“To protect her honour”: Child marriage in emergencies – The fatal confusion between protecting girls and sexual violence is the first in CARE’s Gender and Protection in Humanitarian Contexts: Critical Issues Series, designed for humanitarian workers, policy-makers and donors to: (1) highlight promising practices and/or gaps in programming; and (2) critically analyse work in the field of gender and protection in humanitarian contexts.
Globally, we know that child marriage increases during emergencies where the population use dowry and bride price, and where these practices are entrenched in issues of shame and so-called ‘honour’. We know the reasons. We know the short, medium and long-term effects. Yet, in emergencies, the issue is often ignored at worst, or reactive at best.
During this APPG panel discussion we will make the case – based on experience from the Syrian context and beyond – for preventative interventions on child marriage to take place from the start of an emergency before dangerous levels are reached.
The panel will speak to the efforts being made globally, the challenges of addressing child marriage in emergencies and the impact of ignoring the issue in emergencies.
Chair: Baroness Jenny Tonge (Chair APPG on Population, Development and Reproductive Health)
Introductions: John Plastow, Programme Director, CARE International UK
Speakers:
- Danielle Spencer, Senior Humanitarian Advisor: Gender and Protection, CARE International UK (report author)
- Representative from the Department for International Development (DFID)
- Lakshmi Sundaram, Executive Director, Girls Not Brides
For further information please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. at CARE.
