Trends in child marriage, sexual violence, early sexual intercourse and the challenges for policy interventions to meet the sustainable development goals
Summary & Objectives
The study aimed to describe changes in the prevalence of child marriage, sexual violence and early sexual intercourse in low- and middle-income countries between 1990 and 2020. It sought to identify where progress is occurring, where rates are stagnating or increasing, and how these trends can inform multisectoral public health and policy interventions to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.
Findings
The analysis of 137 low- and middle-income countries shows that child marriage before ages 15 and 18, as well as early sexual intercourse before age 15, have declined in most settings, although progress is uneven and some countries show rising or unchanged rates. A small group of countries, including Niger, the Central African Republic and Chad, continue to have very high child marriage prevalence, while trends in sexual violence are mixed, with declines in countries such as Zambia and Senegal but increases in Nigeria and persistent data gaps for many others. The authors highlight that more rapid progress is associated with broader advances in education, employment opportunities and reductions in gender inequality, but that limited, inconsistent and poorly disaggregated data constrain understanding and targeting of policy responses.
Recommendations
The study recommends that policymakers scale up policies and programmes that expand girls’ education, improve employment prospects and tackle deep-rooted gender inequality, as these appear most promising for sustaining declines in child marriage and related harms. It calls for stronger and more standardised monitoring systems, including age- and sex-disaggregated indicators on child marriage, sexual violence and early sexual intercourse, so that countries with stalled or worsening trends can be identified and supported. The authors also urge greater sharing of lessons from successful multisectoral and behaviour-change programmes to guide national and local public health interventions.
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