Étude sur l’Impact de la COVID-19 sur le Mariage des Enfants au Sénégal

Study on the Impact of COVID-19 on Child Marriage in Senegal

This study commissioned in 2021 by the National CSOs Coalition to End Child Marriage in Senegal (CONAME) aimed to identify, as exhaustive as possible, the impacts of COVID-19 on child marriage in Senegal, more precisely in the areas where the phenomenon is most widespread, namely: Kédougou, Kolda, Tambacounda. At the national level, nearly one in three girls are married before the age of 18, however, there are regional disparities.

The study highlights the increased vulnerability of families in the COVID-19 pandemic in Kédougou, Kolda, and Tambacounda, three of the country’s most socio-economic disadvantaged regions. In these remote regions of the country, a higher household burden associated with school closures has had a direct impact on families resorting to child marriage.