more about Unintended pregnancy" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/unintended-pregnancy">unplanned pregnancy</a>, and school dropout often precede child marriage, which differs from much of the existing evidence on child marriage from South Asia. Further, unlike in South Asia, where family members typically determine the spouse a girl will marry, most girls in the Africa study settings have greater autonomy in partner choice selection. In Senegal, increasing educational attainment and labor migration, particularly by young women, has contributed to reduced rates of child marriage for girls.</p><p> Our findings suggest that improving gender equitable norms and providing more—and more equitable—opportunities for girls, particularly with regard to education and employment, are likely to improve child marriage outcomes. Providing comprehensive sexuality education and youth-friendly reproductive health services can reduce rates of early pregnancy that contribute to child marriage. Finally, identifying ways in which to improve communication between parents and adolescent daughters could go far in ensuring that girls feel valued and that parents feel heard as they make decisions together regarding the lives and opportunities of these adolescent girls.
format	article
author	Suzanne Petroni Mara Steinhaus Natacha Stevanovic Fenn Kirsten Stoebenau Amy Gregowski
author_facet	Suzanne Petroni Mara Steinhaus Natacha Stevanovic Fenn Kirsten Stoebenau Amy Gregowski
author_sort	Suzanne Petroni
title	New Findings on Child Marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa
title_short	New Findings on Child Marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa
title_full	New Findings on Child Marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa
title_fullStr	New Findings on Child Marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa
title_full_unstemmed	New Findings on Child Marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa
title_sort	new findings on child marriage in sub-saharan africa
publisher	Ubiquity Press
publishDate	2017
url	https://doaj.org/article/729d0e04d43f4cc980f34a95ad3229bc
work_keys_str_mv	AT suzannepetroni newfindingsonchildmarriageinsubsaharanafrica AT marasteinhaus newfindingsonchildmarriageinsubsaharanafrica AT natachastevanovicfenn newfindingsonchildmarriageinsubsaharanafrica AT kirstenstoebenau newfindingsonchildmarriageinsubsaharanafrica AT amygregowski newfindingsonchildmarriageinsubsaharanafrica
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New Findings on Child Marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa

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