Impact of family law reform on adolescent reproductive health in Ethiopia: A quasi-experimental study

Abstract

• Ethiopia passed the Revised Family Code in 2000, which set the minimum age of marriage for girls at 18 and strengthened women’s rights within marriage. • Analysis using synthetic control method and difference-in-differences helps to overcome empirical challenges of identifying impact of the law. • Implementation of the law was associated with large reductions in rates of adolescent birth, child marriage, and early sexual initiation. • Reductions were similar in rural and urban areas. • Findings indicate that strong legal frameworks for gender equality may be effective catalysts in facilitating social change on child marriage. In sub-Saharan Africa, nearly 2 in 5 girls are married before the age of 18. Child marriage has adverse consequences for women’s physical, emotional, and social wellbeing and development. Emerging evidence has identified the importance of gender equality as a social context for shaping adolescent sexual and reproductive health norms. In 2000, Ethiopia’s government passed the Revised Family Code, increasing the minimum age of marriage from 15 to 18 for girls without exceptions, and strengthening women’s rights within marriage regarding marital property, divorce, and employment. I evaluated the impact of the law on adolescent reproductive health indicators and newborn mortality rates. I used difference-in-differences (DID) and synthetic control methods (SCM) to compare cohort trends in Ethiopia to those in comparison countries. I show that implementation of the law was associated with a 9-percentage-point reduction in risk of adolescent birth for exposed cohorts, an 8-percentage-point reduction in child marriage, and a 10-percentage-point reduction in sexual initiation before age 18 in SCM models. There was no association of the law with changes in risk of termination of pregnancy, unmet need for contraception, infant mortality rates, or neonatal mortality rates. Results were consistent across SCM and DID models, although DID estimates were slightly attenuated. I discuss mechanisms and policy implications. The results of this study provide evidence that strong legal frameworks for gender equality may be effective catalysts in facilitating social change around child marriage.