Abstract
BackgroundThe concept of ‘child marriage’ in global health distinguishes ostensibly harmful from healthy ages to marry at a universally-applied threshold of 18-years. With intensifying efforts to end child marriage, targeted communities are increasingly asked to change their perception of such marriages from relatively benign to profoundly problematic. The objective of this study is to understand how this shift in perception is navigated by adolescent girls and young women (AGYW).MethodsUsing qualitative data collected in 2019 from a semi-urban community in Tanzania where marriage under 18-years is common and campaigns to end child marriage ongoing, we contrast reports of lived experiences of marriage under 18-years among AGYW to views of child marriage as an abstract concept. Thirteen in-depth interviews with AGYW, as part of a wider qualitative study, were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using a framework analysis approach.ResultsWhile many AGYW had heard of child marriage, the concept was routinely conflated with forced marriage, which is rare in the community, and non-marital teenage sex and pregnancy, which are common. As a likely consequence, participants disagreed on whether or not child marriage occurs locally. Furthermore, accounts of real-life marriages under 18 sometimes aligned with, but often departed from, common narratives about the purported causes and harmful consequences inherent to the global health concept of child marriage.ConclusionsWe argue that engaging with diverse local views and experiences of marrying young is essential to producing culturally-sensitive, effective initiatives addressing the vulnerabilities of female adolescence.
Highlights
Over past centuries, cultural and legal shifts in high-income countries surrounding concepts of childhood have resulted in radical changes in attitudes towards marriage under 18-years [1,2,3]
The concept of ‘child marriage’ in global health distinguishes ostensibly harmful from healthy ages to marry at a universally-applied threshold of 18-years
While many AGYW had heard of child marriage, the concept was routinely conflated with forced marriage, which is rare in the community, and non-marital teenage sex and pregnancy, which are common
Summary
Cultural and legal shifts in high-income countries surrounding concepts of childhood have resulted in radical changes in attitudes towards marriage under 18-years [1,2,3]. Though the adoption of this definition of childhood can be seen as the product of historical cultural and legal changes primarily in Europe and North America, this definition of legal adulthood is widely accepted (e.g. see: [5]). With these changes, female marriage under 18-years, once considered ordinary and benign in high- and low-income nations alike, is widely understood to be profoundly problematic and definitively harmful to girls. The objective of this study is to understand how this shift in perception is navigated by adolescent girls and young women (AGYW).
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