A Mixed Methods Study on Child Marriage in The Gambia

  • Adriana Kaplan Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
  • Beatriz Escaño Wassu-UAB Foundation, Spain
  • Júlia Perarnau Wassu-UAB Foundation, Spain
  • Segga Sanyang Wassu Gambia Kafo, The Gambia
  • Salieu J Kandeh Wassu Gambia Kafo, The Gambia
Keywords: Child marriage, The Gambia, Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices

Abstract

Child marriage is a human rights violation that is often rooted in strong gender inequalities (UNICEF, 2022). This article presents the results of a mixed methods study conducted in The Gambia, deepening understanding of why the practice remains widespread throughout the country and in West and Central Africa, which have one of the highest levels of child marriage in the world. The study explores the arguments and factors that come into play to defend or take a position against child marriage, establishing for this the differences between knowledge, attitudes and practices and taking into account different variables such as age, gender, ethnicity and region of residence.

Author Biographies

Adriana Kaplan, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain

Chair of Knowledge Transfer, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Building B - Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 – Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Spain. E-mail: adriana.kaplan@uab.cat; Tel. +34 93 581 12 39; https://www.uab.cat/web/-1263801907341.html

 
Beatriz Escaño, Wassu-UAB Foundation, Spain

Fundación Wassu-UAB, L’Àgora (Edifici R), Plaça Cívica Campus Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona 08193 - Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Spain. E-mail: beatriz.escano@uab.cat; Tel. +34 673 294 118; https://www.uab.cat/fundacio-wassu/

Júlia Perarnau, Wassu-UAB Foundation, Spain

Fundación Wassu-UAB, L’Àgora (Edifici R), Plaça Cívica Campus Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona 08193 - Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Spain. E-mail: julia.perarnau@uab.cat; Tel. +34 673 294 118; https://www.uab.cat/fundacio-wassu/

Segga Sanyang, Wassu Gambia Kafo, The Gambia

Wassu Gambia Kafo, Kololi New Road, Kanifing Municipality, PO Box 4533 - Bakau, The Gambia. E-mail: segga.wgk@gmail.com; Tel. +220 733 75 83

 

Salieu J Kandeh, Wassu Gambia Kafo, The Gambia

Wassu Gambia Kafo, Kololi New Road, Kanifing Municipality, PO Box 4533 - Bakau, The Gambia. E-mail: salieu.wgk@gmail.com; Tel. +220 733 75 83

References

Abera, M., Nega, A., Tefera, Y., & Gelegay, A. A. (2020). Early marriage and women’s empowerment: the case of child-brides in Amhara National Regional State. BMC International Health and Human Rights. 20:30.
Bicchieri, C., Jiang, T., & Lindemans, J. (2014) A Social Norms Perspective on Child Marriage: The General Framework. Behaivoral Ethics Lab: University of Pennsylvania, USA.
Center for Human Rights. (2018). A Report on Child Marriage in Africa. Stefisyn, Karen & Painting, Kate (eds.) University of Pretoria.
Fundación Wassu-UAB. (2021). Para dialogar con conocimiento: un estudio sobre los Matrimonios Forzados en España. Bellaterra: Fundació Wassu-UAB.
Horii, H. (2020). Walking a thin line: Taking children’s decision to marry seriously? Sage Journals. Norwegian Centre for Child Research, 27(2):254-270.
Johansson, N. (2015). Child marriage: the underlying reasons and possible solutions. Linneaus University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Social Studies.
Jouhki, J., & Stark, L. (2017). Causes and Motives of Early Marriage in The Gambia and Tanzania. Is new legislation enough? Poverty and Development Working Papers. University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
Kaplan, A. (1998). De Senegambia a Cataluña: procesos de aculturación e integración social. X Premio de Investigación en Ciencias Sociales Dr Rogeli Duocastella, Fundación La Caixa, Barcelona.
Kaplan, A., Cham, B., Njie, L., Seixas, A., Blanco S., & Utzet M. (2013). "Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: The Secret World of Women as Seen by Men". Obstetrics and Gynecology International, vol. 2013, Article ID 643780.
Lowe, H., Kenny, L., Hassan, R., Loraine, J., Njoroge, P., Apenem Dagadu, N., Hossain, M., & Cislaghi, B. (2021). If she gets married when she is young, she will give birth to many kids”: a qualitative study of child marriage practices amongst nomadic pastoralist communities in Kenya. Culture, Health & Sexuality.
Lowe, M., Joof, M., & Mendez Rojas, B. (2019). Social and cultural factors perpetuating early marriage in rural Gambia: an exploratory mixed methods study. F1000 Research, 8: 1949.
Mobolaji, J., Fatusi, A., & Adedini, S. (2020). Ethnicity, religious affiliation and girl-child marriage: a cross-sectional study of nationally representative sample of female adolescents in Nigeria. BMC Public Health, 20:583.
Raj, A., Saggurti, N., Lawrence, D., Balaiah, D., & Silverman, J. G. (2010). Association between adolescent marriage and marital violence among young adult women in India. International journal of gynecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 110(1), 35-39.
Schaffnit, S. B., Urassa, M., Wamoyi, J., Dardoumpa, M., & Lawson, D. W. (2021). “I have never seen something like that”: Discrepances between lived experiences and the global health concept of child marriage in northen Tanzania. PLos ONE, 16(4).
UNICEF. (2015). Child marriage, Adolescent pregnancy and Family formation in West and Central Africa.
UNICEF. (2017). Achieving a future without child marriage. Focus on West and Central Africa.
UNICEF. (2022). Child marriage threatens the lives, well-being and futures of girls around the world.
UNFPA-UNICEF. (2018). Girls not brides. Child Marriage in West and Central Africa. The Global Partnership to end Child Marriage.
UNFPA-UNICEF. (2020). Global Programme to End Child Marriage Phase I Report (2016-2019).
World Vision. (2014). Exploring the links: Female genital mutilation/cutting and early marriage.
If you have or would have a daughter, would you marry her off as a child? Distribution by ethnic group
Published
2022-12-12
How to Cite
Kaplan, A., Escaño, B., Perarnau, J., Sanyang, S., & Kandeh, S. (2022, December 12). A Mixed Methods Study on Child Marriage in The Gambia. Humanities and Social Science Research, 5(3), p26. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.30560/hssr.v5n3p26
Section
Articles