While considerable attention has been given to the health consequences of child marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), limited studies exist on its impact on intimate partner violence (IPV) in the region. We address this gap by examining the link between child marriage and IPV. We tested our study hypothesis using demographic and health survey data of 28,206 young women aged 20-24 years from 16 SSA countries with recent surveys (2015-2019). Binary logistic regression models were used to examine the effect of child marriage on IPV. Child marriage prevalence ranged from 13.5% in Rwanda, in East Africa, to 77% in Chad, in Central Africa, while IPV ranged from 17.5% in Mozambique in Southern Africa to 42% in Uganda, in East Africa. Past year experience of IPV was higher among young women who married or begun cohabiting before the age of 18 (36.9%) than those who did at age 18 or more (32.5%). This result was consistent for all forms of violence: physical violence (22.7% vs 19.7%), emotional violence (25.3% vs 21.9%), and sexual violence (12% vs 10.4%). After controlling for covariates, we found that young women in SSA who married before 18 years were more likely to experience IPV than those who married as adults (AOR: 1.20; 95% CI [1.12, 1.29]). Significant heterogeneity was observed in the country-level results, with a higher likelihood of IPV found in 14 of the 16 countries and lower in Angola and Chad. Child marriage is associated with a higher likelihood of IPV in most SSA countries, suggesting that ending child marriage will result in a substantial reduction in IPV. There is a need to institute policies to support and protect women who marry as children from abusive relationships in SSA.

No abstract

No abstract

Crossing the culturally perceived appropriate marriage age, especially for single ladies is deviant in some societies, so also is advanced academic (“Akada”) pursuit for women. The experience of falling within both categories might be confounding, yet, have not received much research attention. This study explored how, this social ‘comorbidity’ informs social relations of this category. The study adopted phenomenological approach. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were held with 20 never-married ladies who were either undergoing or have obtained their Ph.D. The involuntarily never-married “akada” ladies reported the popular opinion that too much academic degree keeps men on the run as a major concern. They also shared basic coping strategies and perceived benefit of their dual status. While some never-married “akada” women fail to notice this socially conceived ills in other to advance, the ill-opinions was reported to debar many never-married ladies from taking conscious effort towards getting additional degree for improvement. Finally, the study reveals that the popular negative opinion about the “Akada” ladies somewhat further reinforces their singlehood, and better explains their protracted singlehood than the rhetoric of never-married “akada” ladies being too busy. Hence, the need for a re-orientation.

The majority of children living within institutional care have a history of neglect. Past studies have identified developmental challenges with children in institutional care, for which reasons, orphanages must be transitional. However, placement of some children living in the orphan homes remains difficult. Through an in-depth interview with orphanage managers, social workers, prospective and successful adopters, and foster mothers, the study situates the diverse encumbrances to child placement in observed irregularities within three stages (entry, within the home, and at the exit point) of children’s contact with the orphan homes. The study found that unresolved regulation on the duration for custody of children in orphan homes impedes the placement of children who are merely kept for care and protection. Lack of response to the basic care needs of children within orphan homes poorly influence their chances for adoption, and sometimes disrupt placement processes. Also the legal preference for domestic adoption discourages and sabotages efforts toward inter-country placement of children who are not locally desired. These result into prolonged stay of children in orphan homes, and as such, children outgrow either adoption or fosterage. Child protection policy direction must, therefore, be value-laden, and informed by the unique system/society realities. This study, specifically, makes a case for more political interest in children living in orphan homes.