Informe sobre uniones tempranas en México: Resumen Ejecutivo
Objectives
The report aims to describe how common early unions are among girls aged 12–17 in Mexico and how they vary across regions and population groups. It seeks to examine how early unions relate to school dropout, adolescent pregnancy and girls’ living arrangements. It also aims to explore the reasons why girls enter early, often informal, unions and to identify priority issues for public policy and programmes.
Findings
The report finds that early unions are frequent and highly unequal across states, with higher levels in poorer and indigenous areas. Most early unions are informal, and girls in unions are much more likely to be out of school and to have begun childbearing than those not in unions. Many girls live with their partner’s family and have partners who are much older, which increases power imbalances and limits their autonomy. Qualitative evidence shows that unions often follow unplanned pregnancies, family conflict, violence or high control at home and that they are shaped by norms that link adulthood with partnership and motherhood and by a lack of attractive educational and economic opportunities.
Recommendations
The authors recommend that policies go beyond legal reforms on minimum age of marriage and address the broader reality of informal early unions. They argue for expanding access to quality secondary education and decent work options for girls, especially in high-prevalence regions, and for improving adolescent sexual and reproductive health services that are responsive to girls in and out of unions. They also call for interventions that tackle restrictive gender norms and family violence, strengthen social support for adolescent girls and improve data and research on early unions to guide targeted action.
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