Prevalence of intimate partner violence among child marriage victims and the comparison with adult marriages: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Summary & Objectives
This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesises global evidence on the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) among women who were married as children and compares their IPV risk with women married in adulthood. Drawing on data from 38 studies across 65 countries, the study aims to quantify both lifetime and past-12-month IPV among child marriage survivors, assess excess risk relative to adult marriage, and examine whether this elevated risk persists into adulthood. By producing pooled global estimates, the study seeks to inform policy, prevention strategies, and resource allocation at the intersection of child marriage and gender-based violence.
Findings
The analysis shows a high and persistent burden of IPV among women who experienced child marriage. Globally, 35% of women married as children reported experiencing IPV over their lifetime, and 24% reported IPV in the past 12 months. Compared with women married as adults, child marriage survivors had significantly higher odds of experiencing IPV both over their lifetime and in the previous year, with particularly elevated risks for physical and sexual violence. Importantly, these excess risks did not disappear with age; women who married as children continued to face higher IPV exposure even after reaching adulthood. The findings were robust across sensitivity analyses and nationally representative data, underscoring child marriage as a long-term structural risk factor for IPV rather than a transient vulnerability.
Recommendations
The findings highlight an urgent need for integrated strategies that address child marriage and IPV as interlinked, lifelong risks. Interventions to prevent and respond to IPV should explicitly prioritise women married as children, including those who are now adults, rather than focusing solely on adolescents. Policy efforts to end child marriage must be accelerated alongside targeted IPV prevention, survivor support, and economic and educational interventions that reduce women’s dependence and exposure to violence. Without sustained, gender-transformative action that tackles both harmful norms and structural inequalities, the cycle linking child marriage and IPV is likely to persist across generations.
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