Early Marriage and Fertility Decision-Making among Conflict-affected and Displaced Adolescents in Bangladesh and Yemen

Principal Investigators: Linnea Zimmerman and Courtland Robinson, Johns Hopkins University

Research Snapshot: How do humanitarian crises affect adolescent marriage and childbearing?

This mixed methods study in Yemen and Bangladesh found that displacement and conflict exacerbated child marriage and childbearing, while adolescent SRH programmes primarily focused on prevention and did not reach those already married.

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What did the study set out to achieve?

Child marriage (marriage or informal union before age 18) and childbearing among adolescents impact health and wellbeing. High rates of child marriage in Yemen and among the Rohingya living in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh may reflect pre-existing vulnerabilities, such as poverty and lack of education, and factors arising from conflict and displacement, such as sexual violence. This study set out to explore various drivers of child marriage and childbearing to understand the relationship between family formation, displacement, and social pressures. It generates insights that could inform adolescent sexual and reproductive health programs in humanitarian settings

What were the key findings?

• In Yemen, rates of child marriage were high, with displaced individuals slightly more likely (37.8%) to have experienced child marriage than non-displaced (34.5%). Child brides started childbearing earlier; though they waited longer after marriage compared to girls who married over the age of 18.
• In Bangladesh, approximately 25% girls and 7% of boys were married before age 18. Displacement appeared to lead to higher child marriage that has declined over time. Regardless of age at marriage, girls proceeded rapidly to childbearing.
• In both settings, the potential social consequences of appearing infertile motivated child brides to have children quickly, as young women feared partner abandonment and stigma.
• While socio-economic pressures such as entrenched gender norms and lack of educational and economic opportunity were drivers in both contexts, displacement and conflict exacerbated these and influenced child marriage or childbearing.
• Adolescent SRH programs in both settings primarily focus on prevention of child marriage. Once married, adolescents did not receive SRH education and outreach efforts.

What does this mean for policymakers and practitioners?

Findings point to complex drivers of high rates of family formation in both Yemen and Bangladesh. Adolescent sexual and reproductive health programs must explicitly address social pressures to have children rapidly upon marriage and identify intervention points for contraceptive programmes in the post-partum period to ensure young brides can access SRH and family planning services after their first child.

Policymakers and practitioners must be aware of the underlying social and cultural factors that affect decision making, including entrenched gender norms (as in the Rohingya communities) and related to religious faith (as in Yemen).

Lack of educational opportunities and poverty are known to be critical underlying drivers of early marriage. Interventions that provide girls and their families with access to education, training and other opportunities should be prioritised.