Child marriage in contexts of forced displacement: exploring drivers and decision-making in Jordan through a gender and generational lens

Elizabeth Presler-Marshall^1*Nicola Jones¹Sarah Baird²Bassam abu Hamad¹Sarah Alheiwidi¹Erin Oakley³

• ¹Overseas Development Institute, London, United Kingdom
• ²George Washington University, Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, United States
• ³Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Abstract: Humanitarian actors have been slow to address child marriage, despite evidence that it is particularly common in conflict-affected contexts. Using primarily qualitative data collected with Syrian and Palestinian refugees living in Jordan between 2018 and 2022, this article explores the child marriage decision-making process, using a gender and generational lens. We find that all actors—parents, girls, and prospective grooms—operate under deeply constrained conditions resulting from the legal and economic precarity experienced by refugee communities, and that these disadvantages reinforce gender norms and commitments to clan and culture. Our findings underscore that each actor in the process is subject to a complex set 2 of familial and social pressures. Fathers are often beholden to their brothers to provide brides for their nephews; mothers prefer child marriage because of expectations that they will vouchsafe their children's behavior and the family's honor; girls who married as children report that they felt like active agents in the process—albeit because they have so few other options. The article concludes by reflecting on the implications of our findings for child marriage prevention efforts in conflict-affected settings.