Understanding the Relationship between Child Marriage and Female Genital Mutilation: A statistical overview of their co-occurrence and risk factors

In Understanding the Relationship between Child Marriage and Female Genital Mutilation, UNICEF outlines how child marriage and FGM are distinct but often interconnected harmful practices that violate girls’ rights. Both are deeply rooted in gender inequality and social norms and are prevalent in many of the same countries, particularly in parts of Africa and the Middle East. There is a need for a deeper understanding of how these practices relate to one another to improve the effectiveness of interventions aimed at ending both. This requires more coordinated efforts and the use of data-driven approaches to inform policy and programming.