Child marriage in Africa under the age of 18

Source: Afri-dev.info (2015). www.afri-dev.info
Globally, 21% of women are married before the age of 18 and an estimated 650 million girls and women alive today were married as children, while 12 million girls under the age of 18 are married each year, according to data from UNICEF (2020). A quarter of these girls live in sub-Saharan African countries and of the 20 countries with the highest rate of early marriage, 18 are on the African continent.
Child marriage is defined as any formal marriage or informal union where at least one of the contracting parties or both are under 18 years of age. This practice occurs throughout the world and is affected by gender inequalities since it is 5 times more common in girls than in boys.
In The Gambia, a National Strategic Child Protection Plan was launched in 2016 that centralized the issue of child marriage as a problem to be addressed due to its high rates. So, in this year the legal age for marriage was raised from 18 years and child marriage now is considered a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison, both for the parents and the spouse of the minor. However, despite efforts to decrease the prevalence of the practice through legislation, it remains common in the territory, where 36% of women in their 20 to 24 years have been married underage (UNFPA-UNICEF, 2018).
This map has been designed as an interactive online tool, available internationally and with the possibility of being updated periodically. To elaborate it, Wassu Gambia Kafo developed and administered KAP surveys (Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices) on child marriage in The Gambia, so it offers a visual representation of the distribution of the results by region of residence. Age, gender and ethnic group were other criteria chosen in the investigation and, to support this visual map, an article with mixed methods analysis has been prepared.
On the other hand, the map includes a directory of entities that work or have worked on the issue in the Gambian context. This section aims to give visibility to the main social actors, promoting networking and the generation of synergies.
Questions
Do you think it is right to force a girl or woman into marriage?
1
Is child marriage practiced in your family/household?
4
Do you think child marriage should continue?
2
If you had a daughter, would you marry her off as a child?
5
Does child marriage have negative consequences?
3
Would you support any law banning child marriage?
6
2. CHILD MARRIAGE IN THE GAMBIA BY REGION
Do you think child marriage should continue?
YES
Central
River Region
70%
30%
Greater
Banjul Area
81%
19%
Lower River
Region
64%
36%
North Bank
East
60%
38%
North Bank
West
56%
42%
Upper River
Region
56%
42%
West Coast
Region.1
84%
16%
West Coast
Region.2
78%
22%

NO 81% - YES 19% ---- Greater Banjul Area
NO 64% - YES 36% ---- Lower River Region
NO 56% - YES 42% ---- Upper River Region
NO 84% - YES 16% ---- West Coast Region 1
NO 78% - YES 22% ---- West Coast Region 2
Question 2
Do you think child marriage should continue?
DIRECTORY – ENTITIES WORKING ON CHILD MARRIAGE

Child Fund The Gambia
E-mail:
mmbye@childfund.org
Webpage:
www.childfund.org/Gambia

GAMCOTRAP
The Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (GAMCOTRAP)
E-mail:
info@gamcotrap.org
Webpage:
thegirlsagenda.org

The Girls’ Agenda

Network Against Gender Based Violence
E-mail:
info@networkgbv.org
Webpage:
www.networkgbv.com

Safe Hands for Girls
E-mail:
info@safehandsforgirls.org
Webpage:
www.safehandsforgirls.org

Society for the study of women’s health (SSWH)
E-mail:
sswhgambia@gmail.com
Webpage:
www.sswhgam.com

Think Young Women (TYW)
E-mail:
thinkyoungwomen@gmail.com
Webpage:
thinkyoungwomen.org

Wassu Gambia Kafo

Women4Health

The Gambia National Assembly
The Gambia National Assembly
(Select Committee on Health, Women, Children, Disaster, Humanitarian Relief and Refugees)
E-mail:
clerk@assembly.gm / nationalassembly32@gmail.com
Webpage: www.assembly.gm

Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education
E-mail:
webmaster@edugambia.gm
Webpage:
www.edugambia.gm

Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare
Webpage:
www.mowcsw.gov.gm

UNFPA
E-mail:
info.gambia@unfpa.org
Webpage:
gambia.unfpa.org
