Building interventions on existing gender and sexuality information-sharing in communities

Although inequitable norms related to gender and sexuality are the primary drivers of child marriage, discussing sexuality within the community is considered taboo in many societies. Practitioners often perceive the taboo of talking about sexuality and conservative norms as a barrier to interventions. This article explores how child marriage interventions can build upon traditional ways of sharing knowledge about gender and sexuality while reorienting social norms away from child marriage. To successfully open discussions about child marriage, gender and sexuality, creating community ownership is vital. This paper explores existing ways in which communities share information about gender and sexuality with children and provides positive examples of how local practices can be transformed to empower girls.