Global Boyhood Initiative Webinar Series

Boys & Child, Early and Forced Marriages and Unions

While child marriage predominantly affects adolescent girls, evidence has shown that working only with girls is not enough to end the practice. Many boys and young men too face pressures to marry early, or to marry girls who are children, and play a key role in embodying and reproducing harmful gender norms that drive child marriage. Rather than simply involving them in activities to prevent child marriage, the broader movement for gender equality has shed light on the need for gender-transformative engagement with both men and boys to address the roots of child marriage.

On February 22nd, 2023, the Global Boyhood Initiative – coordinated by Equimundo (Formerly Promundo-US) in partnership with Plan International and with core global partner Gillette – launched the new Global Boyhood Initiative Webinar Series. We began the series with the topic “Engaging Boys to Promote Gender Equality and Prevent Child Marriage.”

Margaret Greene, Equimundo Senior Fellow and Director of GreeneWorks, moderated a discussion about the latest research, evidence-based tools and best practices for including men and boys in efforts to prevent child marriage through gender-transformative approaches. Panelists included: Jean Casey, Girls Not Brides; Jeff Edmeades, Demographic and Health Surveys Program; Colleen Murray Gastón, UNICEF; José-Roberto Luna Manzanero, UNFPA; and Julie Rialet, Equimundo Consultant.

The Global Boyhood Initiative is coordinated by Equimundo in partnership with Plan International and core global partner Gillette. Co-founded in 2020 by Equimundo and the Kering Foundation, it is designed to support boys aged 4 to 13 and the adults in their lives with the resources they need to raise, teach, coach and set an example for boys to become men who embrace healthy masculinity and gender equality. Learn more about the initiative here.

Slides:

Child Marriage Among Boys – Colleen Murray, UNICEF

Engaging Boys to End Child Marriage – Jean Casey, Girls Not Brides

Resources:

Boyhood and Child, Early and Forced Marriages and Unions: An Evidence Review – Equimundo

“She Goes With Me In My Boat:” Child and Adolescent Marriage in Brazil – Equimundo

Male Engagement in Ending Child Marriage – Girls Not Brides

Girls’ sexuality and child, early, and forced marriages and unions: A conceptual framework – Girls Not Brides

Kissa Kahani: The power of stories – Girls Not Brides

Tackling the Taboo in Latin America and the Caribbean – Girls Not Brides

CRANK quarterly research meetings – Girls Not Brides

Evidence review: Child marriage interventions and research from 2020 to 2022 – Girls Not Brides

Understanding Couple Communication and Family Planning in Zambia – ICRW

Sibling Support to Adolescent Girls in Emergencies Resource Hub – Women’s Refugee Commission

Child marriage among boys: a global overview of available data – UNICEF

Child Grooms: Understanding the Drivers of Child Marriage for Boys

Gender Transformative Accelerator – UNFPA–UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage

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