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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
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Results for child marriage
28 results foundAuthor: Bokhari, Farhat Title: Stolen Futures: Trafficking for Forced Child Marriage in the UK Summary: The research for this report documented 48 cases of trafficking for forced child marriage, including cases where there were strong suspicions of an impending forced marriage involving the movement and potential exploitation of the child. There is little data on this aspect of trafficking internationally or within the United Kingdom, partly because of a lack of systematic data collection on child trafficking in all its forms. With the increasing profile and development in policy on forced marriage in the UK and elsewhere, attention on the links between forced marriage, child marriage and trafficking has been growing, albeit slowly. This exploratory study hopes to contribute to a clearer understanding of this issue from a UK perspective and to offer some new insights into how the needs of the children involved may be addressed. Details: London: ECPAT UK, 2009. 40p. Source: Accessed April 17, 2018 at: https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/ecpat_trafficking_for_forced_child_marriage_in_uk_en_1.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/ecpat_trafficking_for_forced_child_marriage_in_uk_en_1.pdf Shelf Number: 117104 Keywords: Child ExploitationChild MarriageChild ProtectionChild TraffickingHuman Trafficking |
Author: Silva-de-Alwis, Rangita de Title: Child Marriage and the Law: Legislative Reform Initiative Paper Series Summary: Child marriage violates the rights of the girl child to be free from all forms of discrimination, inhuman and degrading treatment, and slavery. This paper analyses the different legal frameworks and human rights dimensions of child marriage within a feminist perspective. The value of a rights-based approach as a powerful advocacy tool to monitor child marriage is at the heart of this paper. Further, the paper highlights the interconnectivity between international human rights law, constitutional guarantees of gender equality, and other gender friendly laws in combating child marriage. The main thrust of this paper is that early marriage is a violation of fundamental human rights and that both state and non- state actors must be held accountable under international treaty obligations to combat early child marriage. What is unique about this paper is that it looks at the legal system as a whole and proposes a set of holistic legal and policy reform. By reviewing the landscape of laws that impact on women and children, we are able to come up with a broader range of policy alternatives and a more sophisticated understanding of how the multiple strands of law and innovative legal strategies can converge to prevent child marriage. Laws have been traditionally created in the male image. In re-envisioning law and legal strategies it is important to capture the lived experiences of women that are so often excluded in the law. The human rights discourse provides the language and the framework to conceive new laws and revise old laws. Child marriage violates a panoply of interconnected rights, including, the right to equality on grounds of sex and age, the right to marry and found a family, the right to life, the right to the highest attainable standard of health, the right to education and development and the right to be free from slavery that are guaranteed in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages and the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery. The human rights guarantees legitimize strong penalties for violations of laws and policies preventing child marriage. Locating child marriage as a human rights violation also helps to raise it as a grave public concern rather than a private matter between families. The human rights agenda helps to view child marriage through the lenses of both civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights covenants. Most of all, the human rights perspective helps to frame child marriage as a crime against women and the girl child. Child marriage disproportionately affects girls because of their sex and despite facially neutral laws, women and girls are often de facto unequal before the law. That is why apart from specific child marriage laws, laws relating to prohibitions against discrimination on the ground of sex and age must be strengthened in an effort to strike out the root causes of child marriage. Details: New York: United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), 2008. 76p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 28, 2011 at: http://www.unrol.org/files/Child_Marriage_and_the_Law[1].pdf Year: 2008 Country: International URL: http://www.unrol.org/files/Child_Marriage_and_the_Law[1].pdf Shelf Number: 122224 Keywords: Child MarriageChildren, Crimes AgainstHuman Rights, Children |
Author: Malhotra, Anju Title: Solutions to End Child Marriage: What the Evidence Shows Summary: National and international communities are increasingly recognizing child marriage as a serious problem, both as a violation of girls’ human rights and as a hindrance to key development outcomes. As more program, policy, donor and advocacy constituencies pledge commitment, resources and action to address this problem, it becomes important to examine past efforts and how well they have worked. Finding model solutions to address child marriage has been a challenge because, while there has been increasing investment in programs during the last decade, many are not well-documented, and even fewer are well-evaluated. In this brief, we summarize a systematic review of child marriage prevention programs that have documented evaluations. Based on this synthesis of evaluated programs, we offer an analysis of the broader implications for viable solutions to child marriage. Our findings show that child marriage prevention programs have indeed expanded in number and scope during the last decade; almost two dozen have documented some type of an evaluation. The largest number of evaluated programs is in South Asia, especially in Bangladesh and India. Programs in a broader range of African and Middle Eastern countries, including Ethiopia and Egypt, are also adding to the evidence base. On balance, the results from this composite of evaluations lean toward positive findings, indicating that a set of strategies focusing on girls’ empowerment, community mobilization, enhanced schooling, economic incentives and policy changes have improved knowledge, attitudes, and behavior related to child marriage prevention. The strongest, most consistent results are shown in a subset of programs fostering information, skills, and networks for girls in combination with community mobilization. While many child marriage prevention programs are only beginning to explore possibilities of going to scale, there are encouraging signs that large-scale structural efforts aimed at other goals, such as education, health, and poverty reduction, are beginning to make a connection with child marriage prevention. A smaller, but growing set of such programs is providing tentative but promising evaluation results, laying the foundation for building new partnerships and leveraging scarce resources. Details: Washington, DC: International Center for Research on Women (ICRW): 2011. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 29, 2011 at: http://www.icrw.org/files/publications/Solutions-to-End-Child-Marriage.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.icrw.org/files/publications/Solutions-to-End-Child-Marriage.pdf Shelf Number: 122233 Keywords: Child MarriageForced MarriageHuman Rights, Children |
Author: APS Group Scotland Title: Responding to Forced Marriage: Multi-Agency Practice Guidelines Summary: These practice guidelines aim to inform frontline practitioners who are responsible for protecting children and adults from the abuse associated with forced marriage. They do not require significant changes in practice. You should use existing structures, policies and procedures designed to protect children, adults at risk and those experiencing domestic abuse. But, in doing so, you must be mindful of the specific risks and dangers associated with forced marriage. Risks to victims may be increased by all forms of family counselling, mediation, arbitration and conciliation; by failing to share or store information appropriately or safely; by involving families; and by breaches of confidentiality. Given the nature of forced marriage, no single agency can meet all the needs of someone affected by forced marriage. These practice guidelines, therefore, aim to encourage practitioners to work together safely to protect victims. This approach is also consistent with the Scottish Government's emphasis on a multi-agency response to tackling domestic abuse and responding to children and adults at risk of harm. There are multi-agency partnerships for violence against women in all local authorities. They are a good source of information and support for multi-agency working on these issues. Other relevant partnerships include Community Planning; Community Safety; Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences; Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements; Child Protection and Adult Protection Committees. Although forced marriage is primarily an issue of violence against women, the guidelines provide information relevant to practitioners assisting both male and female victims. Details: Edinburgh: Scottish Government, 2011. 142p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 2, 2012 at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2011/12/22165750/0 Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2011/12/22165750/0 Shelf Number: 124342 Keywords: Child MarriageChild ProtectionDomestic ViolenceForced Marriage (Scotland)Human RightsViolence Against Women |
Author: Jain, Saranga Title: New Insights on Preventing Child Marriage: A Global Analysis of Factors and Programs Summary: The international community and U.S. government are increasingly concerned about the prevalence of child marriage and its toll on girls in developing countries (UNICEF 2005; Save the Children 2004; Mathur, Greene and Malhotra 2003). One in seven girls in the developing world marries before 15 (Population Council 2006). Nearly half of the 331 million girls in developing countries are expected to marry by their 20th birthday. At this rate, 100 million more girls—or 25,000 more girls every day—will become child brides in the next decade (Bruce and Clark 2004). Current literature on child marriage has primarily examined the prevalence, consequences and reported reasons for early marriage. Much less has been analyzed about the risk and protective factors that may be associated with child marriage. Also, little is known about the range of existing programs addressing child marriage, and what does and does not work in preventing early marriage. The work presented here investigates two key questions: What factors are associated with risk of or protection against child marriage, and ultimately could be the focus of prevention efforts?; What are the current programmatic approaches to prevent child marriage in developing countries, and are these programs effective? This report is for policy-makers and development practitioners working on or planning a future program to prevent child marriage. New insights on risk and protective factors will help program designers find points of intervention to prevent child marriage. The program scan offers a better understanding of what programs currently exist and how to expand efforts. Details: Washington, DC: International Center for Research on Women, 2007. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 22, 2012 at http://www.icrw.org/files/publications/New-Insights-on-Preventing-Child-Marriage.pdf Year: 2007 Country: International URL: http://www.icrw.org/files/publications/New-Insights-on-Preventing-Child-Marriage.pdf Shelf Number: 125044 Keywords: Child MarriageCrime PreventionEvaluative StudiesIntervention Programs |
Author: United Nations Children's Fund. Innocenti Research Centre Title: Early Marriage Child Spouses Summary: This Digest focuses on early marriage - the marriage of children and young people under the age of 18 - from a human rights perspective. Research into early marriage has tended to concentrate on its impact on reproductive health, school drop-out and rising population figures, and there has been little examination of the practice as a human rights violation in itself. The Digest examines the scale of early marriage, its context, causes and its impact on every aspect of the lives of those affected - particularly young girls - and on wider society. It outlines strategies to help those who have been married at an early age, and for the prevention of early marriage through education, advocacy and alliance-building. The Digest concludes with a call for more rights-based research on an issue that has far-reaching consequences. Details: Florence, Italy: Innocenti Research Centre, United Nations Children's Fund, 2001. 30p. Source: Innocenti Digest No. 7, March, 2001: Internet Resource: Accessed April 22, 2012 at http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/digest7e.pdf Year: 2001 Country: International URL: http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/digest7e.pdf Shelf Number: 125046 Keywords: Child MarriageChild ProtectionForced Marriage |
Author: Malviya, Aditya Title: Child Marriage: Robbing Children of Innocence - Good Practices in Preventing Child Marriage, Bihar Summary: Save the Children Sweden’s report “Child Marriage: Robbing Children of Innocence” documents the good practices and challenges in addressing child marriages from the experience of Save the Children India in the State of Bihar. The report highlights key learnings and gives recommendations that would make it possible to reduce child marriage significantly if government, INGOs and civil society organizations undertake appropriate measures and programmes to combat child marriage at national and community level. Details: Kathmandu, Nepal: Save the Children, Regional Office for South and Central Asia, 2010. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 28, 2012 at http://resourcecentre.savethechildren.se/rb?q=cmis/browser&id=workspace://SpacesStore/ae933eec-514c-4441-90e0-d0d53cbfc262/1.11 Year: 2010 Country: India URL: http://resourcecentre.savethechildren.se/rb?q=cmis/browser&id=workspace://SpacesStore/ae933eec-514c-4441-90e0-d0d53cbfc262/1.11 Shelf Number: 125083 Keywords: Child MarriageChild ProtectionForced Marriage |
Author: Loaiza, Edilberto, Sr. Title: Marrying too Young: End Child Marriage Summary: This report is a clarion call to decision makers, parents, communities and to the world to end child marriage. It documents the current scope, prevalence and inequities associated with child marriage and highlights that by 2020, Some 142 million girls will be married by their 18th birthday if current trends continue. This translates into 14.2 million girls married each year, or 37,000 girls married each day. Child marriage jeopardizes girls’ rights and stands in the way of girls living educated, healthy and productive lives. It also excludes girls from fundamental decisions, such as the timing of marriage and choice of spouse. Girls living in rural areas of the developing world are twice as likely to be married before age 18 as their urban counterparts, and girls with no education are over three times more likely to do so than those with secondary or higher education. The report calls on governments and leaders to end child marriage by: Enacting and enforcing national laws that raise the age of marriage to 18, for both girls and boys. Using data to identify and target geographic “hotspots” – areas with high proportions and numbers of girls at risk of child marriage. Expanding prevention programmes that empower girls at risk of child marriage and address the root causes underlying the practice. Mitigating the harmful impact of child marriage on girls. Details: New York: United Nations Population Fund, 2012. 74p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 2, 2012 at: http://www.unfpa.org/public/home/publications/pid/12166 Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.unfpa.org/public/home/publications/pid/12166 Shelf Number: 126825 Keywords: Child MarriageChild Protection |
Author: Boyden, Jo Title: Harmful Traditional Practices and Child Protection: Contested Understandings and Practices of Female Child Marriage and Circumcision in Ethiopia Summary: This paper explores local perspectives on female child marriage and circumcision in Ethiopia. Both practices are widespread still, despite international and national efforts to eradicate them, and reflect deep-rooted patriarchal and gerontocratic values regulating transactions between kin groups at marriage and women’s reproduction. Both have been designated as Harmful Traditional Practices (HTPs) by the Ethiopian government and are proscribed by law, with designated punishments. This is in line with Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which calls for the prohibition of traditional practices that are prejudicial to the health and well-being of children. Apart from the fact that both practices are labelled ‘harmful’ and relate only to girls, the main reason for considering female child marriage and female circumcision together is that the latter tends to be seen as a necessary precursor to former. The paper explores the values that drive these practices and examines whether and in what ways they have been affected by efforts to eradicate them. It points to the complexity of beliefs and practices, highlighting differences associated with ethnicity, religion, generation and gender. It finds that the efforts of government and elite leaders to eradicate them are contributing to the diminution or transformation of female circumcision and female child marriage, although with marked regional variations and considerable contestation and resistance in some places. In mapping these processes of change, the paper identifies trends in premarital sex, clandestine surgeries, and other subterfuges that may demonstrate unexpected consequences and adverse reactions to laws which were intended to protect children. In doing so, it emphasises the challenges confronted by child- protection measures designed to bring about change to long-established customs. The analysis draws on interviews with 25 children and young people from five communities, as well as their peers, caregivers and community representatives, conducted in 2007, 2008 and 2011. The paper uses both statistical and ethnographic evidence to assess the prevalence of the two customs and the cultural and material logic underpinning them. It gives an overview of the external forces militating for change and presents evidence on trends of change. This is followed by analysis of the personal experiences of Young Lives children and the discourses against the practices, as well as a consideration of the resistance to change. Finally, the discussion reflects on wider issues of modernity and rising aspirations for girls. Details: Oxford, UK: Young Lives, 2013. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper 93: Accessed April 22, 2013 at: http://www.younglives.org.uk/files/working-papers/yl-wp93_boyden-et-al Year: 2013 Country: Ethiopia URL: http://www.younglives.org.uk/files/working-papers/yl-wp93_boyden-et-al Shelf Number: 128421 Keywords: Child MarriageChild Protection (Ethiopia)Forced Marriage |
Author: Turner, Catherine Title: Out of the Shadows: Child Marriage and Slavery Summary: This report reviews the literature available on child marriage to show that a potentially high proportion of children in marriage are in slavery. Despite a good deal of publicity around child marriage its links with slavery have received very little attention to date. As not all child marriage (involving under 18 year-olds) is slavery, the report outlines the relevant international slavery framework to help clarify when child marriage could amount to slavery. It also notes gaps at the international level for addressing child marriage as a slavery issue, and at the national level in terms of tackling it in law and practice. It also deals with the complexity of root causes. Details: London: Anti-Slavery International, 2013. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 25, 2013 at: http://www.antislavery.org/includes/documents/cm_docs/2013/c/child_marriage_final.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://www.antislavery.org/includes/documents/cm_docs/2013/c/child_marriage_final.pdf Shelf Number: 128826 Keywords: Child MarriageChild ProtectionChild SlaveryForced Marriage |
Author: Myers, Juliette Title: Untying the Knot: Exploring Early Marriage in Fragile States Summary: Tying the knot: an expression that for most of us evokes happy memories of one of the best days of our lives. However, the fun of planning the wedding and the heady excitement of the first weeks of marriage will not be the experience of 13.5 million girls this year. Instead, fearing threats, and encouraged or coerced into marriage as a means of protection, nearly one-in-three girls in developing countries will marry before the age of 18. The younger the girl, the more harmful the consequences: I have seen girls as young as eight being married off to men decades older than them. The impact of sexual activity on children who are too young can be catastrophic. Children having children continues to be a common phenomenon across the developing world, with deaths caused by early pregnancy and birth complications the biggest cause of mortality for girls aged 15-19. Beyond the physical harm they face, is the complete loss of childhood. Children who marry do not play with their friends, are often not attending school, do not have access to opportunities for their future, and are confined within roles which bring responsibilities that they did not choose and often do not understand. This report unravels the links between fragility and early marriage. By showing how marriage is used as a perceived means of 'protection' for girls, this report is a unique contribution to the evidence base of factors driving early marriage prevalence. Revealing the complex causes of this harmful practice, World Vision also identifies key actions that can be taken, both globally and by the UK Government, to reduce the stress on communities and provide families with alternative, effective means of really protecting their daughters. Details: Fox Mine, Milton Keynes, UK: World Vision UK, 2013. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 25, 2014 at: http://www.worldvision.org/resources.nsf/main/press-reports/$file/untying-the-knot_report.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://www.worldvision.org/resources.nsf/main/press-reports/$file/untying-the-knot_report.pdf Shelf Number: 133420 Keywords: Child MarriageChild ProtectionForced MarriageGender-Based ViolenceSexual Violence |
Author: Warner, Ann Title: More Power to Her: How Empowering Girls Can Help End Child Marriage Summary: The International Center for Research on Women's report, "More Power to Her: How Empowering Girls Can Help End Child Marriage", shows how and why investing in girls is critical to the global movement to end child marriage. The practice, which cuts across global cultures and religions, turns more than 14 million girls worldwide into child brides every year, violating their basic human rights - and hindering larger international development efforts. ICRW has been at the forefront of exposing the harms caused by child marriage, and identifying solutions to prevent it, for more than 15 years. In 2011, ICRW identified five promising strategies to prevent child marriage. With this latest study, ICRW set out to discover how programs in Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia and India are working to empower both girls at-risk of child marriage as well as already married girls, and how empowerment leads to changes in knowledge, attitudes and practices. Based on four case studies - programs run by CARE (Ethiopia), BRAC (Bangladesh), Save the Children (Egypt) and Pathfinder International (India) - ICRW's findings show that girl-focused programs expand girls' ability to make strategic life choices by providing them with access to critical resources. The information, skills and social support that they gain help to instill a transformation within girls: increasing their self-awareness, their self-efficacy and their aspirations. They also introduce girls to alternatives to marriage, such as school and livelihood opportunities, and enhance their ability to influence key 'gatekeepers' in their lives, such as parents, husbands or community leaders Details: Washington, DC: International Center for Research on Women, 2014. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 4, 2015 at: http://www.icrw.org/sites/default/files/publications/More%20Power%20pages%20Web.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://www.icrw.org/sites/default/files/publications/More%20Power%20pages%20Web.pdf Shelf Number: 135497 Keywords: Child MarriageChild ProtectionForced Marriage |
Author: Taylor, Alice Title: "She Goes With Me in My Boat": Child marriage and adolescent marriage in Brazil Summary: Brazil - like the rest of Latin America - has been absent from many global discussions and actions around child and adolescent marriage, which largely focus on hotspot areas such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The available evidence within the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region, however, shows prevalence levels of child marriage are highest in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Brazil and that absolute numbers are highest in Brazil. This study, the first of its kind in Brazil, explores attitudes and practices around child and adolescent marriage in Para and Maranhao, two Brazilian states with highest prevalence of the practice. The results confirm the mostly informal and consensual nature of unions involving girls under the age of 18 in the settings studied. The analysis highlights the ways in which a child or adolescent marriage may create or exacerbate risk factors (i.e., related to health, education, security) while often being perceived by girls or family members as offering stability in settings of economic insecurity and limited opportunities. Details: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:: Promundo, 2015. 148p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 14, 2015 at: http://promundoglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SheGoesWithMyBoat_ChildAdolescentMarriageBrazil.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Brazil URL: http://promundoglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SheGoesWithMyBoat_ChildAdolescentMarriageBrazil.pdf Shelf Number: 136740 Keywords: Child MarriageChild Protection |
Author: Rosemount Good Shepherd Title: Forced & Servile Marriage Casebook: Beyond the stereotypes Summary: The advent of legislation criminalising forced marriage and a range of related conduct has brought forward a debate, in Australia and elsewhere, about an individual's effective rights in relation to fully and freely consenting to marriage, and to live free of slavery in the form of servile marriage (wherein a person is treated as property and bought, sold or inherited into marriage). This debate has also illuminated a range of very pragmatic questions on the nature of "marriage" across cultural, ethnic, religious, national and other boundaries. As has also been found in other countries, experience to date in Australia highlights many commonly-asked questions such as: 1. Does "forced marriage" include circumstances where a "marriage" ceremony was performed by someone other than a registered marriage celebrant? 2. What about when the person is made to live with their "partner" and/or the other family before a (legal) marriage takes place? 3. What if the person was "married" in another country before reaching the legal age for marriage in that other country? 4. Is it really a marriage if they were "married" as a child but the marriage was not consummated? 5. What if the ceremony was conducted in a language that the person does not understand, or understands only in a very limited way? The fact is that any or all of these situations could involve the risk or reality of forced marriage, and/or servile marriage depending on the exact circumstances. Aim of the Casebook Seeing education as a crucial part of advocating for positive social change, this casebook is intended to be a resource for those who may encounter the risk or reality of forced and/or servile marriage in their work. For example, this could include circumstances in which a teacher observes that a student may be at risk, or where a case worker assesses that a client's circumstances involve the risk or reality of forced and/or servile marriage or a similar marriage like relationship. By aiding understanding of the variety of forms that these practices can take, and the great diversity of contexts in which they may occur, the aim of the casebook is to support early intervention and/or prevention and thus ameliorate the harm done to those facing forced and/or servile marriage. Details: Marrickville, NSW, AUS: Rosemount Good Shepherd Youth and Family Services, 2015. 74p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 24, 2015 at: http://rosemountgs.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Forced-Servile-Marriage-Casebook-April-2014.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Australia URL: http://rosemountgs.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Forced-Servile-Marriage-Casebook-April-2014.pdf Shelf Number: 136860 Keywords: Child MarriageForced Marriage |
Author: Women's Refugee Commission Title: A Girl No More: The Changing Norms of Child Marriage in Conflict Summary: Marriage under the age of 18 is widely considered a human rights violation, though it is legal with parental consent in many countries. It falls within the definition of gender-based violence. Married girls are at risk of intimate partner violence and exposure to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Marriage often means the end of a girl's education and limits her vocational opportunities. Ninety percent of early first births happen within the context of child marriage and complications during pregnancy and delivery are the second leading cause of death among 15- to 19-year-olds. Nine of the top 10 countries with the highest rates of child marriage are considered fragile states. Similarly, many countries particularly vulnerable to natural disasters have the highest child marriage prevalence. Fragility and conflict impact child-marriage decisions. However, the role they play is complex and not fully understood. The need to protect girls from rape, as well as the stigma of surviving rape; from pregnancy outside marriage; and from the influence of other communities are factors that lead to child marriage. Poverty, exacerbated in displacement, is a driver of early marriage as parents hope to secure a daughter's future or to meet basic needs. Child marriage is both exacerbated by barriers to education and an impediment to school for the girls. Additionally, marriage isolates adolescent girls from friends and programs that would help them overcome the challenges of marriage. In 2011, the Women's Refugee Commission began a project to understand how traditional practices around child marriage may change during conflict, and what factors contribute to those practices. We researched internally displaced Ugandans in Mucwini, Northern Uganda; Congolese in Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda; Syrians in the Al Marj Settlement in Lebanon; and Somalis at the Kobe Refugee Camp in Ethiopia. We found that in order to reduce child-marriage practices, programmers must ensure that the basic needs of families are met during the acute phase of an emergency, and ensure that programming is designed to promote the agency and value of adolescent girls. Details: New York: Women's Refugee Commission, 2016. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 5, 2016 at: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Changing-Norms-of-Child-Marriage-in-Conflict.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Changing-Norms-of-Child-Marriage-in-Conflict.pdf Shelf Number: 138941 Keywords: Child MarriageChild ProtectionGender-Based Violence |
Author: Chaudhuri, Eliana Riggio Title: Thematic Report: Unrecognised Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children in Child, Early and Forced Marriage Summary: When girls attain sexual maturity, their vulnerability to sexual violence rises, along with parental apprehension about their safety. Especially in traditional and poor communities where girls' roles are often expected to be that of mothers and wives, puberty may coincide with school dropout and early marriage. Parents who marry their children before they reach legal age are typically motivated by predetermined social and sexual norms, low value attached to daughters, poverty or humanitarian crises. Confronted with social pressure and family hardship, they may seek in marriage a form of protection to shield their he implications of CEFM for human and social development have been placed in sharper focus in recent years, with concern especially growing for the violation of sexual and reproductive rights suffered by underage child brides and mothers, who are more prone to experiencing maternal and child mortality and malnutrition, as well as sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV and AIDS. As its significant ramifications for the survival, adequate growth and healthy development of children have been increasingly appreciated, more limited attention has been paid to the violation of the entire range of child rights to ascertain how prematurely entering a marital union increases overall vulnerability. To contribute to filling persisting gaps in knowledge and awareness, ECPAT International and Plan International have endeavoured to investigate the impact of child marriage on child protection, analysing, in particular, the various forms that sexual abuse and exploitation of children take in the context of such a universally revered social institution. Sexual violence suffered in early marriage is arguably one of the most severe levels of violation experienced by victims of a set of other rights infringements. Deciding if, when and whom to marry is one of the most important life choices a person can make. It is also a fundamental human right. International law recognises that CEFM is a harmful practice and a serious human rights violation. While child marriage is outlawed in most countries of the world, legal provisions are widely unknown, ignored or unenforced. As efforts have been progressively mounting to address sexist gender norms and behaviours, encourage school education, especially for girls, build national birth and marriage registration systems and strengthen law enforcement mechanisms to ensure that marriage is entered into only by consenting adults, there is still a need to understand in further depth the effects of marriage on children's safety, balanced development and emotional wellbeing. This thematic report aims to contribute to deepening the appreciation of the interconnections linking CEFM to sexual abuse and exploitation of children, also of a commercial nature. It proposes a conceptual framework through which to analytically examine the various forms children from of sexual violence being perpetrated in the context of early marriage. CEFM is an important constituent in the continuum of harm affecting adolescent girls. It forces girls to live in sexually threatening environments, engage in premature regular sexual activity, and often become victims of physical, psychological, emotional and sexual abuse by their husbands and his family members. In addition to serious reproductive and sexual health consequences, such as unwanted pregnancies and higher exposure to sexually transmitted infections, girl children suffer deep psychological trauma, even displaying symptoms of child sexual abuse and post- traumatic stress. Multiple pregnancies, restricted access to education and income generation opportunities, enforced social seclusion, early widowhood and abandonment are common consequences of child marriage, trapping survivors in a cycle of sexual exploitation and violence that may continue for the rest of their lives. Details: Bangkok: ECPAT International, 2015. 108p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 3, 2016 at: http://www.ecpat.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Child%20Marriage_ENG.pdf Year: 2015 Country: International URL: http://www.ecpat.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Child%20Marriage_ENG.pdf Shelf Number: 139962 Keywords: Child MarriageChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual Exploitation |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: Summary: Thirty-seven percent of girls in Nepal marry before age 18 and 10 percent are married by age 15, in spite of the fact that the minimum age of marriage under Nepali law is 20 years of age. Boys also often marry young in Nepal, though in lower numbers than girls. UNICEF data indicates that Nepal has the third highest rate of child marriage in Asia, after Bangladesh and India. In interviewing dozens of children and young people, Human Rights Watch learned that these marriages result from a web of factors including poverty, lack of access to education, child labor, social pressures, and harmful practices. Cutting across all of these is entrenched gender inequality, and damaging social norms that make girls less valued than boys in Nepali society. Details: New York: HRW, 2016. 131p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 13, 2016 at: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/nepal0816_web.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Nepal URL: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/nepal0816_web.pdf Shelf Number: 145535 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MarriageChild ProtectionHuman Rights AbusesRights of the Child |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: Marry Before Your House Is Swept Away: Child Marriage in Bangladesh Summary: Bangladesh has the highest rate in the world of child marriage of girls under the age of 15 and the fourth-highest overall rate in the world. In the period 2005 to 2013, 65 percent of girls in Bangladesh married before age 18. Marry Before Your House is Swept Away, is based on over a hundred interviews, most of them with married girls as young as age 10, and documents factors driving child marriage in Bangladesh, including poverty exacerbated by natural disasters, lack of access to education, social pressure, harassment, and dowry. The report also describes failure by the Bangladesh government to take adequate steps to prevent child marriage. In 2014, Bangladesh's prime ministervowed to end child marriage. Awareness is growing among the population that marriage of girls under age 18 is illegal under Bangladeshi law. But this awareness is undermined by widespread complicity by local government officials in facilitating child marriages. Married girls are deprived of education, face serious health risks due to early pregnancy, and are at heightened risk for violence and abuse in the home compared to those who marry later as adults. Bangladesh's vulnerability to natural disasters adds additional hardship that increases the risk of child marriage for many girls. The report calls on the Bangladesh government to step up efforts to prevent child marriage by reforming the Child Marriage Restraint Act, investigating and prosecuting crimes under the act, and ensuring and holding to account officials who fail to enforce the ban on child marriage. International donors should integrate strategies to prevent child marriage into assistance programs. Details: New York: HRW, 2015. 140p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 16, 2016 at: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/bangladesh0615_web.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/bangladesh0615_web.pdf Shelf Number: 146129 Keywords: Child MaltreatmentChild MarriageChild Protection |
Author: Marcus, Rachel Title: Poverty and violations of children's right to protection in low- and middle-income countries: A review of the evidence Summary: Why do up to 1.5 billion children suffer physical violence every year? Why do up to 2251 million children suffer sexual violence every year? Why are 14.2 million girls every year married off to start adult lives in adolescence or before?2 Why are considerable numbers of young children left alone for long hours without competent adult supervision? Historically, in studies of violence against children in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, explanations emphasised the role of individual psychological factors. The pendulum swung in the 1960s to highlight structural forces contributing to the abuse and neglect of children, in particular poverty and unemployment. In more recent years, understanding of the factors underlying violations of children's right to protection has drawn on an ecological model that emphasises factors at several levels: individual, family, household, community and broader society (Frederick and Goddard, 2007). The international child protection community generally sees three broad sets of factors as underlying many child protection violations: sociocultural norms, weak protective structures and poverty or deprivation. However, within this community there are divergences of opinion concerning the extent to which poverty is a significant underlying or risk factor. Interviews with child protection and poverty specialists and an electronic survey conducted for this research programme revealed a notable split. The majority considered poverty an important and often-neglected factor underpinning many child protection violations, but a significant number of respondents highlighted the fact that abuse, exploitation and neglect of children occurs across all socioeconomic groups, and thus felt economic deprivation played a more minor role. Perspectives varied considerably across different types of violation, with most respondents feeling that economic deprivation was a critical factor in early marriage, inadequate care and sexual exploitation, but relatively fewer convinced it was an important factor underpinning corporal punishment or sexual abuse. The electronic survey, like the majority of the literature examined for this review, focuses on children's vulnerability to protection violations, not whether poverty increases the risk of perpetrating abuse. Broadly, these perspectives concur with insights from the literature examined for this study. Despite increased recognition of the importance of effective joined-up child protection systems (e.g. World Vision, 2011; Wulcyzn et al., 2010), state agencies charged with child protection in most low- and middle-income countries are severely underfunded (Everychild, 2010b; Holmes and Jones, 2009). At the same time, there is a global move towards strengthening social protection - much of which has a partial focus on children in poverty, and thus is directing resources towards realising children's survival and development rights. In this context, there is growing interest in exploring the potential and limitations of social protection, human development and other anti-poverty programmes to reduce violations of children's protection rights - and of action to protect children's rights to promote better anti-poverty and human development outcomes. As a contribution to emerging practice and debate in this area, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and the Oak Foundation are undertaking a two-year programme of work to explore the potential for greater linkages between child protection and anti-poverty work in low- and middle-income countries. This report - the first output of the programme - has two main objectives: 1. To examine how far and in what ways poverty contributes to violations of children's rights to protection in four key areas - child marriage, sexual and physical violence against children and inadequate care of children - and thus to clarify the significance of poverty as an underlying or risk factor for these different violations of children's protection rights; and 2. To assess the strength of evidence concerning the relationship between poverty and child marriage, sexual and physical violence against children and inadequate care of children, and thus to identify knowledge gaps. It reviews evidence from low- and middle-income countries on the linkages between poverty and child marriage, sexual and physical violence against children and inadequate care of children. It also draws selectively on evidence from OECD countries in areas where the low- and middle-income country literature is sparse, or to highlight differences related to income and institutional capacity. It is intended as a detailed resource on the issues explored. Key findings are summarised in a short background note (Marcus, 2013). Other components of this programme include an adapted systematic review of the extent to which child protection policies and programmes involve attention to anti-poverty issues, and the contribution of antipoverty components to effective action on specific child protection issues (Marcus and Page, 2013); an electronic survey of practitioners and key informant interviews; and fieldwork exploring the relationship between poverty and violation of children's protection rights in Ethiopia, Uganda, and Vietnam. The programme is also exploring the potential for and different ways of promoting greater synergies between analysts and practitioners with anti-poverty and child protection foci. Details: London: Overseas Development Institute, 2014. 97p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 1, 2017 at: https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/9309.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/9309.pdf Shelf Number: 145223 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild MarriageChild ProtectionChild Sexual AbuseChild WelfarePoverty and CrimeSocioeconomic Conditions and CrimeViolence Against Children |
Author: International Center for Research on Women Title: Economic Impacts of Child Marriage: Global Synthesis Report Summary: The international community is increasingly aware of the negative impacts of child marriage on a wide range of development outcomes. Ending child marriage is now part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Yet investments to end the practice remain limited across the globe and more could be done. In order to inspire greater commitments towards ending child marriage, this study demonstrates the negative impacts of the practice and their associated economic costs. The study looks at five domains of impacts: (i) fertility and population growth; (ii) health, nutrition, and violence; (iii) educational attainment and learning; (iv) labor force participation and earnings; and (v) participation, decision-making, and investments. Economic costs associated with the impacts are estimated for several of the impacts. When taken together across countries, the costs of child marriage are very high. They suggest that investing to end child marriage is not only the right thing to do, but also makes sense economically. Details: Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group, 2017. 99p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 1, 2017 at; http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/530891498511398503/pdf/116829-WP-P151842-PUBLIC-EICM-Global-Conference-Edition-June-27.pdf Year: 2017 Country: International URL: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/530891498511398503/pdf/116829-WP-P151842-PUBLIC-EICM-Global-Conference-Edition-June-27.pdf Shelf Number: 146486 Keywords: Child MarriageEconomic AnalysisGender-Based ViolenceRights of the Child |
Author: GreeneWorks Title: Engaging Men and Boys to End The Practice of Child Marriage Summary: Engaging Men and Boys to End the Practice of Child Marriage explores how unequal gender norms uphold this practice and through program examples identifies the ways men and boys are helping to prevent child marriage and mitigate its consequences. Community norms around gender and age inequality, the low value of girls and women, and acceptance of patriarchy and male sexual entitlement to females lie at the root of child marriage. Ending this custom requires communities to collectively dismantle these discriminatory norms and replace them with new, equitable norms. The programs and approaches highlighted in this review have worked with men, boys, and their communities to shift their attitudes and behavior to encourage gender equality and discourage child marriage. Details: Washington, DC: GreenWorks, 2015. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 8, 2017 at: http://promundoglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Engaging-Men-and-Boys-to-End-the-Practice-of-Child-Marriage1.pdf Year: 2015 Country: International URL: http://promundoglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Engaging-Men-and-Boys-to-End-the-Practice-of-Child-Marriage1.pdf Shelf Number: 146777 Keywords: Child MarriageChildren, Crimes AgainstHuman Rights, ChildrenRights of the Child |
Author: Sharp-Jeffs, Nicola Title: A lot going on: the links between going missing, forced marriage and child sexual exploitation Summary: An extensive review of research and policy literature revealed that links are made between: going missing and forced marriage; going missing and child sexual exploitation; and forced marriage and child sexual exploitation. However, despite these overlaps, no links are made between all three issues. Given that some South Asian young women will run away from home in order to avoid being forced into marriage and that young people who run away or go missing from home are at risk of, or abused, through child sexual exploitation a research proposition was developed on the basis that a three way link was theoretically possible. A case study methodology was developed to test the research proposition. Eight cases were identified in which South Asian young people (under 18 years of age) had experienced some combination of all three issues. However, the pattern identified within the research proposition was not the 'final explanation'. Analysis of the research findings revealed that variation existed within the pattern proposed. Moreover, a second pattern was identified in which forced marriage emerged as a parental response to young people who were already being sexually exploited and going missing in this context. The patterns identified were confirmed through analysis of interviews undertaken with twelve subject experts (key informants) and resonated with a specifically selected group of nine young people who were presented with a composite case study during focus group discussion. I argue that awareness of patterns linking all three issues will help practitioners to identify and respond appropriately to cases where the issues of going missing, forced marriage and child sexual exploitation overlap. That said the complexity of the cases highlighted risks associated with overlooking diversities: social divisions related to age, gender, ethnicity, class, sexuality and disability were explored to see how they shaped the young people's experiences. This process revealed that they were located within complex axes of power which then intersected with social systems, including family, community and public institutions. As a consequence, young people lacked relational support and had limited access to safe accommodation and economic resources. This resulted in some young people making attempts to try and self-manage the competing harms that they were facing. The practitioners who supported the young people highlighted the challenges involved in working with them. Analysis of practitioners' accounts further revealed how power dynamics within multi-agency working arrangements also impacted their efforts to respond to the needs of young people. Through testing the research proposition, I addressed a recognised need for more focused research into the issue of going missing as it relates to young people from different ethnic backgrounds (Berelowitz et al. 2012; Berelowitz et al., 2013; OCC, 2012; Patel, 1994; Safe on the Streets Research Team, 1999; Stein et al. 1994) as well as furthering knowledge about how child sexual exploitation is experienced by young people from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities (Chase & Statham, 2004; CEOP, 2011b; Jago et al., 2011; Berelowitz et al., 2013; Thiara & Gill, 2010; Kelly, 2013; Ward & Patel, 2006). The development of a typology of patterns linking going missing, forced marriage and child sexual exploitation provides a unique contribution to the scholarly literature. Details: Luton, UK: University of Bedfordshire, 2016. 324p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed May 21, 2018 at: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/82971362.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/82971362.pdf Shelf Number: 150315 Keywords: Child MarriageChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationForced MarriageMissing Persons |
Author: Freccero, Julie Title: Toward an End to Child Marriage: Lessons from Research and Practice in Development and Humanitarian Sectors Summary: While child marriage has been on the decline recent decades, there is a growing concern for its increased prevalence in crisis situations during conflict and natural disasters. The more typical underlying factors such as gender inequality and social norms, in combination with new factors such as protection risks and poverty, are leaving girls vulnerable in these settings. This report by the Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley Law gathers learnings from both humanitarian and development contexts to determine what Save the Children and related organizations can do to improve their response to this rising problem in their programming. This is done through a literature review of existing studies, a mapping of current programming, and key informant interviews with child marriage prevention practitioners. Find recommendations enclosed within the report. Details: Berkeley: Human Rights Center, 2018. 94p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 24, 2018 at: https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/library/toward-end-child-marriage-lessons-research-and-practice-development-and-humanitarian-sectors Year: 2018 Country: International URL: https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/sites/default/files/documents/child_marriage_report_june2018.pdf Shelf Number: 152872 Keywords: Child Marriage |
Author: Burns, Danny Title: Patterns and dynamics of bonded labour, child labour and child marriage in the Nepali Eastern Terai: Findings from life story analysis Summary: This is a report of the analysis of multiple life stories collected across the Freedom Fund slavery and bonded labour hotspot in the Eastern Terai of Nepal. Life stories were analysed by NGO fieldwork staff and community representatives at the Collective Story Analysis workshop held 5-9th March 2017. Where appropriate we add reinforcing material from the scoping study, which took place in February 2016. We outline the major findings and key system dynamics that emerged. The life story collection and analysis process is the first of three research components in the IDS research on the Freedom Fund slavery and bonded labour hotspots. Alongside the life story work a parallel participatory statistics process has been carried out. These two components will generate action research groups, which will collect further data, generate solutions and test these in community, NGO and policy domains. The life story collection and analysis method used for this research is a systematic approach to understanding the context in which Freedom Fund partners are working but it does not allow us to generalise beyond these participating communities, which have generally been selected because local civil society organisations believe that workers and their families in these areas are in greatest need. The prevalence data in these areas have been examined in another, separate and linked study. It does not allow us to make inferences about the overall conditions in the industry, though it does show the severity of problems occurring in these selected areas. All real names in this document have been replaced by codes that will be pseudonyms in the final report. Details: Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies, 2017. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 26, 2018 at: https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/13398/Nepal_Life_Stories_report_FINAL_301017.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2017 Country: Nepal URL: https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/13398/Nepal_Life_Stories_report_FINAL_301017.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 153103 Keywords: Bonded Labor Bonded Labour Child Labor Child MarriageForced Labor |
Author: Child, Early and Forced Marriage and Sexuality Programs Working Group Title: Tackling the Taboo: Sexuality and Gender Transformative Programmes to End Child Marriage Summary: INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY The control and regulation of sexuality - in particular, the control of adolescent girls' sexuality - remains a critical and often unaddressed way in which gender inequality manifests across different cultural contexts. Virtually all communities place legal, religious, political or socio-economic restrictions on: - how sensuality, intimacy and pleasure are experienced - how people - in particular girls - express their sexuality, including sexual orientation and gender identities - how people engage in sexual and other intimate relationships - how they understand and ensure their own sexual and reproductive health - the exercise of sexual agency and bodily autonomy in general. For adolescent girls, these restrictions are exacerbated because age and gender are key dimensions of power inequalities, and girls usually lack access to power and are highly constrained in their ability to make decisions for themselves. Marriage, as a social, cultural and economic institution, also plays a key role in this control of girls' sexuality and bodily autonomy. Over the past few years, there has been a growing awareness that patriarchy and the control of sexuality matter in terms of understanding both the complex causes of and the diverse solutions to the practice of child, early and forced marriage (CEFM). Girls may struggle to develop a healthy view of their sexuality in the face of prevailing beliefs that deny their sexual desires and define female sexuality as passive and vulnerable. Girls' lives and mobility are under constant scrutiny, and any deviation from the dominant gender norms is severely penalised. The sexuality and mobility of married girls, too, is often highly restricted and limited to household activities and childbearing. The Child, Early and Forced Marriage and Sexuality Programs Working Group (CSPWG) commissioning this report acknowledges that sexuality is intrinsically linked with power dynamics and as such requires an understanding of different dimensions of inequality including age, class, caste, sexual orientation and gender identity and highlights the importance of challenging practices of CEFM with gender-transformative approaches (GTAs). The ultimate goal of this research is to identify promising gender-transformative programming that addresses sexuality and links with reducing CEFM, including by highlighting promising gender-transformative work taking place in politically and culturally conservative contexts. This research foregrounds successful empowerment approaches that consider the inequalities and harmful social norms that married and unmarried girls and young women disproportionately face, and focuses on and identifies initiatives that recognise and support girls' autonomy with skills, knowledge, and agency (including sexual agency). Working definition of gender-transformative programming Gender Transformative Approaches (GTAs), seek 'to reshape gender relations to be more gender equitable, largely through approaches that free individuals across the gender spectrum from the impact of destructive gender and sexual norms'. Gender-transformative approaches encourage critical awareness of gender roles and norms; promote the position of girls and women; challenge the distribution of resources and allocation of duties between men and women; and/or address the power relationships between girls and women and others in the community, such as service providers or traditional leaders. The ultimate aim of GTA is to achieve gender equality, empowering women, girls and gender non-conforming young people, promoting health and eliminating violence. Gender-transformative approaches may require working at all levels of an ecological model (individual - family/ relationships - communities society etc.) and may be highly contextually specific. Research methodology -- The consultant team undertook extensive information-gathering and a detailed analysis of selected programmes and organisations to identify and understand promising programming and approaches with potential for replication. Through a highly iterative process with multiple phases, a review of 190 programmes was narrowed down to a pool of 26 using a set of parameters developed in consultation with the CSPWG and based on existing knowledge of what constitutes gender-transformative sexuality programming. The analysis of the 26 short-listed programmes surfaced promising approaches and positive outcomes linked to sexuality and CEFM. The project put special effort into uncovering lesser known and under-documented grassroots organisations, as well as paying attention to diversity, including context and geography among other factors. Nevertheless, a large number of organisations were excluded from the analysis due to lack of response or ability to provide documentation. FINDINGS -- Addressing the control of adolescent sexuality from a rights framework that includes issues like consent, choice, and pleasure is very challenging. Such efforts are often met with reluctance and resistance at all levels - from families, communities, schools, health service providers, community-based organisations, government officials, and policymakers. Issues around sexuality are widely considered to be taboo, and the extreme sensitivity around these issues is palpable. In particular, organisations working in highly conservative and religious settings tend to use other entry points to address sexuality (sports and formal education scholarships, for example), and some introduce the topic of sexuality through more general or indirect lenses (through health or hygiene). The review looked carefully at promising approaches that are making significant strides in achieving normative and legal change and positively impacting the lives of girls. While even well-articulated programmes that involved the parents and the communities experienced some form of backlash, it can be argued that this iterative and complex journey is already 'transformative' as it shakes the foundations upon which unequal gender norms are established. Below are some of the components of programmatic success found through this review. The full report and findings will be available later in 2018. - Grounding programmes in the contexts where they are implemented Formative research ahead of programme design and implementation is critical to understand the specific local drivers of CEFM (including gender norms) and the ways in which sexuality is generally conceived in a community. In addition, in-depth contextual analysis helps to gain community trust and develop tailored strategies. Hiring staff that know the values and practices of their community is also instrumental in building trust, gaining community buy-in, and driving change. This is especially important when addressing issues around sexuality, to minimise backlash against the language and approaches used during programme implementation. But it is important to note that, even with the involvement of communities, resistance and opposition are still very common. Interestingly, some organisations have found that this process of dealing with and responding to opposition can be part of the journey of transformation that leads to longer-term and more sustainable change. - Gender-sensitive, flexible, context-specific and relatable curricula The majority of organisations note that the language used in curricula should be given special attention to ensure that it is culturally appropriate, as well as relevant and relatable - using, for instance, current and site-specific case studies. Curricula, some argue, must be developed with a grassroots approach, starting with the girls and boys themselves and engaging them in the actual design and adaptation processes. Many organisations have their curricula and resource materials evaluated and pilot-tested before implementation, making any necessary revisions with the help of reviewers drawn from among the target girls themselves, and from civil society representatives, religious scholars, educators, subject experts, teachers, and parents. - Girls as agents of change and leaders: ownership, involvement, and training Young people need to be recognised as crucial partners in sexual and reproductive health interventions, and not treated merely as recipients or beneficiaries. Indeed, girls' ability to speak up for their own rights played a major part in the achievement of some of the organisations' results: once they asserted their own rights, it was generally easier for others, such as their parents, to support their decisions. However, as the YP Foundation points out, "young people don't just run on motivation and fresh air"; strong support networks are needed, as well as strategies that include connecting participants and graduates with further learning and development opportunities. Beyond training young people and strengthening their individual leadership skills, many organisations note that collectivising girls to take joint action has empowered them to voice their opinions and concerns at the community level and enabled them to collectively work out solutions to their problems. Once girls form a critical mass that is seen in public behaving according to new social norms, these new platforms can sustain other activities and efforts that benefit other women in their communities. - Community ownership: partnerships with parents and other gatekeepers Established networks and trust within communities are widely cited as indispensable assets in the implementation of activities that address sensitive issues. When working with adolescent girls, who seldom have a voice in the public sphere, it is critical to create an enabling community environment through community mobilisation and involvement. Consulting, engaging with and securing buy-in from religious leaders and religious scholars may be very important in informing and developing strategies of resilience to any backlash. Parents and adult community members are critical gatekeepers to changing the social institutions that support CEFM and hamper girls' bodily integrity and sexual agency. Securing their support from the outset can help reduce resistance and identify allies and partners. - Addressing gender norms and challenging stereotypes about femininity and masculinity by engaging men and boys as active agents of change for gender equality Challenging inequitable gender norms is at the core of successful gender-transformative programming and is a critical approach for achieving sexual and reproductive health rights and CEFM outcomes. Besides working with girls and women, most successful approaches not only involve, educate, and empower men and boys, but challenge them to understand and reject their privilege, toxic masculinities, and to hold other men and boys accountable. To achieve this, successful programmes tap into young men's interests, whether through a particular vehicle for intervention (e.g., sports), or through its content and messaging (e.g., tailored to incorporate key issues facing young men). - Careful selection, training, and ongoing support of teachers, mentors and facilitators based on clear, well-articulated, and fully agreed principles The attitudes and aptitudes of teachers, mentors, or facilitators around content areas such as sex and gender are key to the successful implementation of the programmes. The selection process should include assessment of a candidate's ability and willingness to teach the curriculum. For example, they must be fully accepting of different aspects of sexuality and should address any prejudices or discomfort they may have beforehand (e.g. with regard to homosexuality or sex before marriage). Before a programme starts, some organisations conduct "values clarification" exercises to ensure whoever is delivering the curriculum fully embraces feminist principles of equal and inalienable rights. While conducting gender-transformative training and "staff transformation" is embedded in the theory of change of a few organisations or programmes, the training and support of teachers, mentors, and facilitators remains a weak component of many organisations. Finally, to ensure consistent and appropriate messaging, it is necessary to regularly follow up with teachers, mentors, and facilitators. - Learning oriented program design, monitoring, and evaluation using evidence-based approaches A core set of learning and evaluation technical capacities were deemed essential to the sustained development, monitoring, and implementation of integrated programming over the long term. These capacities include sufficient monitoring and evaluation (M&E) experience, including participatory approaches; and the capacity to design, implement, and learn from gender-transformative programming. Learning focused M&E provides a basis for course-correction of existing programmes, including the design of additional programme elements that address any critical needs that may emerge. Investing in baseline research and other contextual analysis is also crucial to ensure that programming is clearly and appropriately fine-tuned to achieve results. Moreover, solid baselines are essential for project evaluation and can inform recruiting and retention techniques, as well as other areas of programme design. In some cases, robust evaluation results proved critical in making the case for scaling programmes up, or in ensuring that governments institutionalise programmes. - Ensuring sustainability and developing programmes on a long-term basis Achieving sustainability during and beyond programme implementation requires multi-pronged approaches and strategies that involve working with communities, government, and other stakeholders. Patriarchal gender norms and conceptions of sexuality are deeply rooted and normalised, making the process of ensuring sustainable change around gender and social norms (especially around sexuality) a complex one. Sustainable change requires patience, time, and continuity. Therefore, programmes should be long-term and with adequate resources to support them over time. RECOMMENDATIONS The forthcoming full review and findings will illustrate a substantial number of grassroots organisations working at the intersections of sexuality and CEFM, including some in highly restrictive settings. Based on the review, recommendations emerged for the broader field as well as programme implementers, funders, researchers, and advocates. A comprehensive conceptual framework is needed One critical recommendation emerging from the review is the need for a comprehensive conceptual framework for this type of work. The lack of a conceptual framework on the link between sexuality and CEFM or any agreed-upon measures of success may have negative implications for donors' willingness to fund sexuality work, which obstructs funding flows, dilutes the coherence and effectiveness of programme implementation, and hampers the adequate evaluation of results. It is important that a conceptual framework establishes common measurements and creates robust yet flexible definitions of success. Within CEFM work, it is important to prioritise indicators based on access to services and autonomous decision-making and quality of life in addition to age of marriage. Solely age-focused measures often ignore larger issues of gender inequality as well as issues of choice and consent about their lives and bodies. This conceptual framework should not only focus on the individuals but also seek to describe the ways in which communities and institutions determine and enforce social norms that govern sexuality for all persons, with particular attention to age and gender. Further discussion, research and guidance needed on criminalisation of adolescent sexuality Discussion, research and guidance is needed regarding the criminalisation of adolescent sexuality. Many organisations find themselves in the conundrum of how to respond to the intersections of control of girls' sexuality and CEFM in a way that respects girls' aspirations and desires while also recognising that social norms influence or restrict girls' choices in and outside of marriage. Recommendations for programme implementers 1. Empower girls to be advocates for themselves, create alternative pathways, and give young girls the skills needed to make changes in their lives possible. Programming should put gender-transformative work with girls at the centre. In order to reduce CEFM, it is imperative that programme implementers investigate and generate alternative choices and opportunities (for example advocating for additional years of schooling or income generating opportunities) so that girls and their families can refuse early marriage and not be at risk of sexual shaming, bullying, and physical attacks. Married and unmarried girls of all ages should be included in programming. It is critical to address issues of CEFM by examining the attitudes that underpin the perceived need to regulate girls' sexuality and push them into marriage. 2. Involve men and boys in programming. Work strategically and intentionally with boys and men to mutually reinforce and create a supportive environment for young girls to develop as autonomous individuals. Furthermore, working with boys from an early age is an important approach to challenge and change harmful norms regarding gender and sexuality. More creative approaches need to be developed to bring adult men in as partners for gender equality and to create opportunities. 3. Use an intergenerational approach. Empowering girls to better express their needs, wants and desires so that parents understand and value their daughters' aspirations is critical. Intergenerational approaches can create a more supportive environment within the home so that young people feel comfortable expressing themselves to parents. Intergenerational approaches may also enhance communities' understanding of the lived realities of married girls and women and allow for a broader understanding of how the institution of marriage can be used to limit girls' voices and choices. Approaches cannot focus only on prevention of early or forced marriage but must address the needs of already married girls. 4. Build partnerships with communities and governments to ensure sustainability during and beyond the programme. Sexuality is a relational phenomenon based in power structures and it cannot be addressed without involving individuals, families, communities and governments. Structural approaches that work at the different levels of the ecological model to decrease gender inequality and increased sexual autonomy are important to pursue. Without community-led approaches that bring together multiple stakeholders, programmes will not be successful in the medium or long term. A key aspect of building partnerships is developing trust and ensuring that information gathered is not only accurate but also created within a safe space. Additionally, there is a need to create messages that are appropriate across different levels and to be responsive to the differing needs of stakeholder groups. Doing so requires time, patience, negotiation skills and resources, all of which must be carefully planned for. 5. Mainstream gender-transformative approaches that include sexuality at all organisational levels. It is important that programmers are well-trained and feel comfortable discussing taboo issues. A critical part of the training should be "values clarification" and building meaningful girl engagement skills. Organisations working in this field need to build their internal capacity for gender-transformative programming and embed the practice of self-reflection on gender and sexuality within their organisations and their theories of change. 6. More specific gender-transformative work on sexuality that is inclusive of the most marginalised girls, including girls with disabilities or of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities is needed. The sexuality of people with disabilities - especially girls and young women - is widely overlooked by most programmes. Furthermore, work to encompass sexual orientation and gender identity should be further explored. Many programmes are gender-binary and only a few discuss or work to address these issues in detail. 7. Review all the additional key factors of success articulated in this report and study the feasibility of tailoring different approaches to different contexts, particularly mitigation strategies for backlash. For example, rigid processes and standardised project management procedures might not always be adequate when working on sexuality. It is advisable to include language in project proposals about the need for adaptive programming and high levels of flexibility (which might also have an impact on budgets), and incorporate well-articulated risk and mitigation strategies accordingly. Details: New York, NY: American Jewish World Service, 2018. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 14, 2019 at: https://ajws.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Tackling-the-Taboo.pdf Year: 2018 Country: International URL: https://www.girlsnotbrides2018.org/what-does-gender-transformative-sexuality-programming-look-like-and-why-does-it-matter/ Shelf Number: 154155 Keywords: AdolescentsChild MarriageEvidence-Based ApproachesForced MarriageGender InequalityGender NormsGender-Transformative ApproachesViolence Against Women, Girls |
Author: Sathyanarayanan, Sunethra Title: Iraq - Country Overview. A report on the scale, scope and context of the sexual exploitation of children Summary: Iraq has a total population of more than 37 million, of which 47% are children. Years of conflict, including insurgency from the militant group Da'esh (also known as ISIL) and hosting up to 250,00 refugees from neighbouring Syria, have exacerbated the range of risks that children face, including to sexual exploitation. Boys and girls from persecuted groups have faced high levels of sexual violence and exploitation either through recruitment into ISIL forces or through sexual enslavement by its members. Other children resorted to survival sex in desperation to escape the environment of violence and abuse and the lack of livelihood opportunities. Poverty and extremely limited opportunities force people, including boys and girls into exploitative conditions in order to survive or provide for their families. Boys have reported being required to provide sexual services to receive their wages in some working conditions. Girls escaping violence, abuse, forced marriages or so-called 'honour killings' are exploited by recruiters. Details of elaborate systems established for trafficking women and girls have been reported in areas previously controlled by ISIL. National law enforcement and protection systems are stretched beyond breaking point, which has led to situations that allow child sex offenders to abuse with impunity. Instances of sexual exploitation of children through prostitution have been reportedly protected by complicit police and security forces. Instances of IDP and refugee At a Glance camp administrators have also been exposed as demanding sex, including with children, for food. Sharp increases in access to technology see 80% of 15-year olds having access to a mobile phone, with many also online via these devices. Risks are increased from the big generational gap in Internet use meaning parents are unaware of the risks to online sexual exploitation that children face. Cases of sexual extortion where perpetrators threaten to expose private images have been reported that can lead to ongoing instances of sexual exploitation or even trafficking. Since the retreat of ISIL forces in 2017, tourism has surged, particularly in the more stable Kurdistan Region of Iraq region, with tourist numbers hitting 1.3 million within the first half of 2018. As tourism grows, so may sexual exploitation of children in this context. While the legal age for marriage is 18, many marriages are conducted outside the formal legal system without registration, meaning child marriage rates are likely to be higher than the roughly 24% of girls that has been reported. Child marriage can be viewed as a protection mechanism. For example, it was used to prevent girls being married to men associated with ISIL, or families in poverty benefit from bride price. Fasliya marriages (gifting a female to another tribe through marriage) are also practiced in some areas, particularly the south of the country. Details: Bangkok, Thailand: ECPAT International, 2019. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 4, 2019 at: https://www.ecpat.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Iraq-ECPAT-International-Country-Overview-Report-2019.pdf Year: 2019 Country: Iraq URL: https://www.ecpat.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Iraq-ECPAT-International-Country-Overview-Report-2019.pdf Shelf Number: 155622 Keywords: Child MarriageChild ProstitutionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationSexual Abuse |
Author: Tahirih Justice Center Title: Forced Marriage in Immigrant Communities in the United States: 2011 National Survey Results Summary: Forced marriage is a serious problem in the United States today, with as many as 3,000 known and suspected cases identified in just two years by respondents of Tahirih Justice Center survey. The fact that potentially thousands of young women and girls from immigrant communities may face forced marriages each year in the United States is alarming and demands attention. Details: Falls Church, Virginia: Tahirih Justice Center, 2011. 11p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 18, 2019 at: https://www.tahirih.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/REPORT-Tahirih-Survey-on-Forced-Marriage-in-Immigrant-Communities-in-the-United-States.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: https://www.tahirih.org/pubs/forced-marriage-in-immigrant-communities-in-the-united-states/ Shelf Number: 156484 Keywords: Child MarriageForced MarriageImmigrant CommunitiesImmigrants |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: "I Felt Like the World Was Falling Down on Me": Adolescent Girls' Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the Dominican Republic Summary: Adolescent girls in the Dominican Republic are being denied their sexual and reproductive rights, including access to safe abortion. "I Felt Like the World Was Falling Down on Me" documents how authorities have stalled the rollout of a long-awaited sexuality education program, leaving hundreds of thousands of adolescent girls and boys without scientifically accurate information about their health. The country has the highest teen pregnancy rate in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). The country's total ban on abortion means an adolescent girl facing an unwanted pregnancy must continue that pregnancy against her wishes or obtain a clandestine abortion, often at great risk to her health and even her life. Human Rights Watch urges authorities to carry out a new plan for comprehensive sexuality education and decriminalize abortion to curb unwanted teen pregnancy and reduce unsafe abortion. Details: New York: Author, 2019. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 26, 2019 at: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/drd0619_web2.pdf Year: 2019 Country: Dominican Republic URL: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/drd0619_web2.pdf Shelf Number: 156705 Keywords: AbortionChild MarriageHuman Rights AbusesSex Education |