Tag: humanitarian-settings

Humanitarian settings (broadly defined) increase girls’ vulnerability to child marriage while at the same time disrupting existing and planned long-term efforts to combat the practice. Very little is documented about existing programs in these settings, so alongside my colleagues at UNICEF Innocenti with the support of UNFPA and UNICEF regional offices, we spoke with more than 60 practitioners and policymakers across five countries about what is there, what works, and what is needed to improve outcomes for girls in acute crises and protracted refugee settings. The report is titled “Delivering interventions to address child marriage in humanitarian settings in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.” Centering girls and their communities is crucial in designing programmes that acknowledge and address the life-saving nature of child marriage prevention and response in humanitarian settings, as is better monitoring and evaluation, accountability for outcomes, and efforts to mitigate the normative and operational barriers that arise in these settings in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. These data were collected in five countries in the spring of 2024, but we believe they have wide applicability across the region and over time, even as many political, legal, and other changes have occurred since and situations continue to evolve for those displaced and affected by humanitarian crises.

This work happened thanks to the efforts of so many people. Zara Ali is the heart and soul of it, directing the work through each step with keen academic rigor and a practical eye for the issues. Ramya Subrahmanian, Manahil Siddiqi, Hawraa Ismael, Maher Resk, Lubna Khalil, Layal Kouzi, Sharif Alkibsi were excellent co-authors and interviewers. We’re grateful for the collaboration of all those at UNICEF MENARO and UNFPA ASRO including Ismahan Ferhat, Dr. Shadia Elshiwy, Javier Aguilar, Evita Mouawad Jourdi, Stephanie Shanler, Indrani Sarkar and all of the interviewees, country office staff, and those who engaged with the work along the way. Thank you to all!

Please reach out if these issues are of interest to you. We are finalizing a sister study in Africa and thinking about next steps as well to ensure these learnings are taken forward.