Child Marriage Prevention

The prevention of child marriage must engage not only women and girls but also men and boys – including the brothers, fathers, uncles, and future husbands and fathers-in-law of the girls who have been the focus of programmatic efforts.
Increased awareness of the relational aspects of gender suggests that a comprehensive, evidence-based response to child marriage should engage not only women and girls but also the brothers, fathers, uncles, and future husbands and fathers-in-law of the girls who have been the focus of programmatic efforts. While girls are disproportionately affected by child marriage – being more likely than boys to marry as children and to have their schooling, peer contact and mobility limited by marriage – engaging men and boys is necessary for challenging harmful gender norms and increasing understanding of the myriad negative consequences of inequitable relationships. Yet the development community has paid only nominal attention to the role of men and boys in changing harmful marriage-related norms and, in most settings, has failed to address boys’ own vulnerabilities. This has arisen from a desire to focus on the rights and well-being of girls, but has limited the range of interventions used to end the practice of child, early, and forced marriages and unions (CEFMU).

Our Evidence Reviews

Our research offers both reviews of the global knowledge around child marriage and informal unions between girls and boys/men in the Global South with a focus on male engagement, as well as country-specific studies focused on the practice in selected countries. Building on existing evidence, we have also developed with partners gender-transformative group education tools to work with fathers and younger men on the prevention of the practice.

Solutions

A More Equal Future

This manual was developed as part of a collaboration between World Vision and Equimundo in response to harmful societal and cultural practices that support the continuation of child marriage in India. This tool is designed to provide a safe and constructive space for men, their partners and their daughters to critically reflect on the cultural and gender norms that perpetuate the devaluation of girls and serve as obstacles to men’s participation as involved fathers.

Tackling the Taboo

Equimundo is proud to be part of the Sexuality Working Group. Its flagship report, Tackling the Taboo: Sexuality and gender-transformative programmes to end child, early, and forced marriage and unions, analyzes the work of 23 organizations addressing control of sexuality as a driver of child, early, and forced marriages and unions. The report describes 10 promising practices in implementing gender-transformative programs to prevent CEFMU and offers recommendations for programmers, researchers, advocates, and funders on how we can all address patriarchal control of adolescent girls’ sexuality in the fight against CEFMU.

Contact Us

For further information about our work on child marriage prevention, please reach out to our Deputy CEO, Giovanna Lauro.

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