INGO Behavior Change Projects: Culturalism and Teenage Pregnancies in Malawi

Pot, Hanneke

doi:10.1080/01459740.2019.1570187

Cited by 21 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Such representations can counterintuitively undermine humanitarian empathy and encourage ethnocentric judgements of low-income countries as to blame for their own hardships [ 2 ], and more generally stifle consideration of the broader structural factors (e.g. poverty, lack of viable alternatives) detrimental to girls and women [ 37 , 38 , see also 39 ]. Future ‘end child marriage’ campaigns would do well to weigh the benefits of emphasizing extreme cases to garner research, philanthropic and policy attention against the less tangible dangers of promoting stereotypes that will not resonate in all communities and may generate misunderstanding.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What does the American public know about child marriage?

et al. 2020

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Global efforts to eradicate 'child marriage' (<18 years) increasingly target governments, the private sector and the general public as agents of change. However, understanding of child marriage may be subject to popular misconceptions, particularly because of ambiguity in the age threshold implied by the term 'child', and because awareness campaigns routinely emphasize extreme scenarios of very young girls forcibly married to much older men. Here, we ascertain public knowledge of child marriage via an online survey. Half of those surveyed mistakenly believed that the cutoff for child marriage is younger than the threshold of 18 years, and nearly three-quarters incorrectly believed that most child marriages occur at 15 years or below (it primarily occurs in later adolescence). Most participants also incorrectly believed that child marriage is illegal throughout the USA (it's illegal in only 4/50 states), substantially overestimated its global prevalence, and mistakenly believed that it primarily takes place among Muslim-majority world regions. Our results highlight important popular misconceptions of child marriage that may ultimately undermine global health goals and perpetuate harmful stereotypes. Organizations seeking to empower women by reducing child marriage should be cautious of these misunderstandings, and wary of the potential for their own activities to seed misinformation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What does the American public know about child marriage?

et al. 2020

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“…In contrast, this threshold is relatively arbitrary in countries and contexts without this shared historical progression of legal changes surrounding concepts of childhood. (26,27).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What does the American public know about 'child marriage'?

Lawson

Lynes

Morris

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: A global campaign to eradicate ‘child marriage’ (<18 years) increasingly targets governments, the private sector and the general public as agents of change. Here, we measure the current state of public knowledge of child marriage, identifying potential misconceptions and inaccurate beliefs. We then consider the implications of our survey for global health initiatives addressing child marriage.Methods: We surveyed USA nationals via the online survey platform MTurk. Participants provided sociodemographic information and answered ten questions about their understanding of child marriage. To identify potential misconceptions and inaccurate beliefs we present descriptive statistics for participant responses paired with correct answers where available.Results: 609 participants provided data for analysis. 59% were women, with a mean age of 37 years, just over half (55%) were university educated, and the majority (79%) were currently employed. Half of those surveyed mistakenly believed that the cut-off for child marriage is younger than the legal threshold of 18 years, and nearly three-quarters incorrectly believed that most child marriages occur at 15 years or below (child marriage primarily takes place in later adolescence). The large majority of participants incorrectly believed that child marriage is illegal throughout the United States (it’s illegal in only two states), and mistakenly believed that child marriage primarily takes place among Muslim-majority regions of the Middle East and North Africa (it is most common in sub Saharan Africa and South Asia). Participants tended to substantially overestimate the prevalence of child marriage in both the USA and abroad.Conclusions: These findings suggest that public understanding of child marriage is not only poor, but also shaped by wider misperceptions of both relatively high and low-income nations. Organizations seeking to empower girls and young women by reducing child marriage need to be cautious of these misunderstandings, and wary of the potential for their own activities to seed misinformation. For example, we suggest the terminology ‘child marriage’, as opposed to ‘teen marriage’ or ‘adolescent marriage’, may contribute to widespread confusion about the typical ages at which child marriages occur.

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“…Notably, the adoption of a legal 18-year threshold between child and adult was a logical consequence of a series of legal changes relating to childhood in high-income countrieswhich had come about over nearly a century, such as the implementation of child labor laws and mandatory schooling (22). In contrast, this threshold is relatively arbitrary in countries and (26,27).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What does the American public know about ‘child marriage’?

Lawson

Lynes

Morris

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: A global campaign to eradicate ‘child marriage’ (<18 years) increasingly targets governments, the private sector and the general public as agents of change. Here, we measure the current state of public knowledge of child marriage, identifying potential misconceptions and inaccurate beliefs. We then consider the implications of our survey for global health initiatives addressing child marriage. Methods: We surveyed USA nationals via the online survey platform MTurk. Participants provided sociodemographic information and answered ten questions about their understanding of child marriage. To identify potential misconceptions and inaccurate beliefs we present descriptive statistics for participant responses paired with correct answers where available. Results: 609 participants provided data for analysis. 59% were women, with a mean age of 37 years, just over half (55%) were university educated, and the majority (79%) were currently employed. Half of those surveyed mistakenly believed that the cut-off for child marriage is younger than the legal threshold of 18 years, and nearly three-quarters incorrectly believed that most child marriages occur at 15 years or below (child marriage primarily takes place in later adolescence). The large majority of participants incorrectly believed that child marriage is illegal throughout the United States (it’s illegal in only two states), and mistakenly believed that child marriage primarily takes place among Muslim-majority regions of the Middle East and North Africa (it is most common in sub Saharan Africa and South Asia). Participants tended to substantially overestimate the prevalence of child marriage in both the USA and abroad. Conclusions: These findings suggest that public understanding of child marriage is not only poor, but also shaped by wider misperceptions of both relatively high and low-income nations. Organizations seeking to empower girls and young women by reducing child marriage need to be cautious of these misunderstandings, and wary of the potential for their own activities to seed misinformation. For example, we suggest the terminology ‘child marriage’, as opposed to ‘teen marriage’ or ‘adolescent marriage’, may contribute to widespread confusion about the typical ages at which child marriages occur.

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INGO Behavior Change Projects: Culturalism and Teenage Pregnancies in Malawi

Cited by 21 publications

References 37 publications

What does the American public know about child marriage?

What does the American public know about child marriage?

What does the American public know about 'child marriage'?

What does the American public know about ‘child marriage’?

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