Violence, Well-Being and Level of Participation in Formal Education among Adolescent Girls in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: The Role of Child Marriage
Child marriage is a well-recognized barrier to education, and exposes girls to an increased risk of violence along with other negative health and developmental outcomes. A quantitative survey was conducted with girls selected from 14 communities in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)....
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Brock University
2018-12-01
|
| Series: | Studies in Social Justice |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.library.brocku.ca/index.php/SSJ/article/view/1632 |
| _version_ | 1818431181959462912 |
|---|---|
| author | Debbie Landis Kathryn Falb Ilaria Michelis Theresita Bakomere Lindsay Stark |
| author_facet | Debbie Landis Kathryn Falb Ilaria Michelis Theresita Bakomere Lindsay Stark |
| author_sort | Debbie Landis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Child marriage is a well-recognized barrier to education, and exposes girls to an increased risk of violence along with other negative health and developmental outcomes. A quantitative survey was conducted with girls selected from 14 communities in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Data from 350 girls (ages 13-14) were analyzed using mixed effects logistic regression models. Findings revealed that child marriage was associated with lower levels of participation in formal education as well as higher rates of physical, sexual and emotional violence. In particular, when adjusting for age and girls’ level of participation in formal education, being married was associated with more than a three-fold (OR: 3.23) increased risk of experiencing sexual violence (p<0.001). Married girls were also significantly more likely to affirm the belief that they would be forced to marry their perpetrator in the event that they were raped (p=0.017), suggesting that a portion of girls within this sample may have experienced this occurrence. Although higher levels of participation in formal education were associated with a reduced risk of violence among non-married girls, these differences were not observed for girls who were married. Findings reveal that child marriage has a significantly negative effect on the relationship between girls’ level of participation in formal education and experiences with violence. Taken cumulatively, findings from this study suggest an overall harmful relationship between child marriage and girls’ safety, education and well-being, and that efforts to prevent its occurrence in the DRC and beyond are urgently needed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T15:45:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2aabc18de8ab48c4809b021863026cfb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1911-4788 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T15:45:14Z |
| publishDate | 2018-12-01 |
| publisher | Brock University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Studies in Social Justice |
| spelling | doaj.art-2aabc18de8ab48c4809b021863026cfb2022-12-21T22:55:31ZengBrock UniversityStudies in Social Justice1911-47882018-12-0112227329010.26522/ssj.v12i2.16321632Violence, Well-Being and Level of Participation in Formal Education among Adolescent Girls in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: The Role of Child MarriageDebbie Landis0Kathryn Falb1Ilaria Michelis2Theresita Bakomere3Lindsay Stark4CPC Learning Network, Program on Forced Migration and Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 60 Haven Avenue, New York, NY 10032International Rescue Committee, 122 E. 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017International Rescue Committee, 3 Bloomsbury Pl, London WC1A 2QL, United Kingdom.International Rescue Committee, 35/01 Ave P-E Lumumba, Bukavu, DRC.Washington University in St. Louis, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130Child marriage is a well-recognized barrier to education, and exposes girls to an increased risk of violence along with other negative health and developmental outcomes. A quantitative survey was conducted with girls selected from 14 communities in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Data from 350 girls (ages 13-14) were analyzed using mixed effects logistic regression models. Findings revealed that child marriage was associated with lower levels of participation in formal education as well as higher rates of physical, sexual and emotional violence. In particular, when adjusting for age and girls’ level of participation in formal education, being married was associated with more than a three-fold (OR: 3.23) increased risk of experiencing sexual violence (p<0.001). Married girls were also significantly more likely to affirm the belief that they would be forced to marry their perpetrator in the event that they were raped (p=0.017), suggesting that a portion of girls within this sample may have experienced this occurrence. Although higher levels of participation in formal education were associated with a reduced risk of violence among non-married girls, these differences were not observed for girls who were married. Findings reveal that child marriage has a significantly negative effect on the relationship between girls’ level of participation in formal education and experiences with violence. Taken cumulatively, findings from this study suggest an overall harmful relationship between child marriage and girls’ safety, education and well-being, and that efforts to prevent its occurrence in the DRC and beyond are urgently needed.https://journals.library.brocku.ca/index.php/SSJ/article/view/1632child marriageeducationviolenceadolescent girlsdemocratic republic of the congo |
| spellingShingle | Debbie Landis Kathryn Falb Ilaria Michelis Theresita Bakomere Lindsay Stark Violence, Well-Being and Level of Participation in Formal Education among Adolescent Girls in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: The Role of Child Marriage Studies in Social Justice child marriage education violence adolescent girls democratic republic of the congo |
| title | Violence, Well-Being and Level of Participation in Formal Education among Adolescent Girls in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: The Role of Child Marriage |
| title_full | Violence, Well-Being and Level of Participation in Formal Education among Adolescent Girls in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: The Role of Child Marriage |
| title_fullStr | Violence, Well-Being and Level of Participation in Formal Education among Adolescent Girls in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: The Role of Child Marriage |
| title_full_unstemmed | Violence, Well-Being and Level of Participation in Formal Education among Adolescent Girls in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: The Role of Child Marriage |
| title_short | Violence, Well-Being and Level of Participation in Formal Education among Adolescent Girls in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: The Role of Child Marriage |
| title_sort | violence well being and level of participation in formal education among adolescent girls in eastern democratic republic of the congo the role of child marriage |
| topic | child marriage education violence adolescent girls democratic republic of the congo |
| url | https://journals.library.brocku.ca/index.php/SSJ/article/view/1632 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT debbielandis violencewellbeingandlevelofparticipationinformaleducationamongadolescentgirlsineasterndemocraticrepublicofthecongotheroleofchildmarriage AT kathrynfalb violencewellbeingandlevelofparticipationinformaleducationamongadolescentgirlsineasterndemocraticrepublicofthecongotheroleofchildmarriage AT ilariamichelis violencewellbeingandlevelofparticipationinformaleducationamongadolescentgirlsineasterndemocraticrepublicofthecongotheroleofchildmarriage AT theresitabakomere violencewellbeingandlevelofparticipationinformaleducationamongadolescentgirlsineasterndemocraticrepublicofthecongotheroleofchildmarriage AT lindsaystark violencewellbeingandlevelofparticipationinformaleducationamongadolescentgirlsineasterndemocraticrepublicofthecongotheroleofchildmarriage |