Laws play a central role in our collective work to address child marriage, but can have negative consequences for girls if not embedded in gender-transformative, rights-based approaches that go beyond setting a legal minimum age of marriage.
The Higher Population Council (HPC) views child marriage as a violation of fundamental human rights, including education, personal development, informed marital choice, and the ability to build healthy family relationships. It recognizes the harmful impact of this practice on girls’ reproductive health, quality of life, and future opportunities, as well as its broader economic, social, and demographic consequences for Jordan.
Over the past decade, the United Nations and its partners have made significant strides in addressing child, early, and forced marriage (CEFM), with biannual resolutions since 2014 in the UN General Assembly and Human Rights Council shaping a strong normative framework. Regional and national leadership, including the creation of National Action Plans, has helped sustain momentum and drive progress. A persistent challenge, however, is the lack of comprehensive, disaggregated data—especially in humanitarian contexts.
This study focusing on CEFM-related health risks and negative health consequences was conducted using qualitative survey methodology. In this context, interviews were conducted with service providers from 83 different institutions and positions in 10 provinces of Turkiye. Interviews confirmed that service providers regard CEFM as a social problem and have opinions and experience about its causes and multi-layered nature.
This toolkit offers practical guidance for conducting context analyses to better understand child marriage practices and assess the capacity of staff and programs to respond in humanitarian settings. The primary goal is to inform and strengthen current services and shape future prevention and response efforts that align with on-the-ground realities. Context analyses also support advocacy by helping prioritize child marriage within broader humanitarian agendas based on its scale and impact.
Study background:
Early marriage was a common practice in Syria before the conflict. It is believed that the rate of early marriage might be higher among Syrian refugees than it used to be in Syria before the conflict due to increased vulnerability caused by conflict and displacement.
Study design:
A cross-sectional survey among refugees from Syria in 3 regions in Bekaa, Lebanon that host a large number of refugees from Syria compared to other neighbouring areas: Bar Elias, Marj and Qab Elias, in August and September 2016.
Objectives:
Child protection, rooted in children's rights, aims to shield girls and boys from abuse, violence, and exploitation by empowering them with knowledge and a voice in decisions affecting their lives. It involves multi-sectoral efforts at community and district levels to prevent and respond to issues like child marriage, while strengthening families and communities to support adolescents’ well-being and aspirations.
UNRWA’s latest research explores the causes, dynamics, and consequences of child marriage within Palestine refugee communities, drawing on insights from more than 600 community members across its five fields of operation. This brief is part of a broader series aimed at guiding UNRWA’s gender-responsive, evidence-based programming and support for Palestine refugees.
Since 2011, Lebanon has hosted over a million Syrian refugees, placing immense pressure on its resources and intensifying vulnerabilities among displaced populations, particularly in informal settlements. This prolonged crisis has contributed to the rise of negative coping mechanisms such as child marriage, which is recognized as a form of sexual and gender-based violence with serious implications for girls’ sexual and reproductive health rights. Although child marriage rates in the MENA region have declined overall, conflict and displacement have reversed progress in certain populations.
This study by Save the Children entitled Girls on the Move in North Africa, reveals that one in three girl migrants interviewed experienced or witnessed sexual abuse or other forms of gender-based violence during their journeys to or through North Africa.