Abstract
Exacerbated by 9 years of conflict and displacement, child marriage among Syrian refugees appears to be increasing, while in Gaza, the noticeable reduction in child brides over the past two decades has recently plateaued. This comparative study explores drivers and consequences of child marriage in protracted crises, drawing on mixed-methods research from Gaza and Jordan with married adolescent girls and their parents. Our findings suggest that conflict reignites pre-existing drivers of child marriage, especially conservative norms around family honour and clan inter-marriage. Poverty is a strong driver of child marriage among Syrian refugees, while social protection programmes and educational opportunities for girls have played a protective role in Gaza. In both contexts, our findings underscore the multiple and intersecting negative effects of child marriage on girls’ health and bodily integrity, and point to the urgency of tackling this harmful practice to ensure that no adolescent is left behind.
Highlights
Child marriage—a formal or informal union between two children under 18 or one child under 18 and an adult—is ‘a harmful practice that violates human rights’ (United Nations, UN Human Rights Council 2015)
We focus on two Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) capability domains: health, nutrition, and sexual and reproductive health (SRH); and bodily integrity, including freedom from violence
Our analysis indicates that protracted conflict augments existing cultural and gender norms for child marriage, but does so in ways that vary across contexts—findings that align with the existing evidence reported in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region (Presler-Marshall et al 2020; Bukman 2018)
Summary
Child marriage—a formal or informal union between two children under 18 or one child under 18 and an adult—is ‘a harmful practice that violates human rights’ (United Nations, UN Human Rights Council 2015). The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to eliminate this harmful practice by 2030. This article explores the drivers and impacts of child marriage in protracted crisis contexts, based on the experiences of adolescent girls in the Gaza Strip and in the Syrian refugee community in Jordan. Following the Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) programme’s conceptual framework, we explore the structural and contextual drivers of child marriage and its consequences. In line with SDG target 5.3 (Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilations), the article aims to inform discussions about strategies to end child marriage in conflict-affected settings. We explore the vulnerabilities experienced by married girls, within and across humanitarian contexts in Gaza and Jordan, to understand the extent to which drivers and consequences are comparable or highlight country-specific patterns
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