Attachments
1.Introduction
Child marriage is the marriage of any person under the age of 18 years of age in accordance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) 1979, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 1989, and the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) 1966. It is considered a violation of human rights as well as being associated with a long list of negative consequences [1]. While both boys and girls are married before they turn 18 in Jordan, child marriage predominantly affects girls [2, 3]. Using census data, the Jordanian Higher Population Council (2017) has shown that the proportion of marriages which involve a child (person under 18 years of age) has significantly increased within Syrian refugee communities since their arrival in Jordan from 2011 [2]. The minimum legal age for marriage in Jordan is 18 years, however, according to Personal Status Law (No 36) of 2010, Article 10, marriages can be registered in Shari’a courts with permission from a court judge from 15 years of age under ‘exceptional circumstances’.1 [2, 4]. Yet data from the Supreme Judge Department shows that 34.6% of all Syrian marriages registered in a Shari’a court in 2015 included a child under the age of 18, a significant increase from 12% in 2011 [2]. Therefore, this research focuses on the marriage of girls before they turn 18 years of age in Syrian refugee communities.
Over the last 5 years there has been a plethora of research and other literature documenting the rise and nature of child marriage amongst those living in the Syrian refugee communities in Jordan [5]. Previous research and literature has been primarily focused on confirming the prevalence of child marriage, the drivers of child marriage, the legal context of child marriage in Jordan, the experience of child marriage, negative consequences and policy recommendations [5]. The following drivers have been identified in the literature;
- Social norms, tradition and culture [6-11] - Protection [2, 7, 12-18]
- Gender inequality [3, 4, 10, 13, 14]
- Poverty [2, 10, 13, 15-25]
- Perceived religious practice [26]
- Lack of birth registration [27, 28]
- Low educational levels and inactivity in the home (not in school or employment) [2, 29, 30]
- Positive social status associated with marriage [2, 3, 7, 9, 11, 12, 29, 31-33]
The literature also indicates that families are likely to receive regular proposals for their daughters [6], however, we know little about when families start to receive proposals for their daughters, how many proposals they are likely to receive and the factors that are important when they are considering proposals of marriage for their daughters under 18 years of age.
Child marriage is also often included within wider research on gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health (SRH), maternal health care and child protection. Previous research has highlighted the significant impact of displacement on rates and experiences of child marriage, despite it also having roots in some Syrian cultures [5].
While child marriage is a violation of human rights and a form of gender- based violence, it is also embedded in wider social processes of marriage. The social processes which underpin and facilitate child marriage are currently not explored in sufficient depth for Syrian refugees in Jordan. These social processes include decision- making processes, the process of consent, family negotiations, and adapted norms and values due to displacement. This research, therefore, focuses on exploring the private and public social processes underpinning child marriage (see figure 1), taking into account the drivers and negative outcomes of child marriage, using an in-depth narrative approach with Syrian girls and their families.