Drivers and consequences of child marriage in a context of protracted displacement: a qualitative study among Syrian refugees in Egypt

Abstract

Background Child marriage is a human rights violation disproportionately impacting girls in low- and middle-income countries. In the Middle East region, conflict and displacement have prompted concerns that families are increasingly resorting to child marriage to cope with economic insecurity and fears from sexual violence. This study set out to examine child marriage among Syrian refugees residing in Egypt with the aim of understanding drivers of child marriage in this context of displacement as well as how child marriage affects refugee girls’ wellbeing. Methods This analysis draws from 15 focus group discussions (FGD) conducted with married and unmarried girls, as well as parents of adolescent girls in three governorates in Egypt. FGDs included a participatory ranking exercise and photo-elicitation. Additionally, we conducted 29 in-depth interviews with girls and mothers, as well as 28 key informant interviews with health providers, community leaders, and humanitarian actors. The data was thematically analyzed using a combination of inductive and deductive coding. Results A prevalent phenomenon in pre-war Syria, child marriage has been sustained after the influx of Syrian refugees into Egypt by pre-existing cultural traditions and gender norms that prioritize the role of girls as wives and mothers. However, displacement into Egypt engendered different responses. For some families, displacement-specific challenges such as disruptions to girls’ education, protection concerns, and livelihood insecurity were found to exacerbate girls’ vulnerability to child marriage. For others, however, displacement into urban areas in Egypt may have contributed to the erosion of social norms that favored child marriage, leading to marriage postponement. Among girls who were married early, we identified a range of negative health and social consequences, including lack of family planning use, disruption to schooling and curtailment of girls’ mobility as well as challenges with marriage and birth registration which accentuated their vulnerability. Conclusion Efforts to address child marriage among Syrian refugees must acknowledge the different ways in which displacement can influence child marriage attitudes and practices and should capitalize on positive changes that have the potential to catalyze social norm change. Moreover, targeted, focused and contextualized interventions should not only focus on preventing child marriage but also on mitigating its impacts.

Child Marriage in Relation to the Syrian Conflict: Jordanian and Syrian Adolescents' Perspectives

“…Social influence within and outside the Syrian community emerged in our study as being an opportunity to challenge norms related to CM. A study conducted among Syrian refugees in Egypt found that displacement into urban areas may erode social norms that favor CM [24]. The results of our study point to a similar trend, and the encouraging intermingling between Jordanian and Syrian communities may be one way to challenge the acceptance of the practice.…”

“…Similarly, Syrians' fears over girls' protection from sexual, verbal, and physical harassment in Turkey were thought to result in the increased acceptance and practice of CM [5]. Syrian refugees in Egypt found that some girls faced increased vulnerability due to interruption of their education; however, conversely, social integration in urban areas influenced some refugees to challenge the practice of CM girls [6].…”

“…However, there continues to be resistance to closing the legal loopholes that allow the practice to continue [15]. Furthermore, the strain on the school system has posed challenges in Jordanian host communities, and some girls have faced disruption in their educations as a result, which has been found to be important in other settings with Syrian refugees [6]. Within the domain of resources, financial insecurity has been exacerbated by the conflict and drives parents to offload their daughters due to economic vulnerabilities within the household, benefit from their dowry, or reap the social and economic benefits of marrying outside of the refugee community [16,17].…”

Developing a sexual and reproductive health educational intervention for adolescent Syrian refugee girls: Challenges and lessons learned

“…Firstly, it was difficult to recruit married adolescents even just for survey completion, let alone participation in the intervention. Aligned with findings from the qualitative literature on Syrian refugee girls (56,57), our experiences suggest that once girls in this community are married, they encounter comparative limitations to their mobility, making it difficult for us to recruit and retain them in our intervention. This also implies that married girls, of whom the overwhelming majority are no longer in school, have limited access to SRH information following marriage, despite their high risk of adolescent pregnancy.…”

“…Though sociocultural norms may limit unmarried girls' access to SRH information, age-appropriate SRH programs should be administered to girls prior to marriage, as girls often experience considerably less mobility following marriage and therefore may have minimal access to SRH information and services (56,57).…”