Título
The impact of child marriage interventions: The case of “money marriage” among the Becheve community of Southern Nigeria
Autor
Nwatu, Uche Louisa
Resumo
en
Child marriage is a widespread issue that extends across the globe, and its prevalence is still
significant in various regions of Africa, with Nigeria being particularly affected. Due to child
protection issues in Nigeria, child marriages have continued to thrive despite national and
international laws protecting children and not much is known about interventions by non-
governmental organisations towards ending child marriage in Nigeria. Thus, this study aims to
analyse the impact of child marriage interventions towards survivors of child marriage in
Nigeria, considering how child marriage affects childhood and the focus of interventions
towards ending the practice. Following the theoretical framework of empowerment and the
Child Rights Based Approach, qualitative data was collected ethically from a purposive sample
of eight professionals engaged with NGOs and FBOs. In-depth interviews were conducted to
gather the data, which was subsequently analyzed using thematic analysis. Results revealed
that empowerment is at the core of child marriage interventions in Nigeria, different
organisations channel their efforts towards eliminating child marriage and organises a range of
empowerment programs for children, families, and communities. The results also shows that
these interventions have led to heightened awareness and a significant change in attitudes
toward child marriage within the community, which accounts to the decreased prevalence rate
of child marriage in Nigeria. The study recommends that more intervention should be
channelled to addressing child marriage at a macro level, with the government taking proactive
measures to expedite economic development and reinforce legal structures aimed at eliminating
child marriage.