Understanding Child Marriage in Ghana: The Constructions of Gender and Sexuality and Implications for Married Girls

Sarfo, Elizabeth Anokyewaa; Yendork, Joana Salifu; Naidoo, Anthony V.

doi:10.1080/13575279.2019.1701411

Cited by 23 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Moreover, child marriage has negative economic consequences. Girls who are married young are typically unable to access further education to provide them with the skills, knowledge and job opportunities required to help their families ( Bartels et al, 2020 ; Sarfo et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 and the surge of child marriages: A phenomenon in Nusa Tenggara Barat, Indonesia

Rahiem

2021

Child Abuse & Neglect

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 and the surge of child marriages: A phenomenon in Nusa Tenggara Barat, Indonesia

Rahiem

2021

Child Abuse & Neglect

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“…It also has adverse effects on the child, especially girls, and future children, leading to an intergenerational cycle of disadvantages [ 2 ]. Child marriage is referred to as a marriage occurring when one of the spouses is younger than 18 years or both are less than 18 years at the time of marriage [ 3 ]. Child marriage is a key driver of adolescent childbearing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Child Marriage and Sexual Autonomy among Women in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from 31 Demographic and Health Surveys

Budu

Seidu

Hagan

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Child marriage has a variety of undesirable consequences at the peril of women’s health and autonomy. In this study, we examined the association between child marriage and sexual autonomy among women in sub-Saharan Africa. We utilised data from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in 31 countries in sub-Saharan Africa between 2010 and 2019. A total of 218,578 women aged 20–49 were included in this study. Multivariable binary logistic regression models were used to show the association between child marriage and sexual autonomy. Crude odds ratio (cOR) and adjusted odds ratio (aOR) were used in presenting the results. The prevalence of child marriage and sexual autonomy was 44.51% and 83.35%, respectively. Compared to women who married at 18 years or above, those who married at less than 18 were less likely to have sexual autonomy, and this persisted after controlling for important covariates. In terms of the country-specific results, women who experienced child marriage were less likely to have sexual autonomy in Burundi, Congo DR, Nigeria, and Niger. With the covariates, lower odds of sexual autonomy were found among women with no formal education, those whose partners had no formal education, those who were not exposed to media, and non-working women. Child marriage was found to be associated with sexual autonomy. There is a need to strengthen policies and programmes such as compulsory basic education, poverty alleviation, and an increase in access to media that aim at reducing child marriage. These interventions will help to improve sexual autonomy among women, especially in this 21st century where individuals and organisations incessantly advocate for gender equality.

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“…Also, the study revealed inherent cultural explanations of child marriage and teenage pregnancy. Teenage pregnancy and child marriage are common social problems highlighted in recent Ghanaian literature (Dzotsi et al, 2020; Okine & Dako-Gyeke, 2020; Sarfo et al, 2020). According to Okine and Dako-Gyeke (2020), the two problems are interconnected, where the former predates the latter.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, parents influence their children to marry at young ages to prevent the negative consequences of stigma and secure societal pride when their children give birth to many children. Literature on child marriage has identified poverty as the primary push factor behind child marriage (Alhassan, 2010; Sarfo et al, 2020). However, the influence of poverty may be inconsequential in light of the current evidence on the inherent cultural reasons for child marriage.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contributing to indigenous social work practice in Africa: A look at the cultural conceptualisations of social problems in Ghana

Ayim

Abdullah

Bentum

et al. 2021

Qualitative Social Work

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This paper aims to contribute to the indigenisation discourse by illustrating how dominant discourses and cultural practices explain and perpetuate social problems. We argue that focussing on the fundamental issue of a cultural conceptualisation of social problems will contribute positively to the development of the indigenous social work practice framework. As social work education forms an important foundation for how future social work practices will be performed, we interviewed 15 social work practicum students in Ghana about the cultural underpinnings of social problems. Themes developed from the interview data suggest that culture plays a key role in conceptualising social problems in Ghana. Although not often, culture tends to underpin and perpetuate social problems, such as streetism, child marriage and child neglect. Social work practice within the indigenous framework should aim at addressing the negative impacts of the cultural undertones of social problems. Social work practitioners should increase advocacy and knowledge sharing on the cultural explanations of social problems and collaborate with community leaders to change cultural values and norms that have negative ripple effects on children, young people and women.

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Understanding Child Marriage in Ghana: The Constructions of Gender and Sexuality and Implications for Married Girls

Cited by 23 publications

References 34 publications

COVID-19 and the surge of child marriages: A phenomenon in Nusa Tenggara Barat, Indonesia

COVID-19 and the surge of child marriages: A phenomenon in Nusa Tenggara Barat, Indonesia

Child Marriage and Sexual Autonomy among Women in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from 31 Demographic and Health Surveys

Contributing to indigenous social work practice in Africa: A look at the cultural conceptualisations of social problems in Ghana

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