“She Goes With Me in My Boat”: Child marriage and adolescent marriage in Brazil

Despite the high numbers in Brazil of women married or cohabitating by the age of 15, little to no research on the topic exists. From 2013 to 2015, Promundo conducted exploratory research in two states in Brazil with funding from the Ford Foundation. The study explored local attitudes and practices around child and adolescent marriage and cohabitation, as well as risk and protective factors.

The results indicate a mostly informal and consensual nature of the unions involving girls under the age of 18 in the areas studied. The average age of marriage and first birth of those interviewed was 15, while the men in the relationships were on average nine years older. The report emphasizes both the reasons for child marriage as well as the associated risks.

Paving the way for future research, Promundo hopes that these findings will influence programming and policy development in the region.