New insights on preventing child marriage. A global analysis of factors and programs

This document was compiled to analyse the risk and protective factors that may be associated with child marriage, as well as the range of existing programmes addressing child marriage, and what does and does not work in preventing early marriage. According to the Population Council statistics of 2006, one in seven girls in the developing world marries before age 15. This document is intended for policy-makers and development practitioners working on or planning a future programme addressing child marriage. The work presented here investigates two key questions: What factors are associated with risk of or protection against child marriage, and ultimately could be the focus of prevention efforts?
What are the current programmatic approaches to prevent child marriage in developing countries, and are these programmes effective?