Fragile states, fragile lives: Child marriage amid disaster and conflict

All but one of the top ten countries with the highest prevalence of child marriage is on the OECD list of fragile states.

This working paper explores how the onset of conflict and natural disasters creates additional economic constraints for families, increases the risk of sexual violence towards girls and women and weakens social institutions designed to protect them. The culmination of these factors increases the risk of child marriage for girls as families look to provide additional protection and economic stability for their daughters.

The report calls for a better understanding of the drivers of child marriage in conflict affected regions to enable stronger and more effective intervention strategies.