The ‘Demand Side’ of Child Marriage

Abstract

In South Sudan, child marriage is often positioned as a cultural practice tied to conflict and displacement as well as gender norms affirming that girls should marry. Based on findings of a multi-sectoral gender assessment conducted by Save the Children in Rumbek, Torit, Malualkon, Bor and Kapoeta, our paper draws attention to multiple, connected drivers of child marriage. Drawing specifically on findings related to child marriage, we suggest the need to understand child marriage in the context of cycles of poverty and inter-clan fighting. In many communities, cattle form the basis for the ‘bride price’, driving cattle raiding, due to pressure on males to marry. The ability to pay the bride price may be an indicator of manhood in some pastoralist communities of South Sudan. We suggest that while humanitarian interventions tend to fixate on empowering girls or addressing gender norms girls face, less attention is placed on the ‘demand side’ of child marriage – on the gender norms pushing boys and men to marry girls. Our paper emphasises the importance of tackling norms from both the perspective of girls as well as boys and men within a broader context of improving livelihoods in South Sudan.

Scope, range and effectiveness of interventions to address social norms to prevent and delay child marriage and empower adolescent girls: a systematic review

“…While momentum has built around better conceptualisation and measurement of norms in preventing child marriage over the past 10 years, greater consensus is needed on prioritised norms and pathways of change. Ultimately, consensus on how to approach normative change in child marriage programming requires building agreement across a range of stakeholders 47. Conducting a Delphi study to gain greater clarity could contribute to building agreement on a set of domains, questions and a shared framework for measurement 48.…”

“…Ultimately, consensus on how to approach normative change in child marriage programming requires building agreement across a range of stakeholders. 47 Conducting a Delphi study to gain greater clarity could contribute to building agreement on a set of domains, questions and a shared framework for measurement. 48 Our findings underscore, for example, the need to test economic interventions as one element of social norms programming.…”

Systematic scoping review of interventions to prevent and respond to child marriage across Africa: progress, gaps and priorities

“…More uniform definition and measurement of empowerment-related concepts is needed. Further, empowerment interventions often operate on the individual, yet the marital relationship context contributes to determining a person’s ability to make decisions on their own behalf 79…”