18+ Ending Child Marriages in Southern Africa by Plan Nederland

Ending Child Marriages in Southern Africa

Proposed Programme Model Developed by the International Center for Research on Women and Plan International March 2014

18+ Ending Child Marriage in Southern Africa

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Acknowledgments This document was written by Ann Warner, Jeff Edmeades and Maggie Sexton, with substantive input from Suzanne Petroni, Nikita Blaines and Lyric Thompson from the International Center for Research on Women. From Plan, Sarah Hendriks, Emmily Kamwendo-Naphambo, Marcia Odell, Alex Munive and Samuel Musyoki provided significant input into this document. The authors would like to thank all of the participants in the 18+ Remodelling Workshop for providing invaluable contributions to the programme design and for reviewing an earlier draft of this document.

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Contents I.

Executive Summary................................................................................................................. 5

II.

Background on 18+ Programme ........................................................................................... 10

III.

Child Marriage: Scope, Causes and Consequences in Southern Africa ............................. 11

Definition and Scope of Child Marriage ......................................................................... 11

Drivers of Child Marriage in 18+ Countries .................................................................... 17

Review of Strategies to End Child Marriage................................................................... 18

IV.

18+ Programme Description .............................................................................................. 19

Principles of programme approach ................................................................................ 19

Programme Strategies and Theory of Change ............................................................... 20

Goals, Objectives and Expected Outcomes.................................................................... 27

Description of Objectives and Activities: ....................................................................... 29

Programme Implementation ................................................................................................ 41 A.

Timeline .......................................................................................................................... 41

Where to work ............................................................................................................... 42

Management .................................................................................................................. 42

Partners .......................................................................................................................... 42

VI.

Risk Management .............................................................................................................. 43

VII.

Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy .................................................................................. 43

Progress Monitoring ....................................................................................................... 44

Evaluating the programme............................................................................................. 45

Evaluation Roles and Responsibilities ............................................................................ 47

VIII.

Sustainability and Scalability .......................................................................................... 48

Sustainability .................................................................................................................. 48

Scalability........................................................................................................................ 49

IX.

Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 49

Annex A: Country Profiles ............................................................................................................. 50 Malawi................................................................................................................................... 50 Mozambique ......................................................................................................................... 58 Zambia................................................................................................................................... 66 Zimbabwe.............................................................................................................................. 73 ANNEX B Review of Promising Practice ........................................................................................ 83 ANNEX C Illustrative Workplans and Required Resources ........................................................... 89 3|P a g e

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ANNEX D Key Domains and Illustrative Questions for Formative Research................................ 93 ANNEX E: Results Framework for 18+ Ending Child Marriage in Southern Africa........................ 98

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Executive Summary

Background and Justification Child marriage, a formal or informal union where one or both partners is under the age of 18, affects nearly 70 million girls in the world. About seven million child brides live in East and Southern Africa. Child marriage is a violation of girls’ basic rights, and it profoundly and negatively affects the trajectory of their lives – curtailing their childhoods, limiting their educational and economic opportunities, and subjecting them to early and high-risk pregnancies, social isolation and increasing their vulnerability to violence and other poor health outcomes. The consequences of child marriage do not stop at the individual level. Child marriage perpetuates poverty and gender inequality into the next generation, affecting families, communities and nations. The drivers of child marriage in the Southern Africa region are complex and interrelated. They include social, economic, cultural and religious factors that influence norms and behaviors at the individual, community and societal levels. Marriage is the foundation upon which most familial and many social relationships are organized, and therefore has important behavioral, social, cultural and legal implications. Despite the extent of the practice, and the complexity of the causes, child marriage can be prevented through effective program, legal and policy interventions. Plan International, an international child-centred community development organization, and the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), an international non-profit research organization, have collaborated to develop 18+: Ending Child Marriages in Southern Africa, Plan’s sub-regional programme that aims to reduce and ultimately eradicate child marriages in four participating countries of Southern Africa: Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The proposed programme is based on a review of the drivers of child marriage in the region, a review of promising strategies that are relevant to the region and the input and feedback of Plan colleagues and other external experts with experience in the Southern Africa and other regions that have successfully combated child marriage. It is also based on key principles and priorities that are supported by Plan’s Child-Centred Community Development strategy and the Global Girls Innovation Program (GGIP) guidelines. The programme is innovative in its multi-level and sub-regional approach. In addition to a standardized model that will be implemented in all four countries, it includes have a sub-regional advocacy strategy that will facilitate learning across countries, strengthen the collective impact of the programme and lead to broader change across the region.

Programme Strategies The 18+ programme will be guided by six strategies, which are based on promising approaches used in other programmes but are specifically designed to address the key drivers in Plan’s operating context. The proposed programme does not address every driver of child marriage; rather, it focuses on core drivers that Plan is best-positioned to influence in this context, given its priorities and core competencies. 5|P a g e

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These strategies are:      

Increase girls’ capabilities through safe spaces and group formation. Increase girls’ and communities’ demand for girls’ education. Enhance access to sexual and reproductive health information, services and rights. Increase awareness and understanding at household level about child marriage, girls’ education and rights. Motivate mobilization of communities, families and advocates to prevent child marriage. Advocate for legal and policy change at all levels

Goal, Objectives and Expected Outcomes The overall goal of the 18+ programme is to contribute toward ending child marriage in the southern Africa region. The three primary objectives are: 1. To mobilise girls at risk of child marriage so that they have the capabilities to determine their own futures, especially choices about if, when and who they marry. 2. To transform, through social movement-building, the gender norms and practices that drive child marriage. 3. To facilitate an enabling legal and policy environment to protect girls from child marriage. These objectives work at multiple levels: the level of the girl, the level of the household and community, and the level of the enabling environment. The activities operating at each level reinforce those at other levels, and all lead toward the ultimate goal of ending child marriage. Girl-Level: The primary target population for this programme is 10-14 year old girls who are at risk for child marriage. This age group includes girls and their families in the years leading up to age at which the numbers of dropping out of school, getting married, engaging in first sex and having first births increases significantly. Girls who are “at risk” of early marriage may include: girls living in poor households, girls who have dropped out of school or who are attending irregularly, girls who are sexually active, and girls who are socially isolated. By intervening with these girls in the years just before they are likely to drop out of school, the programme is more likely to be able to make a positive and lasting impact on their life trajectory. Girls’ empowerment clubs will be the primary vehicle for directly engaging and supporting girls who are at risk for early marriage. They will be voluntary venues for girls to spend time with friends, gain exposure to role models, and acquire information and skills. The main components of the clubs include: safe spaces, peers and mentors, a curriculum to instruct and engage girls on a regular basis, and advocacy training and opportunities. The main themes of the curriculum will be life skills, comprehensive sexuality education, gender and rights, and advocacy skills. The expected results of these activities are:  

Girls have improved agency and assets. Girls have improved advocacy skills and opportunities.

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Household and Community: This objective includes a variety of activities that are targeted toward facilitating a social movement that will transform the environment in which girls live. As such, they should be operating in the same communities where the girls’ groups are being held. The specific activities are geared toward increasing awareness, facilitating dialogue, building the skills and capacity of key gatekeepers and inspiring communities to take action toward preventing child marriage. Specific activities include engagement of guardians and other influential household members of girls participating in groups. Through community dialogues and information, education, communication (IEC) activities (posters, street theatre, radio shows, etcetera), the programme will first increase awareness and promote opportunities for reflection and dialogue of the harmful consequences of child marriage and the benefits of a society where girls have more opportunities to learn, to work and to participate actively in their communities. Periodic community dialogue sessions will engage men and boys in structured discussions that stimulate reflection on societal norms and their own attitudes regarding masculinity and femininity. The programme will also engage religious and cultural leaders by increasing their awareness, building their skills and providing them with additional platforms to influence their constituencies and expand their networks. Finally, the programme will move beyond awareness-raising to facilitate platforms for communities to take action to prevent child marriage and support the rights of girls more broadly. Plan will support the development of Community Action Plans (CAPs), which will be defined and implemented by community members themselves. The curriculum for CAP facilitation will include the possibility of establishing “marriage free zones” or public declarations against child marriage. The expected results of these activities are:  

Increased awareness and understanding about child marriage, girls’ education and girls’ rights among families, community members and gatekeepers. Increased mobilization of families, communities and gatekeepers to prevent child marriage and support girls’ rights and opportunities, especially rights to education and sexual and reproductive health.

Legal and Policy Level: This objective includes activities that facilitate an enabling legal and policy environment at multiple levels: from the local (district or province) to national to sub-regional levels. Advocacy, capacity-building of authorities and awareness-raising of constituents will help to promote accountability of primary duty-bearers to girls and community members. While the primary emphasis of advocacy activities will center on laws and policies that are closely related to the age of marriage (i.e. minimum age of marriage laws), other legal and policy issues that have a direct bearing on child marriage, such as education and sexual and reproductive health and rights, may also be influenced through the 18+ programme. Importantly, this objective will also be supported by and coordinated with objective 1, which will increase girls’ advocacy skills and opportunities at multiple levels. Girls will have opportunities to directly influence the legal and policy environment during the course of the programme. 7|P a g e

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The expected results of these activities are:  

Enhanced awareness and capacity of authorities to prevent child marriage and support girls’ rights. Laws and policies written, reformed, and/or effectively implemented at sub-national, national and sub-regional levels.

Programme Implementation The overall programme is designed to be implemented and evaluated over a four-year timeframe. A formative research period prior to start-up in order will yield a more nuanced understanding of the drivers of child marriage in the specific programme areas, the characteristics and needs of vulnerable girls and the norms on child marriage that need to be influenced. The programme can be broken down into five main phases:     

Formative Research (approximately 6 months) Start-Up and Community Sensitisation (approximately 6 months – some overlapping with formative research) Implementation (approximately 3 years) Evaluation (approximately 6 months) Dissemination and Advocacy for Scale-Up (6 months)

The decision about where to implement the 18+ program in each of the four countries will be guided by a number of factors. Foremost among these, however, is the need to maximize impact in areas where the burden of child marriage is the greatest. Based on these broad goals and the country-level data presented above, we recommend that the program be implemented primarily in rural areas in regions/districts where the prevalence of child marriage is particularly high. These areas in each country are listed below to guide decisionmaking, but the ultimate decision should be made by Plan. In order to maximize impact and contribute to learning regarding scalability, the programme will be implemented in two ways: 



The full programme model should be implemented in at least one location in each country. The size of the programme area depends on available resources, but should be small enough to allow for wide coverage. Each country should have one location (separate from the area that is that is implementing and evaluating the full programme model) that tests components of the programme that are potentially scalable by government, for example a mass media component.

Monitoring and Evaluation In addition to the programmatic goal of contributing to ending child marriage, the 18+ programme aims to contribute significantly to the learning agenda at the national, sub-regional and global levels. This learning agenda is focused both on generating evidence of the impact of the project model on child 8|P a g e

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marriage and on examining the feasibility of scaling the model up through either adoption by governmental agencies or by other non-governmental organizations. A robust monitoring and evaluation approach is critical to this learning process. A mixed-method, multi-faceted quasi-experimental approach will allow for a number of questions to be addressed in the evaluation, both within and across the included countries. The proposed design for this project will reflect the dual goals of identifying programme components that can be taken to scale and evaluating the overall impact of the program on child marriage, thus creating the evidence base for programmatic scale-up. In order to achieve these goals, separate evaluations will be conducted for the full programme model and a selected sub-set of programme components that are seen as potentially scalable to either implementation organizations or to governments. This will be supported by an indepth monitoring system that both provides rapid feedback to program staff on challenges with implementation and generates critical tracking data on project progress. This system will be paired with a reporting system on programme costs, allowing for the evaluation of the economic costs of individual elements of the programme.

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II.

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Background on 18+ Programme

Plan is an international child-centred community development organization without political, religious or governmental affiliations. Plan’s vision is of a world in which all children realize their full potential in societies that respect people’s rights and dignity. 18+: Ending Child Marriages in Southern Africa is Plan’s sub-regional programme that aims at reducing and eradicating child marriages in four participating countries of Southern Africa, namely; Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The 18+ Programme is a flagship initiative of the Global Girls Innovation Programme (GGIP). The programme was first conceived in 2010. At the global, regional, country and community level, Plan staff saw the negative impact that child marriage had on the communities that they worked with. An idea for a sub-regional programme began to take shape, which would mobilize support across four country offices and also facilitate policy and normative change at the sub-regional level. Over the next two years, colleagues across the sub-region and the Plan world collaborated further to develop the programme, and it was officially launched as the “18+ Programme” on the first International Day of the Girl Child, in October 2012.1 At this point several country offices began implementing activities to contribute toward the 18+ programme goals and seeking additional funding toward a sub-regional programme. However, the programme lacked cohesion and standardization across countries. In 2013, Plan brought on staff to manage and further the sub-regional programme. They also sought to bring in an external partner who could help facilitate a “redesign” that would be based on evidence of the key drivers of child marriage in the region, and reflective of promising and relevant practices from the region and other parts of the world. In late 2013, the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) was brought on board to facilitate the redesign process. ICRW is a non-profit research organization whose mission is to empower women and girls, promote gender equality and end poverty in the developing world. ICRW has nearly two decades of experience in research, programme development and advocacy on the issue of child marriage. ICRW’s tasks were to:     

Identify best practices at the international level that are suitable for this region. Review the current programme documents to identify gaps that need to be strengthened. Review country-specific studies on child marriage. Design and facilitate a workshop for Plan International and country-based staff, in collaboration with Plan. Lead the development of the final programme document and model, including a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) strategy, based on the outcomes of the workshop.

In January 2014, ICRW and Plan International co-facilitated an 18+ Remodeling Workshop in Lusaka, Zambia to review the overall objectives for 18+ and discuss and rebuild the proposed programme model. Plan participants included staff from the four country teams in the sub-region, Plan Region of Eastern and Southern Africa (RESA), several Northern Offices (NOs), as well as subject matter experts 1

Plan International (2012). 18+, Ending Child Marriage in Southern Africa Washington, DC: Plan International

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from Plan UK, Plan USA, Plan Sweden, Plan Canada and Plan Bangladesh. External experts from the Population Council, Catholic Relief Services, Girls Not Brides, Women for Change, GENET Malawi and Women Lawyers for Southern Africa attended the workshop to share their insights into effective practices and policies for ending child marriage around the world. The workshop objectives were to:    

Share lessons learned and best practices for programming to end child marriage; Review and finalise Plan’s redesigned programme model, theory of change and results framework for ending child marriage; Review and finalise the evaluation approach for 18+; and Develop a consensus on working strategies around ending child marriages for the sub-region.

The workshop resulted in a revised, but not finalized, model for the 18+ programme. Following the workshop, a small team from ICRW and Plan International collaborated to further develop the model, with the aim of finalizing a model that would be effective, feasible, evaluable and scalable. This document summarizes the final proposed model.

III. Child Marriage: Scope, Causes and Consequences in Southern Africa A.

Definition and Scope of Child Marriage

Child marriage is defined as a formal or informal union where one or both spouses is below the age of 18. Marriage under the age of 18 violates multiple human rights, including the right to equality, the right to marry and establish a family, the right to life, the right to the education, development and the highest attainable standard of health.2 Despite the existence of protective laws in the international and national realms, there are nearly 70 million child brides in the world.3 Child marriage disproportionately affects girls, who are typically married to older spouses. Child marriage prevalence is decreasing overall, but the pace of change is slow.4 In the last two decades, and especially in the last five years, awareness has increased around the world that child marriage is a violation of basic human rights, as well as an impediment to human development. There is also increased awareness of causes and consequences of child marriage, especially poverty and unequal gender norms. Child brides are more likely to come from poor, rural households and have lower levels of education.5 Early marriage leads to early sexual debut, which contributes to early and high-risk pregnancies. Child marriage increases maternal and child mortality

Temmerman, Marleen. The Effect of Legislation On Child Marriage In Africa. World Health Organization United Nations Population Fund (2012). Marrying too young: End Child Marriage New York: UNFPA. 4 Malhotra, A., Warner, A., McGonagle, A., & Susan, M. L.-R. (2011). Solutions to End Child Marriage What the Evidence Shows Washington, DC: International Center for Research on Women.; United Nations Population Fund (2012). Marrying too young: End Child Marriage New York: UNFPA. 5 United Nations Population Fund (2012). Marrying too young: End Child Marriage New York: UNFPA; Jain, S. & Kurz, K. (2007). New Insights on Preventing Child Marriage: A Global Analysis of Factors and Programs Washington, DC: ICRW. 3

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and morbidity, puts women at increased risk of violence and curtails girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s educational and economic opportunities.6 In East and Southern Africa, 38 percent of women 20-24 are married before the age of 18, and 10 percent are married before the age 15.7 Currently, there are roughly seven million child brides in the region.8 The prevalence of child marriage, as measured by percentage of women 20-24 married before age 18, has not significantly declined in these countries in recent years, as shown in Table 1. The highlighted number in the third column depicts the present prevalence of child marriage in each country. Table 1: Child marriage in two Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) rounds st

% Married by 15 (20-49)

% Married by 18 (20-49)

Median Age at 1 Marriage (20-24)

Malawi (2004/2010)

13.6/13.5

50.5/51.6

18.1/18

Mozambique* (2003/2011)

21.7/14.4

55.1/43.9

17.5/18.1

Zambia (2001-02/2007)

11.7/10.9

49.4/46.3

18.7/19

Zimbabwe (2005-06/2010-11)

7.0/5.6

33.8/30.7

19.5/19.6

DHS years

*Mozambique has changed the definition of marriage in its survey in between two rounds, which may partially explain the change in prevalence.

The following sections provide a statistical overview of the prevalence and legal regulations regarding 9 age of marriage in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Annex A has a more detailed profile of the trends and risk factors associated with child marriage in each country.

Raj, A., Saggurti, N., Balaiah, D., & Silverman, J. G. (2009). Prevalence of child marriage and its effect on fertility and fertility-control outcomes of young women in India: a cross-sectional, observational study. Lancet, 373, 18831889.; Santhya, K., Ram,U., Acharya, R., Jejeebhoy, S., Ram, F., & Singh, A. (2010). International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 36(3), 132-139. New York, NY: Population Council. 7 UNICEF (2014). State of the Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Children 2014 New York, NY: UNICEF. 8 United Nations Population Fund (2012). Marrying too young: End Child Marriage New York: UNFPA 9 Except where otherwise cited, the statistical information for each country is based on the most recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), a nationally representative sample examining a range of social and demographic factors. We focus on the 20-24 year age range, as this is the closest age range to our target age group where very significant proportions have married and undergone other important life transitions. 12 | P a g e

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Malawi Figure 1: Sub-Regional Prevalence, Malawi

Malawi bears the 11th highest rates of child marriage globally and ranks second in the SADC sub-region.10 The prevalence of child marriage in Malawi exceeds significantly the sub-Saharan Africa regional average of 37 percent.11 Half of women aged 20-24 in Malawi were married by age 18, and almost 12 percent of girls were married by age 15. Though child marriage is prevalent throughout Malawi, there is considerable variation in the prevalence within the country (see map). The districts with the highest rates of child marriage and early sexual activity are Mulanje, Phalombe and Chikwawa, where around 80 percent reported being married by age 18 and around 90 percent were sexually active at age 18, while the lowest were Blantyre, Ntchisi and Rumphi. Even in these districts, however, around half of women were married by age 18. The legal age of marriage in Malawi is currently 16, as set in 2009. In late 2012, a bill was introduced in Parliament to raise the age of marriage to 18, though this bill has not yet been passed. Malawi has ratified most international human rights instruments related to the rights of women and children, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the African Charters on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol) and on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), and the SADC Gender and Development Protocol.12 Since ratifying the CRC, the government has sought to align national legislation, policy and practice with the articles of the Convention, including those pertaining to age of marriage. However, Malawiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plural legal 10

UNFPA (2013). State of the Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Children 2013 New York, New York: United Nations Population Fund. UNFPA (2010). Child Marriage Profiles, Malawi. Retrieved from http://www.devinfo.info/mdg5b/profiles/ 12 UNTC (20 November 1989). Chapter IV, Human Rights: 11. Convention of the Rights of the Child. Retrieved from https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-11&chapter=4&lang=en ACERWC (1990). Ratification Table. Retrieved from https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-11&chapter=4&lang=en http://www.achpr.org/instruments/women-protocol/ratification/ http://www.sadc.int/files/8713/5292/8364/Protocol_on_Gender_and_Development_2008.pdf 11

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system, consisting of the official law on the books and customary laws followed at community level, are often contradictory, which perpetuates the practice of child marriage.13

Mozambique

Figure 2: Sub-Regional Prevalence, Mozambique

Half of women aged 20-24 in Mozambique were married by age 18, and more than 14 percent of girls are married by age 15 – the highest rate of very early marriage among the four program countries. Mozambique has the 9th highest rate of child marriage globally and the single highest in the SADC sub-region.14 Though child marriage is prevalent throughout Mozambique, it is highest in Cabo Delgado Region, followed by Nampula, Manica, Zambezia, Niassa, Tete, Zambezia, Sofala and Gaza—all of which have prevalence rates of marriage by age 18 of over 50 percent. In Mozambique, the legal age of marriage is 18, but, in special cases “involving public or family interest” and with parental consent, marriage may take place as early 16.15 The recently passed Family Law forbids both polygyny and forced marriage, thought these customs are still practiced throughout the nation.16 As is the case in the other program countries, Mozambique’s plural legal system is a significant obstacle in the country’s pursuit to end child marriage. Many of the international human rights instruments related to the rights of women and children have been signed by Mozambique, to include the CRC, CEDAW, the African Charters on the Rights of Women in Africa, ACRWC and the SADC Gender and Development Protocol.17 13

White, Seodi (2012). Because I Am A Girl, Sub Regional Strategy Document for En Child Marriage Programme. Plan International. 14 UNFPA (2012). Annex 1: Profiles of 10 Countries with the Highest Prevalence of Child Marriage. Retrieved from http://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/2012/ChildMarriage_8_annex1_indica tor-definition.pdf 15 Equality Now (January 2014). Protecting the Girl Child: Using the Law to End Child, Early & Forced Marriage & Related Human Rights Violations. Retrieved from www.equalitynow.org/childmarriagereport 16 Ibid 17 UNTC (20 November 1989). Chapter IV, Human Rights: 11. Convention of the Rights of the Child. Retrieved from https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-11&chapter=4&lang=en http://www.achpr.org/instruments/women-protocol/ratification/ ACERWC (1990). Ratification Table. Retrieved from https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-11&chapter=4&lang=en http://www.sadc.int/files/8713/5292/8364/Protocol_on_Gender_and_Development_2008.pdf 14 | P a g e

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Zambia

Forty-two percent of women in Zambia aged 20-24 were married by age 18 and 8.5 percent were married by age 15. Nationally, the median age at marriage was 19, but the median age at marriage was a full year younger in rural areas than in urban areas. There is significant geographic variation in the patterns of child marriage across the different regions of Zambia. The proportions of women married by age 18 in four regions (Eastern, Luapula, Northwest, and Northern) are close to or above 60 percent, while in three (Western, Copperbelt, and Lusaka) the proportion is below 40 percent.

Figure 3: Sub-Regional Prevalence, Zambia

The legal age of marriage for both men and women, with or without parental consent, is 21 in Zambia. The Constitution does not define the age of majority, however, so other laws define childhood and the age of majority at contradictory ages.18 Similar to the rest of the sub-region, Zambiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plural legal system is a major challenge in regard to ending child marriage. Customary law in Zambia frequently defines adulthood as reaching puberty, resulting in varying ages at which customary marriage may be allowed. Though official law is intended to supersede customary law, where they are in disagreement, in most cases, customary law is adhered to in practice.19 The Constitution also supports the validity of customary law, including those related to the age of marriage, further supporting the dual legal system.20 Zambia has ratified all of the relevant international human rights instruments related to the

White, Seodi (2012). Because I Am A Girl, Sub Regional Strategy Document for En Child Marriage Programme. Plan International. Equality Now (January 2014). Protecting the Girl Child: Using the Law to End Child, Early & Forced Marriage & Related Human Rights Violations. Retrieved from www.equalitynow.org/childmarriagereport 19 Equality Now (January 2014). Protecting the Girl Child: Using the Law to End Child, Early & Forced Marriage & Related Human Rights Violations. Retrieved from www.equalitynow.org/childmarriagereport 20 Ibid 15 | P a g e

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rights of women and children, including the CRC, CEDAW, the African Charters on the Rights of Women in Africa, ACRWC and the SADC Gender and Development Protocol.21

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has the 39th highest

Figure 4: Sub-Regional Prevalence, Zimbabwe

prevalence of child marriage globally.22 Thirty percent of women in Zimbabwe aged 20-24 were married by age 18 and just under 4 percent were married by age 15. There is considerable variation in child marriage rates across Zimbabwe. Over half of women aged 20-14 were married before age 18 in four regions (Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West and Masvingo), while in Bulewayo the proportion was 16 percent. The legal age of marriage is 18 in Zimbabwe, but, per the Customary Marriages Act of 2010, girls may be married at 16 with consent of parents/guardians or a judge. A similar exception for boys is not in place. Under the Children’s Act, the age of majority is defined as 18, with anyone under 18 considered a child; however, “young people” are defined as those 16 and younger and are afforded special protections under some laws. Zimbabwe’s plural legal system, comprised of both official and customary legal systems, creates additional challenges towards ending child marriage. The Customary Marriages Act also includes articles that allow polygyny and void betrothals or pledges of girls or women into marriage.23 Zimbabwe is a ratifying partner to a number of important international human rights instruments related to the rights of women and children, including the CRC, CEDAW, the African Charters on the Rights of Women in Africa, ACRWC and the SADC Gender and Development Protocol.24 21

UNTC (20 November 1989). Chapter IV, Human Rights: 11. Convention of the Rights of the Child. Retrieved from https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-11&chapter=4&lang=en http://www.achpr.org/instruments/women-protocol/ratification/ ACERWC (1990). Ratification Table. Retrieved from https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-11&chapter=4&lang=en http://www.sadc.int/files/8713/5292/8364/Protocol_on_Gender_and_Development_2008.pdf 22 UNFPA (2012) Marrying Too Young: End Child Marriage. New York, New York: UNFPA. cites UNFPA database using household surveys (DHS and MICS) completed during the period 2000-2011 23 White, Seodi (2012). 24 https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-11&chapter=4&lang=en https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-8&chapter=4&lang=en http://www.achpr.org/instruments/women-protocol/ratification/ http://acerwc.org/the-african-charter-on-the-rights-and-welfare-of-the-child-acrwc/ratifications/ http://www.sadc.int/files/8713/5292/8364/Protocol_on_Gender_and_Development_2008.pdf 16 | P a g e

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Drivers of Child Marriage in 18+ Countries

The drivers of child marriage in the four countries being targeted by the 18+ programme are complex and interrelated. They include social, economic, cultural and religious factors that influence norms and behaviors at the individual, community and societal levels. Marriage is the foundation upon which most familial and many social relationships are organized, and therefore has important behavioral, social, cultural and legal implications. This section provides a broad overview of the drivers of child marriage across four countries. More detailed country-level profiles are provided in Annex A. Figure 5 provides an illustration of the drivers of child marriage using a social-ecological framework. The social-ecological framework is a useful organizing framework for categorizing these drivers, because it shows the nested and dynamic nature of the drivers at the individual, community and societal levels. Figure 5: Factors that Increase Girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Risk for Child Marriage at Multiple Levels

In summary, the key drivers of child marriage in these four countries are a combination of factors. Some of these are more ď&#x201A;ˇ Rural Location: In all four countries, girls from rural areas are more likely to be married as children than their urban counterparts.

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18+ Ending Child Marriage in Southern Africa   



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Poverty: In all four countries, those married before age 18 are more likely to live in poorer households and those married later more likely to live in richer households. This is true even in rural areas. Low educational attainment: In all four countries, child brides are less educated than women married after the age of 18 and more likely to have never been to school at all. Social systems, cultural practices and religion: Each community has a complex system of social arrangements, customs and religious beliefs and practices that influence the timing and nature of family formation. Specific customs, such as initiation ceremonies, have particular relevance for the transition to adulthood and marriage. The nature and influence of these customs varies widely, but across the four countries, they do have a role in driving child marriage. Girls’ sexuality: Early marriage of girls is inextricably linked with girls’ sexuality, although the timing and sequencing of sex and marriage varies and can be difficult to pinpoint. In many situations, girls may be forced or choose to marry because they had (or are suspected of having) sex, or because they have gotten pregnant. Even where sex or pregnancy do not precede marriage, the fear of girls getting pregnant outside of marriage or becoming victims of sexual assault can drive parents to push girls toward early marriage. Gender inequality and low perceived value of girls: Girls’ low educational attainment and decision-making power relative to boys are two indications of their lower social status. Inequality is exacerbated by early marriage, especially when girls are married to older spouses. In each of the four countries, child brides were more likely to have an age gap of five or more years than those married over the age of 18. Lack of information on alternatives to marriage: Access to information, including examples of life paths different than their own, is a critical driver of child marriage, both for girls and their families. In every country, girls who married later reported accessing all forms of mass media, with the exception of radio, at a much higher rate than their counterparts who married before age 18. Weak or inconsistent legal frameworks: In Africa, 32 countries have laws that set the minimum age of marriage at 18 or above.25 The official laws are only a small part of the picture, however. In some settings there are no formal ceremonies or legal status. Where there are formal ceremonies, these are often administered by religious or traditional leaders according to customary laws and practices. Customary laws may often have a lower age limit than national laws. Furthermore, where vital registration systems are weak, as they are in many parts of these four countries, individuals’ actual age is difficult to determine or prove. Weak implementation of formal laws and inconsistency in legal frameworks perpetuates the practice of child marriage.

Review of Strategies to End Child Marriage

Recently, there has been a significant increase in the number of interventions targeting child marriage, as well as increased demand for understanding “what works.” In 2010 and 2011, ICRW conducted a systematic review of evaluated child marriage prevention projects.26 Of more than 150 relevant programs and policies identified, ICRW identified only 23 such programs with an available, documented evaluation. While a small number, these evaluations do point to some important trends in the field and

25 26

Temmerman, M. The Effect of Legislation on Child Marriage In Africa. World Health Organization Malhotra et al (2011).

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a foundation on which future programs can build. The systematic review identifies five key strategies that have been shown to be effective in addressing child marriage (see Annex B for detailed summary):     

Empower girls at-risk for early marriage with information, skills, and support networks. Educate and mobilize parents, religious/traditional leaders, and community members. Enhance the accessibility and quality of schooling for girls. Offer economic support and incentives for girls and their families. Foster an enabling legal and policy framework.

Programmes that use these approaches are among the best-evaluated; however, some limitations should be noted. First, these strategies are almost always employed in combination, which makes it difficult to define exactly what components are the most effective in changing marriage-related knowledge, attitudes and behavior. The Population Council’s Age of Marriage project in three countries in sub-Saharan Africa aims to fill some of the gaps in knowledge about which components of multipronged interventions work best by evaluating separate “combinations” of programs in different places and comparing the outcomes.27 Second, the number of programs that have been evaluated is only a small portion of those programs that have been or are being implemented, and the contexts in which they were implemented varied widely. Only four of the 23 evaluated programs were implemented in sub-Saharan Africa, and only one in Southern Africa (Zomba Cash Transfer Project in Malawi).28 Also, the degree of rigor used in the design and analysis of these interventions varied considerably. All of these factors limit our ability to conclusively determine what will work well in different settings, and argues for the need to engage in targeted research and situational analyses prior to program implementation. They also underscore the need for investments in robust monitoring and evaluation strategies that shed light on what is working well during, at the end of, and after a program has closed.

IV.

18+ Programme Description A.

Principles of programme approach

In developing the 18+ programme, ICRW and Plan had several principles and priorities in mind. First and foremost, the goal of the programme is to prevent child marriage. Second, the approach is designed to be innovative and evidence-based. We base the approach on what is known about the key drivers of child marriage in this region and what is known about best practice on child marriage prevention. The evaluation component of the program is an integral component of the programme. It is intended to contribute to the evidence base by generating learning and evidence that can be used by Plan and other actors to design effective programmes and to advocate for increased and better targeted investments in programming for girls and communities. Next, the approach is intended to address multiple levels. The information presented above on the various drivers of child marriage in the region suggests that programming must address multiple factors, 27

Population Council, “Building an Evidence Base to Delay Marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Accessed March 14, 2014: http://www.popcouncil.org/projects/344_ChildMarriageHotspots.asp 28 Baird, S. J., Chirwa, E., De Hoop, J., & +Ozler, B. (2013). Girl Power: Cash Transfers and Adolescent Welfare. Evidence from a Cluster-Randomized Experiment in Malawi National Bureau of Economic Research Working Papers. 19 | P a g e

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if norms and behaviors around child marriage are to be effectively challenged and changed. A multi-level programme includes activities that work directly with girls to enhance their capacity to act as agents of change in their own lives, as well as with families and communities, both to help construct supportive environments and enhance opportunities for change, and to promote more gender-equitable norms that are reflected within community practices as well as laws and policies. These approaches must be coordinated to promote a mutually-reinforcing process of change, where child marriage becomes a less acceptable pathway for girls. Relatedly, child marriage prevention programmes should use a “systems approach” that invests in girls, in norm change, in advocacy for legal and policy change and in positioning child marriage in the development agenda.29 It is also consistent with Plan’s Child-Centred Community Development (CCCD) approach, which is a child rights approach to tackling child poverty that addresses the injustices and power imbalances at different levels of society.30 At the same time, the approach is designed to be girl-centred, which is in keeping with multiple programmatic and policy documents. This principle also aligns with Plan’s Child-Centred Development strategy and Global Girls Innovation Program (GGIP) guidelines.31 Putting girls at the center of child marriage prevention efforts is a matter of justice, because girls are disproportionately affected by child marriage. It is also logical. In settings where child marriage prevalence is high, girls are frequently denied access to rights, resources, information and support networks that constrain them in multiple ways throughout their lifetimes. They are forced to transition to adult roles too early, and with too little preparation to be healthy, capable and empowered. We also aimed to develop a programme that would be uniquely sub-regional. The overall programme model is intended to be standardized in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and also includes activities that are specifically designed to influence change at the sub-regional level. This approach is in keeping with Plan’s CCCD approach, which prioritizes actions that will bring about structural changes at the district, national, regional and global level. Furthermore, insights gained through implementing the programme in four different countries will be relevant to other countries in the sub-region and beyond. We propose an overall standardized approach to accommodate learning and coordination across the four countries in the sub-region; however, the implementation details must be based on the realities, needs and desires in each local operating context. A core recommendation is that this model should be refined and finalized following a formative research phase at the country/community level prior to implementation. The programmatic approach is intended to promote the active participation of girls and community members who have a stake in the outcomes. This approach is in keeping with the CCCD approach, which ensures that children, families and communities are active and leading participants in their own development.

Programme Strategies and Theory of Change

Margaret E. Greene (2013). “Ending child marriage in a generation: What research is needed?” Plan (2010). Promoting child rights to end child poverty: Achieving lasting change through Child-Centred Community Development. 31 Plan Global Girls Innovation Guidelines (2012). 30

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The 18+ programme will be guided by six strategies. These echo the strategies identified in ICRW’s systematic review of evaluated programs, but are specifically designed to address the key drivers in Plan’s operating context. The proposed programme does not address every driver of child marriage; rather, it focuses on core drivers that Plan is best-positioned to influence, given its priorities and core competencies.

Strategies

The specific objectives and activities are described in sections C and D, below. This section describes the underlying strategies for the programme.

a) Increase girls’ capabilities through safe spaces and group formation. Programs that seek to empower girls at risk for child marriage are among the best evaluated programs available.32 With more information and opportunities, girls’ capabilities can be increased, and their aspirations can be enhanced, which can unleash a lifetime of positive benefits for themselves, their families and their communities. Because girls at greater risk of marrying early are often socially and economically isolated and vulnerable, special efforts need to be made to establish spaces in which girls can meet and learn. “Safe spaces” include three core elements: safe place, friends and a mentor.33 A distinguishing feature of the 18+ programme is a focus on enhancing girls’ skills and opportunities as advocates. Through groups, they will gain training in different forms of advocacy and communications skills. Girls will have the opportunity to apply those skills in multiple ways, including those that are formally supported by the program, e.g. community debates or school performances, or through advocacy days organized at district meetings, parliamentary meetings and/or key sub-regional events and opportunities. Collectively, these activities will improve girls’ assets, agency and capabilities. “Assets” are defined in the box to the right. “Agency,” as defined by Plan building on definitions adapted from Naila Kabeer, Amartya Sen, Anju Malhotra and others, is the ability to define one’s goals and to act upon them.34 The 18+ program will enhance girls’ agency by providing them with the information and support they need to decide what they want to do (including if, when and whom to marry), as well as skills and strategies to execute these choices. Together, agency and assets will enhance girls’ “capabilities.”

Warner et al, 2013, “Ending Child Marriage: What Will It Take?” and Margaret Greene, 2013, “Ending child marriage in a generation: What research is needed?” 33 Karen Austrian and Dennitah Ghati, Girl-Centered Program Design: A Toolkit to Develop, Strengthen and Expand Adolescent Girls Programs, The Population Council, 2010, http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/2010PGY_AdolGirlToolkitComplete.pdf 34 Plan (2013). 21 | P a g e

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Assets developed through this programme include :  Physical assets: “Safe spaces” are a physical asset that will be provided through this programme.  Human assets: These are “individual skills and knowledge that enhance health, ability to work, selfesteem, and autonomy.” Girls will gain a range of human assets through their participation in these groups, particularly life skills, SRHR knowledge, advocacy, negotiation and decision-making skills.  Social assets: These are “relationships that support the psychological needs of girls and keep them connected to resources available within communities.” The programme will foster friendships among peers, a sense of group kinship, and a trusting relationship with a mentor.  Financial assets: These assets support economic security by enabling individuals to purchase goods and services. The curriculum in this program will focus on financial literacy— an understanding of the use and management of financial resources. Definitions adapted from Population Council 2013 and Austrian and Ghati 2010.

Increase girls’ and communities’ demand for girls’ education.

Girls’ age of marriage is strongly associated with the amount of education they receive. Around the world, the more years of school a girl has, the older she is likely to be when she marries. This trend holds true in each of the 18+ countries, where lower age of marriage is associated with lower educational attainment (see Annex A for country-level analyses). The 18+ program will enhance girls’ educational opportunities in several ways. First, it will deliberately target both in-school and out-of-school girls to participate in girls’ groups. Girls who are in school (upper primary and/or lower secondary, depending on programme area) will be supported to stay in school through girls’ groups, mentors and other schoolbased and community activities. Girls who are out of school will receive an opportunity to receive nonformal education, which can facilitate social support and skills that may help them return to school. Exposure to mentors, who will have a higher than average level of education, will also help influence what girls see as possible for their own lives. Several activities at the community level will facilitate the demand for girls’ education. Outreach to parents will help inform them of the benefits of girls’ education. These activities are more likely to reach parents of girls already in school, and will reinforce and provide positive peer pressure to keep their daughters in school. Community outreach and mass media messages will emphasize the importance of girls’ education to help promote positive norms and facilitate demand for education. The programme will facilitate partnerships between schools and communities that will identify and address barriers to girls’ enrollment, attendance and completion of school. Community action plans will also prioritize education. Through participatory action and analysis, community activists will identify barriers to education in their communities and develop plans for how to overcome those barriers (such as providing financial support for girls to return to school, addressing safety issues at school, working with teachers to support girls who have dropped out, etc.). Finally, advocacy will prioritise legal and policy reform to enhance the enabling environment for education as an alternative to early marriage. Specific issues may include the availability and quality of secondary schools, school safety, life skills curricula in school, or policies regarding retention and return of girls who have had pregnancies or gotten married.

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c) Enhance access to sexual and reproductive health information, services and rights. The decision about if, when and whom to marry has tremendous implications for sexual and reproductive health and rights. Girls’ sexual activity before marriage – whether actual or perceived – is often a gateway to early marriage. Whether or not girls are sexually active before marriage, almost are immediately after marriage, and they have little power to negotiate the timing or circumstances of sex with their spouses, nor of the decision regarding if and when to have children. Ninety percent of adolescent pregnancies occur in marriage, and these pregnancies are much higher-risk than those of older women.35 Promoting girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) is an important outcome in and of itself; it can also be a child marriage prevention strategy, because girls will gain information, skills and support to protect themselves from unwanted sex and/or from pregnancy. The programme will address SRHR in several ways. The Girls Empowerment Groups’ curriculum will emphasize SRHR, using a comprehensive sexually education framework. Girls will gain age-appropriate information on their own reproductive health, on SRH services available to them, and skills to help them negotiate and communicate about their own sexual desires, preferences and rights. Mentors will also be trained to provide support and to facilitate linkages to SRH services, including providing accompaniment to health services. At the community level, messages about girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights will be emphasized in the curriculum and in information, education and communication (IEC) materials. These will be tailored and adapted for different audiences, including parents of at-risk girls, adolescent boys and young men, and cultural and religious leaders. Finally, salient SRHR legal and policy issues – such as unmarried adolescents’ access to family planning services, the availability of girl-friendly SRH services or comprehensive sexuality education curricula in schools – may be addressed through advocacy activities.

d) Increase awareness and understanding at household level about child marriage, girls’ education and rights. Because girls’ opportunities and decisions are almost always made or shaped by the people in their household or by extended family, the program will also reach out to parents and other influential household/family members of the girls participating in the group programming. Parents and other household members will be engaged prior to programme start-up to share the motivation behind the program, solicit their input into programme content and obtain permission and support for daughters to participate. During the programme, mentors will make a home visit within the first three months of girls’ enrollment, and parents will be regularly invited to meetings in which issues regarding girls’ rights, child marriage and related topics will be discussed. These meetings will also provide an opportunity for information-sharing and dialogue among girls, parents, household members and other community leaders who may be invited to present on a topic in the meeting. These meetings may take the form of “Daddies Clubs” or “Mommies Clubs,” which have worked well in other contexts.36 Guardians and other family members will also be reached through general community activities.

UNFPA (2013). “Motherhood in Childhood: Facing the challenge of adolescent pregnancy.” State of the World’s Population 2013. Retrieved from http://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/swp2013/EN-SWOP2013final.pdf 36 Plan Canada, Working with Men to Change Negative Attitudes at Home. http://plancanada.ca/working-withmen-to-change-negative-attitudes-at-home 23 | P a g e

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e) Motivate mobilization of communities, families and advocates to prevent child marriage. Marriage is a social, religious and cultural institution, and marriage practices will not change without the engagement of the “gatekeepers” of the various institutions that sanction marriages and the members of communities that practice it. Child marriage is also unlikely to be eradicated without a change in social norms that ascribe less value to females than to males; therefore, a gender transformative strategy is required. The 18+ programme will seek to facilitate a social movement to transform harmful gender norms. Through community dialogues and information, education, communication (IEC) activities (posters, street theatre, radio shows, etcetera), the programme will first increase awareness and promote opportunities for reflection and dialogue of the harmful consequences of child marriage and the benefits of a society where girls have more opportunities to learn, to work and to participate actively in their communities. Periodic community dialogue sessions will engage men and boys in structured discussions that stimulate reflection on societal norms and their own attitudes regarding masculinity and femininity. These sessions will be facilitated by influential male leaders in the community who are “champions for change.” The programme will also engage religious and cultural leaders by increasing their awareness, building their skills and providing them with additional platforms to influence their constituencies and expand their networks. Finally, the programme will move beyond awareness-raising to facilitate platforms for communities to take action to prevent child marriage and support the rights of girls more broadly. Plan will support the development of Community Action Plans (CAPs), which will be defined and implemented by community members themselves. The curriculum for CAP facilitation will include the possibility of establishing “marriage free zones” or public declarations against child marriage, which have been practiced in other countries and regions.37 Through these public declarations of support, communities publicly condone the practice and help to normalize a different pathway for girls – one in which they are supported to delay marriage and other harmful practices and pursue healthy alternatives, such as education or paid, dignified work.

Advocate for legal and policy change at all levels.

Laws and policies are critical elements of an enabling environment that respects, protects and fulfills girls’ rights. In keeping with Plan’s CCCD approach, the programme will support girls to claim their rights, support duty bearers to deliver on those rights, and hold duty-bearers to account. Specifically, the 18+ programme will increase the capacity of key duty-bearers, including traditional leaders, religious leaders, child protection officers and other district officials; will advocate for the reform and/or effective enforcement of formal laws on age of marriage and other relevant rights (e.g. right to education and right to health); will work with lawmakers and traditional authorities to analyse and harmonise customary and formal legal systems; and will support networks of advocates to continue to push for reforms. The programme will not conduct advocacy activities at the sub-national and national levels. It will also have a strong sub-regional advocacy component that will engage the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU), among others.

Tostan (2013). Community Empowerment program: Community Management Committees. Retrieved from http://www.tostan.org/tostan-model/community-empowerment-program/ensuring-sustainability 24 | P a g e

18+ Ending Child Marriage in Southern Africa 2.

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Theory of Change

The proposed programme model is based on a conceptual framework that views child marriage as the product of a number of interrelated factors operating at four main levels: the individual girl, her household, her community and her society. The Theory of Change is depicted in Figure 6. To the left are the drivers of child marriage in all four countries that the programme will influence. Immediately to the right are the six programmatic strategies, described above. The arrows point to the pathways through which change occurs at each of the four levels. Further to the right are the three primary programme outcomes, and finally, the ultimate outcome: decreased prevalence of child marriage.

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18+ Ending Child Marriage in Southern Africa Figure 6: Programme Theory of Change

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Goals, Objectives and Expected Outcomes

The overall goal of the 18+ programme is to contribute toward ending child marriage in the southern Africa region. The three primary objectives are: 1.

2. 3.

To mobilise girls at risk of child marriage so that they have the capabilities to determine their own futures, especially choices about if, when and who they marry. To transform, through social movement-building, the gender norms and practices that drive child marriage. To facilitate an enabling legal and policy environment to protect girls from child marriage.

These objectives work at multiple levels: the level of the girl, the level of the household and community, and the level of the enabling environment. The activities operating at each level reinforce those at other levels, and all lead toward the ultimate goal of ending child marriage. Figure 7 illustrates the programme model. At the top of the image is the overall goal of the programme. Beneath it are the three primary objectives, which are vertically organized into girl, community and enabling environment level. Underneath the objectives are the corresponding results, and beneath those are the primary activities that contribute to each of these results and objectives. At the bottom are cross-cutting activities, which span more than one level. Expected results are: Girl-Level:  

Improved agency and assets. Improved advocacy skills and opportunities.

Household and Community Level:  

Legal and Policy Level:  Enhanced awareness and capacity of authorities to prevent child marriage and support girls’ rights.  Laws and policies written, reformed, and/or effectively implemented at sub-national, national and sub-regional levels.

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18+ Ending Child Marriage in Southern Africa Figure 7: 18+ Programme Model

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Description of Objectives and Activities: 1.

Objective 1: Mobilisation of Girls a)

Target Population

The primary target population for this programme is 10-14 year old girls who are at risk for child marriage. This age group includes girls and their families in the years leading up to the “tipping points” depicted below, as these are the critical points in the processes of relationship formation that are strongly related to child marriage. These are also the ages when girls tend to start dropping out of school at higher rates. Girls who are “at risk” of early marriage may include: girls living in poor households, girls who have dropped out of school or who are attending irregularly, girls who are sexually active, and girls who are socially isolated. By intervening with these girls in the years just before they are likely to drop out of school, the programme is more likely to be able to make a positive and lasting impact on their life trajectory. Figure 8 shows the proportion of rural married girls aged between 20 and 24 years old who reported the age at which they were married, first had sexual intercourse, first gave birth by specific ages (of those who had experienced that event) for each of the four countries. As these figures make clear, there are substantial differences between the countries, both in terms of what ages these critical events take place at and how closely in time they occur. While initiation of sexual activity, first marriage, and child bearing take place at very similar ages in Malawi and Zimbabwe, the patterns suggest that in Mozambique and Zambia marriage is often preceded by sexual intercourse, underscoring the importance of comprehensive sexuality education. The countries also differ in terms of what ages the “tipping point” takes place. While the proportions married, sexually active and having had a child rapidly increase between the ages of 12 and 13 in Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia, this takes place later in Zimbabwe, with sexual activity and marriage increasing markedly after age 14. This suggests that programming to prevent these behaviors must begin at younger ages, with the 10-14 age range being particularly important.

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Figure 8: Tipping Point: Age at First Marriage, First Sex and First Birth38 Malawi

Mozambique

Proportion of each age

10 5

5 0 8 9 101112131415161718192021222324 Age

8 9 101112131415161718192021222324 Age

Age at first marriage Age at first sexual intercourse Age at first birth

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Proportion of each age

30 25

Proportion of each age

5 0 8 9 101112131415161718192021222324 Age Age at first marriage Age at first sexual intercourse Age at First Birth

5 0 8

16 18 20 22 Age Age at first marriage Age at first sexual intercourse Age at first birth

ICRW analysis, based on data from latest Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) available for each country.

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Girls’ Empowerment Clubs

Girls’ empowerment clubs will be the primary vehicle for engaging and supporting girls who are at risk for early marriage. They will be voluntary venues for girls to spend time with friends, gain exposure to role models, and acquire information and skills. The main components of the clubs include: safe spaces, peers and mentors, curriculum to instruct and engage girls on a regular basis, and advocacy training and opportunities. 39

Safe Physical Spaces Girls’ empowerment clubs should include a safe physical space where girls can meet regularly. It should be considered both safe and appropriate by girls and by their guardians. The space itself should be safe, and girls should be able to get to the location from their homes safely. (If this is challenging, the groups can help set up “buddy systems” or other strategies for getting girls to their meetings safely). Commonly used places for safe spaces are schools, churches, mosques and community centres. Simply having a safe physical space is only the starting point. Girls’ emotional and physical safety are important considerations: it is critical that the program personnel, program content and program rules and guidelines are inclusive, respectful and building of trust.

Peers and Mentors Adolescent girls are often socially isolated. The clubs will link girls with peers who are their own age and can help to increase their social capital and skills in communicating and relationship-building. Safe spaces will also match girls with mentors. Mentors are also female, and usually a little bit older than the girls. They should live in or very close to the community where the girls are living, so that they can be an additional source of support to girls even outside of regular meetings. Experience has shown that mentors should not be volunteers; they should be paid for their time – both because this can be a needed source of income for young women in the community, and also because paying mentors helps guarantee accountability to the program. Mentoring is beneficial for both mentors and mentees – facilitating leadership and communications skills for the mentors, and providing mentees with support and information. Through participation in girls’ groups that are facilitated by older mentors, girls will increase their social capital. Furthermore, through cascading leadership approach, mentee girls “absorb” skills that can be passed on to others, and they may be eligible to become mentors themselves after they graduate from the program. The content of the program will provide girls with information, skills and opportunities that will enhance their assets and their agency. There will be a focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights, life skills, and gender and power.

Curriculum The core of the program is a curriculum that covers topics that are essential to increasing girls’ capabilities to determine their own futures, realize their rights, and fulfill their potential. The curriculum will focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights, life skills, and gender and rights. The curriculum 39

Austrian and Ghatti (2010)

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should be finalized once the needs, priorities and aspirations of girls in each setting are more fully understood, following formative research. Curricula resources to use as guides include CEDPA’s New Horizons curriculum, Pathfinder International’s Adolescent Reproductive Health Guide, and the It’s All One curriculum, developed by a consortium of organizations. 

Life skills: These are skills to help girls understand themselves and their worlds better, and how to most effectively cope and thrive in their environments. UNICEF defines life skills as the following: Psychosocial abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life. They are loosely grouped into three broad categories of skills: cognitive skills for analyzing and using information, personal skills for developing personal agency and managing oneself, and inter-personal skills for communicating and interacting effectively with others.40



Comprehensive Sexuality Education: With more knowledge and information about their sexual and reproductive health, girls are better equipped to protect their own health, to seek and use services (including, but not limited to, contraception and family planning), and to choose the timing and spacing of pregnancies. This information will help girls protect their health both in the short Example of Girl-Centred Advocacy and long-term. Furthermore, increased knowledge about their rights will help equip girls with the Girls’ Empowerment Network (GENET) Malawi seeks to advance rights, status confidence they need to claim their rights, and well-being of vulnerable girls and knowledge of who is obligated to uphold their young women in Malawi. GENET rights, and where and whom to go to if their rights mobilises and equips girls to be are under threat or violated. They will learn advocates for their own rights. GENET language and skills to talk about fertility, sex and organizes participatory research, reproduction with partners, parents, health storytelling sessions, and leadership providers and others. They will also learn about training for girls. They also engage local sexual violence: the definition and forms of leaders through dialogue, storytelling violence, the laws about sexual violence, and how to and interactive theatre. These seek help and support. The specific content of the performances are performed for communities and for Traditional SRHR curriculum should be determined during Authority associations. They have formative research, based on a more complete succeeded in raising awareness, building understanding of the target groups’ knowledge, capacity of local leaders and changing developmental stage and the services that are local bylaws to protect girls from early available in the area. marriage. GENET attributes their success Gender and Rights: Fundamentally, child marriage is to community ownership, girl-centered both a symptom and a cause of unequal power advocacy and the engagement of local relations, in which men have power over women in leaders. both private and public spheres. To begin to transform this dynamic, it is critical that awareness Source: Presentation by Faith Phiri, GENET-Malawi Executive Director, 18+ is raised among girls, who are most directly and Workshop, January 2014 negatively affected by this power imbalance, of the fact that gender is a social construct that is neither fixed nor immutable. The curriculum will address these issues in concrete ways and will also give

UNICEF (13 June 2003). Definition of Terms. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/lifeskills/index_7308.html

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

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girls skills that help them tackle gender inequality in their homes and communities. Importantly, these topics will also be addressed in materials and trainings for community members, including boys and men. Advocacy Skills and Opportunities: A distinguishing feature of the 18+ programme is a focus on enhancing girls’ skills and opportunities as advocates. Through groups, they will gain training in different forms of advocacy and communications skills, including storytelling, interactive theatre and public debates. Providing the girls with these skills will be useful in building their confidence and in empowering them to act on their own behalf, and on behalf of their peers. Girls will have the opportunity to apply those skills in multiple ways, including those that are formally supported by the program, e.g. community debates or school performances, or through advocacy days organized at district meetings, parliamentary meetings and/or key sub-regional events and opportunities.

In addition to these main themes, other topics for curriculum may include:  Health, hygiene, nutrition  Financial literacy  Education and literacy  Interpersonal communication & relationships  Setting goals  Civics and human rights education  Community outreach and service  Sports and recreation

Programme Exposure

While participation is voluntary, steps should be taken to encourage regular attendance. The ideal group size is 25, and groups should meet on a regular basis. Following are recommended characteristics:  Duration: One year for intensive engagement o Graduates can become mentors after year for next cycle of participants. Depends on age gap between participants and mentors we recommend  Frequency/length: Once per week for two hours, plus special events  Total dose exposure: 104 hours The recommended duration, frequency and exposure to program are based on experience from similar programmes (see Table 2); however, the specifics of each programme should be guided by what the formative research indicates is feasible for girls, as well as resource availability in each country context. Additional information regarding resource requirements, including illustrative workplans, and can be found for all three objectives in Annex C. Table 2: Girls’ exposure in similar safe space programs41 Program Biruh Tesfa, Ethiopia (Population Council) Ishraq, Egypt (Population Council) Abriendo Oportunidades, Guatemala

Length of Exposure 4-6 mos 2 years 1 year

Frequency of Exposure 3-5/week 5/week 3/month

Sources include Sewall and Menon (2012); ICRW internal data; Plan internal data.

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Meeting time 1 hour Full day 1 hour

Ideal dose, in hours 31 576 104

18+ Ending Child Marriage in Southern Africa (Population Council) Safe and Smart Savings Project, Kenya and Uganda (Population Council) Siyakha Nenthsa, South Africa (Population Council) TESFA, Ethiopia (CARE, ICRW) SOFEA, Bangladesh (BRAC) Maharashtra Life Skills program, India (IHMP, ICRW) Bloom (New Horizons), Nigeria (Plan) New Visions, Egypt (Plan)

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2 years

1/week

2 hours

208

1 year

1-2/week

2-3 hours

1 year

1-2 hours 2 hours 1 hour

~26

1 year

2/month 3/week 5/week

6 months

66 sessions 64 sessions

1.5-2.5 1.5-2 hours

~132 ~128

220

Participant Recruitment

While participation in the clubs should be voluntary, special efforts should be made to recruit girls who are particularly vulnerable and who are at risk of early marriage, as these girls are often missed by existing services. Girls who are “at risk” of early marriage may include: girls living in poor households, girls who have dropped out of school or who are attending irregularly, girls who are sexually active, and girls who are socially isolated. Many of these girls will be hard to reach, either because of their social isolation or because they do not have the support, time or motivation to participate in activities outside of the home. Further formative research with girls in selected target communities should specify the enrollment criteria and special considerations for participants. The appropriate age and characteristics of mentors should be decided during formative research stage. In order to reach the most girls, particularly the most vulnerable girls, different forms of recruitment are recommended:  House-to-house outreach: Such outreach can help ensure that the most vulnerable girls, including those who are not in school, are provided an opportunity to participate in the programme.  School-based outreach: Programme staff should engage with principals, administrators and teachers in area schools to describe the program and obtain their support for it. Other means of in-school recruitment include meetings with faculty, parents and students.  Outreach through health workers  Community outreach via community meetings  Distribution of fliers in community centers and schools

Mentor Recruitment

Using a “cascading leadership” model, the program will train and employ adolescent girls or young women who will then run programs for younger adolescent girls from their own community as mentors. Best practices recommend that mentors should be compensated the work that they are doing. An appropriate stipend would be one that is similar for other jobs in the community, such as a day care worker, teacher or health outreach worker. Mentors should also have regular meetings where they receive supervision, additional training and support. These can be regular group or one-on-one meetings, depending on the distance between the sites. Mentors will need to be oriented to the

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programme and trained before they start working with the girls. A five-day training curriculum, followed by ongoing support, is typically used.42

Engaging Support of Community and Parents/Guardians

Before implementing girl-focused programmes, initial outreach should be conducted to the respective communities, parents and guardians. Evidence from other girl-focused programs suggests that the time it takes to successfully engage a community is between two and six months.43 See section 2(a) below for more discussion of how communities and households should be engaged.  Community sensitization: Before recruitment of participants begins, meetings with relevant community authorities should be organized to inform them of the rationale, objectives and process of the girl-focused programming, get their feedback on content and get their insights into how best to reach girls at-risk of marriage.  Outreach to parents/guardians of eligible girls: After outreach to community authorities begins, the programme teams will need to ensure that their viewpoints and needs are being heard and accounted for in the programme design and implementation.

Objective 2: Family and Community Mobilization

This objective includes a variety of activities that are targeted toward facilitating a social movement that will transform the environment in which girls live. As such, they should be operating in the same communities where the girls’ groups are being held. The specific activities are geared toward increasing awareness, facilitating dialogue, building the skills and capacity of key gatekeepers and inspiring communities to take action toward preventing child marriage.

Engage influential household and family members

Parents, guardians and other influential household and family members should be engaged through the following activities:  Home visits: Home visits should be made by each mentor within the first three months of girls’ enrolment in the programme. After that point, home visits can be conducted on “as needed” basis by mentors, staff or by other influential community members. Mentors will discuss with field advisors whether certain girls need extra support, in which case additional home visits might be made by both staff and mentor.  Involve family members in meetings on a monthly or bi-monthly basis (frequency depends on how far apart the sites are): The purpose of these meetings is to inform parents of what girls are learning in clubs, possibly through demonstration by girls themselves (e.g. performance, debate, play or sports game), to educate and entertain parents on relevant topics, and to provide an opportunity for fellowship among the group.  Special events: Provide parents/families with opportunities to assist the Girls’ Groups when they put on special events in the community (such as meals or space).

42 43

Austrian and Ghati (2010) Sewall-Menon and Bruce (2012)

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Facilitate Community Dialogues

Community dialogues will be facilitated to engage a crosssection of community members in dialogue about child marriage and girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rights and education.44 Loosely, they will follow the â&#x20AC;&#x153;community conversationsâ&#x20AC;? approach, but adapted to be appropriate to the local context. Initially developed in 2002 by the United National Development Programme (UNDP) to help communities in Ethiopia respond to the HIV crisis, the approach has since been used to promising effect in programmes targeting child marriage, female genital cutting (FGC) and other harmful traditional practices. The approach relies on trained community facilitators who assist the community to discuss the underlying causes and the consequences of child marriage in the community. This inclusive methodology seeks input from a wide variety of community members, including youth and elders, girls and boys, women and men, married and unmarried, parents, teachers, health workers, and religious, traditional and community leaders. A variety of participatory techniques, such as storytelling, active listening and strategic questioning, are used to engage all participants to share their questions, concerns, observations and reflections, and generate ideas for community-led change. In addition to raising awareness and opening dialogue, community conversations provide a platform for identifying advocates and cultivating community involvement to prevent child marriages and support girls to stay in school. In addition to efforts to engage the community-at-large, special community dialogue sessions will take place with men and boys, which will create safe forums for men to explore and challenge harmful gender norms.

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Stop Child Marriage Programme Plan Bangladesh Since 1994, Plan International Bangladesh has been working to create a community-based child protection system to prevent violence, exploitation and abuse on children, including child marriage. This has been done primarily through birth registration, facilitation of Union Parishads (local government structures) and creation of a social movement that is owned and led by communities. Through local government institutions (LGIs), the programme has engaged school management committees, NGOs, children organizations, CBOs, child protection groups, marriage registrars, teachers, religious leaders and elites to take action against child marriage. The programme has also raised awareness and capacity through Theatre for Development, rallies, meetings, and other events. Child protection groups act as watch dog bodies in the community to stop child marriages. Many children have become peer promoters and have intervened to influence families, local government and police directly to stop planned child marriages. Sources: Presentation by Mobarok Hossain, 18+ Workshop, January 2014; and Learning4Change, Plan International Bangladesh, October 2013.

Training and capacity-building of community leaders

The programme will identify community leaders, especially cultural and religious leaders, who are gatekeepers regarding marriage and other social, cultural and religious practices. The programme will 44

UNDP (2014). Upscaling Community Conversations in Ethiopia: Unleashing Capacities of Communities for the HIV/AIDS Response. Retrieved from. http://www.undp.org/content/dam/aplaws/publication/en/publications/hivaids/upscaling-community-conversations-in-ethiopia-community-conversation---launch-pk/47.pdf 36 | P a g e

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identify and recruit leaders through existing groups and associations to participate in an awarenessraising and capacity-building programme. They will first participate in a training programme on child marriage and child rights where they will receive information on the legal, health and social dimensions of child marriage, engage in dialogue on the effect of these practices and build their skills for how they can address these topics and change behavior among their constituents. They will be supported with materials (such as posters, videos or toolkits) that they can use to facilitate discussion in their communities. They will then be engaged in bi-monthly meetings where they can exchange information and strategies, receive refresher trainings and build their networks. These leaders will be encouraged to recruit other current and potential “champions for change.”

Support for community action plans

Community actions plans (CAPs) will provide the link between raising awareness and mobilizing the community against child marriage and in support of girls’ rights. This activity will rely on a communityled approach to develop and implement solutions to the issue of child marriage. The leadership structure may take the form of a Community Management Committee (CMC), which would include democratically elected leadership from the community, as done in the Tostan program implemented in Senegal.45 Training and some facilitation will be provided to support the CMC in this activity, but the decisions made will be entirely those of the community. The CAP will vary in each location that chooses to establish one, but plans may include initiatives such as public declarations against child marriage, designation of the community as a child marriage-free zone, and community partnerships to support girls’ education and keep girls in school. It is important to note that some practitioners have found that community-led approaches, such as community conversations, community action plans and public declarations, work best in tight-knit societies and may be more difficult to implement in very diverse settings.

Strengthen community/school partnerships

In order to facilitate girls’ retention or return to school to delay marriage, schools and communities will need to work together closely. To identify the appropriate partnership strategies, formative research should first identify the specific barriers to girls’ educational attainment in each specific programme area. For example, are schools unsafe or otherwise inaccessible to girls past a certain age/grade? Are girls falling behind academically and in need of additional support? Do girls lack funds for school supplies and/or uniforms? By having a better grasp of why girls are falling behind in school, parents, teachers, school administrators and girls themselves can come together to develop solutions. The programme will identify and facilitate appropriate mechanisms for filling gaps.

Objective 3: Facilitate enabling legal and policy environment.

This objective includes activities that facilitate an enabling legal and policy environment at multiple levels: from the local (district or province) to national to sub-regional levels. Advocacy, capacity-building of authorities and awareness-raising of constituents will help to promote accountability of primary duty45

Tostan (2013). Community Empowerment program: Community Management Committees. Retrieved from http://www.tostan.org/tostan-model/community-empowerment-program/ensuring-sustainability 37 | P a g e

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bearers to girls and community members. While the primary emphasis of advocacy activities will center on laws and policies that are closely related to the age of marriage (i.e. minimum age of marriage laws), other legal and policy issues that have a direct bearing on child marriage, such as education and sexual and reproductive health and rights, may also be influenced through the 18+ programme. Importantly, this objective will also be supported by and coordinated with objective 1, which will increase girls’ advocacy skills and opportunities at multiple levels. Girls will have opportunities to directly influence the legal and policy environment during the course of the programme.

a) Conduct analysis of legal and policy environment for protecting girls from child marriage. Objective 3 is focused on facilitating an enabling legal and policy environment. This is a very broad objective, and includes an array of potential activities that emerged during the remodeling workshop. The first recommended activity, therefore, is to conduct an analysis of the legal and policy environment in each country at the sub-region to identify:   

Specific laws and policies that prevent or perpetuate child marriage at the community, district, national and sub-regional levels. The key decision-makers and gatekeepers at these levels. The individuals and organizations who are currently working to influence change at these levels.

This analysis would identify the key gaps that Plan can fill, based on its priorities and capacity. Some country offices already have done this analysis and may be able to skip this step.

Develop detailed communications and advocacy plan.

Based on the results of the above analysis, each country office would identify priority communications and advocacy activities. These would be prioritized and standardized by a sub-regional coordinator, in collaboration with country offices. Communications activities may include media campaigns to raise the awareness of laws or of the lack of protective laws among the general public. Communications may take the form of IEC or mass media, depending on the issue and resources available.

Develop policy briefs, position papers and reports on key issues.

These written documents would fill gaps that have been identified through the analysis and would inform advocacy for legal and policy reform. They would cover specific issues, such as the importance of minimum age of marriage legislation, the harmonization of customary and formal legal systems and the linkages between child marriage and important development outcomes. These would be used to guide talking points and guidance for use by advocates and serve as “leave-behind” documents for policymakers and other interested stakeholders.

Engage with customary legal systems.

Plural legal systems have been identified as a major contributing factor in the perpetuation of child marriage, and also as an opportunity for more engagement by Plan via the 18+ programme. Plan should collaborate with partners such as Women Lawyers of Southern Africa to determine the key gaps in 38 | P a g e

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knowledge and action and to identify how best Plan can move forward an agenda that brings customary and traditional systems into compliance with national laws.

e) Identify and train duty-bearers on child marriage Identify and train duty-bearers on child marriage and girls’ rights. A number of important primary duty-bearers have been identified for training and capacity-building purposes. These include, but are not limited to, parliamentarians and representatives of health, education, child protection, law enforcement, the judiciary and traditional authorities and entities. The programme will identify those officials who are most likely to influence the legal framework for child marriage in each country context and develop appropriate training curricula and advocacy materials on girls’ rights and child marriage.

f) Support reform and harmonization of policies and laws for girls’ rights. This is a general activity that summarizes a range of advocacy activities in favor of the rights of girls. Each country and the sub-region has different policy contexts and also has different capacity for advocacy. Below are the key advocacy opportunities identified by each country and for the sub-region in the 18+ workshop. These will need to be assessed and prioritized when developing a detailed communications and advocacy plan for each country and for the sub-region. Table 3: Country and Sub-Regional Advocacy Priorities Zimbabwe  Harmonize laws with Constitution, e.g. definition of child. Civil society monitoring  Statutory vs. customary law - engage traditional leaders  Raise awareness of laws among communities  Implementation and monitoring/reporting to UN/AU as required  Policy on religious contact/practices versus self-regulation  Target traditional leaders, families (including extended), religious leaders, Parliamentarians, civil society across  Target key Ministries (Gender, Local Government, Education, Justice, Health)  Utilize community-based paralegals (youths, adults)  Lobbying (discussion forums, community fairs)  Commemorations of significant days (Day of African Child)  Media events  Interdenominational prayers/events  Modeling advocacy – showing people what you

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Zambia  Raise age of consent to 18 and criminalize  Work with activists -- WC, WLSA, First Lady  Advocate for ratification of conventions and protocols  Meet with Parliamentary Committee on Children  Create child marriage coalition  Meetings with MOCTA (discussion papers, research)  Work with chiefs (champions in CM) in policy/law development  Use mass media disseminate research law review process

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want to see, using girls’ safe spaces as example

Mozambique  Revision of Penal Code o Parliament influenced to accept CSO changes o Raise awareness of acceptance  Revision of Decree 39 with the Ministry of Education o Submit formal petition  Revision of the Republic Constitution o Work with Parliament o Submit formal Petition rd  Lobby for Government for ratification of 3 Optional Protocol on the UN/CRC on complaints procedures  Organize meeting with Coalition to discuss how to support government to implement o Raise awareness of community o Work through schools to target girls and boys to raise awareness of their rights o Community radio and TV to community

Malawi  Raise minimum age of marriage to 18 for girls, in line with boys.  Parliament has passed compulsory primary education law – make sure that children are not just staying at home  Enforcement of Child Justice Act  Harmonization of laws that define child  Who to influence o Government o Traditional leaders o Religious leaders o Legislature, including women parliamentarians  Methodologies o Partnerships and alliances o Orientation and dialogue with chiefs o Networking and alliances o Media – debates, press briefings o Theatre for change o Exchange learning visits o Establish Chiefs network on social issues o Shared leadership on GNB network

Sub-Region  Unite four countries into strong voting block at UN in favour of new resolution to end child marriage and advocate collectively for other states to support  At sub-regional level internally Plan will share learning from national level, and develop research and policy to support national advocacy.  How o Strengthen SADC NGO coalition o Work with and influence SADC traditional leaders council o Develop new partners and coalitions o Support development of children and youth groups and councils to be their own advocates.

Cross-cutting activities

These two activities apply to more than one “level” of influence and therefore appear as “cross-cutting” in Figure 7.

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Media and communications strategy

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Mass media strategies have been shown to be effective in changing knowledge and attitudes related to child marriage. A recent study in Ethiopia suggested that “child marriage prevention programs should diversify information channels, reinforce perceived advantages of delayed marriage, and adopt a social influence perspective.”46 The 18+ model should utilize various media and communications approaches, including IEC at the community level (for example, through street theatre, public debates, meetings and community radio), and, to the extent that resources allow, for a broader mass media strategy that can reach multiple communities in multiple regions. According to analyses of DHS data (in Annex A), radio is the medium that will reach the most people, especially in communities that are most affected by child marriage. If media is intended to be used for specific advocacy objectives (for example, to influence policymakers on a key legislative or policy issue), it may be better targeted to urban markets. Training of journalists on the issue of child marriage has also been identified as an additional potential strategy. It is recommended that Plan engage with an agency that specializes in media and communications to develop a detailed media strategy.

Network building and strengthening

Each of these countries has an active civil society network, and the issue of child marriage is beginning to take on more prominence within it. The 18+ programme provides an excellent platform on which to build and/or strengthen networks of individuals and organizations that are interested in ending child marriage. Some examples of networks include interfaith alliances, youth clubs, women’s organizations, researchers and academics and sub-regional alliances. Girls Not Brides is a global movement that is beginning to take root in several of these countries, with Plan taking an active leadership role in the Mozambique chapter. Through GNB and other networks, Plan can amplify its advocacy efforts and help promote the sustainability of its investments through the 18+ programme.

Programme Implementation A.

Timeline

The overall programme is designed to be implemented and evaluated over a four-year timeframe. (See Annex C for an illustrative work plan.) Because funding may not be available for full programme implementation in all four countries at inception, Plan may have to consider alternative time frames. A formative research period prior to start-up in order will yield a more nuanced understanding of the drivers of child marriage in the specific programme areas, the characteristics and needs of vulnerable girls and the norms on child marriage that need to be influenced. Annex D provides an illustrative list of formative research strategies and questions. The programme can be broken down into five main phases:  Formative Research (approximately 6 months)  Start-Up and Community Sensitisation (approximately 6 months – some overlapping with formative research) 46

Gage, A.J. (2013). Child Marriage Prevention in Amhara Region, Ethiopia: Association of Communication Exposure and Social Influence with Parents/guardians’ Knowledge and Attitudes, Social Science & Medicine, doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.08.017. 41 | P a g e

18+ Ending Child Marriage in Southern Africa   

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Implementation (approximately 3 years) Evaluation (approximately 6 months) Dissemination and Advocacy for Scale-Up (6 months)

Where to work

The decision about where to implement the 18+ program in each of the four countries will be guided by a number of factors. Foremost among these, however, is the need to maximize impact in areas where the burden of child marriage is the greatest. The program should seek to identify areas of particular need within these areas and focus efforts there, as the potential for impact is much higher, particularly when more localized programming with girls and their families is linked to broader programming at the community and national levels. These would include areas that are particularly poorly served in terms of services, including access to education, and where there are particular concentrations of poverty and other drivers of child marriage. Critically, this decision will also be based on where Plan has capacity and strategic priorities, which may include its current Programme Unit (PU) areas. Based on these broad goals and the country-level data presented above, we recommend that the program be implemented primarily in rural areas in regions/districts where the prevalence of child marriage is particularly high. These areas in each country are listed below to guide decisionmaking, but the ultimate decision should be made by Plan. Potential focal districts include: 

Malawi: Mulanje, Phalombe and Chikwawa



Mozambique: Cabo Delgado, Nampula, Manica, Zambezia or Niassa



Zambia: Eastern, Luapula, Northwest, or Northern regions



Zimbabwe: Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West or Masvingo

It is recommended that Plan implement the full programme model in at least one discrete geographic area in each country, so that it can be evaluated in four different settings. The size of the geographic area targeted depends on available resources.

Management

This programme will require a Programme Manager at the Sub-Regional Level, Programme Coordinator at Country level and Project Officers in Plans’ four Programme Units (Pus). These individuals will work with other Plan staff in implementing the project and in coordinating with partners. The Programme Coordinator will coordinate the report-writing on a quarterly and annual basis to the Country Office, sub-regional office and to the donors. [Plan to complete this section]

Partners

[Plan to complete this section]

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VI.

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Risk Management

The proposed programme has the potential to make a tremendous impact on the issue of child marriage and to contribute to global learning. Some risks are inherent in a programme of this size and scope, and actions can be taken to try and mitigate these risks. The monitoring system, as described above, will also help to flag additional and unexpected challenges. Quality and Consistency of Implementation: This is an ambitious and multi-faceted programme, with many different components that are intended to be implemented in a coordinated fashion. There is a risk that with different funding streams and timelines, different programme components will be implemented in a piecemeal way, which would minimize their collective impact. It is important that the programme is managed well â&#x20AC;&#x201C; by both a sub-regional and country-level team who can help to recruit and/or train staff, facilitate communications across country teams, provide necessary technical support and help to maintain consistency. Increasing Stigma for Married Girls: There has been a conscious choice to focus this programme on preventing child marriage, rather than mitigating its harmful effect on girls who are already married. However, it is important to ensure that the programme materials and curricula do not inadvertently exacerbate stigma against married girls, who are among the most vulnerable members of society. It is strongly recommended that a separate programme strategy with complementary funding are sought to provide services to this population, which can also serve the purpose of a long-term child marriage prevention strategy. Increasing Vulnerability of Participants: Because the programme aims to reach vulnerable young adolescents, it must take special care not to exacerbate their vulnerability through programme involvement. Formative research should take care to identify any special risks faced by the target population, including safety, restrictions on mobility or participation in public meetings. Strategies to mitigate this risk can include extensive community sensitization, outreach and engagement of parents and of influential gatekeepers. Safe spaces should be identified for programme activities, as well as safe transportation options to clubs and other activities. Additional support services â&#x20AC;&#x201C; including temporary shelters, health and psychosocial support services â&#x20AC;&#x201C; may need to be identified for girls who are in particularly difficult situations. Community Backlash: It is possible that by addressing a sensitive topic with social, cultural and religious significance, there could be backlash from community members. Care must be taken to introduce the topic of child marriage in a way that is non-judgmental and non-threatening, and that gives community members ownership over the actions that are taken. The success of the programme will largely rest with programme staff who have excellent facilitation skills and cultural competencies.

VII. Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy In addition to the programmatic goal of contributing to ending child marriage, the 18+ programme can contribute significantly to the learning agenda at the national, sub-regional and global levels. This learning agenda is focused both on generating evidence of the impact of the project model on child 43 | P a g e

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marriage and on examining the feasibility of scaling the model up through either adoption by governmental agencies or by other non-governmental organizations. A robust monitoring and evaluation approach is critical to this learning process. We propose a mixed-method, multi-faceted quasi-experimental approach that allows for a number of questions to be addressed in the evaluation, both within and across the included countries. The proposed design for this project will reflect the dual goals of identifying programme components that can be taken to scale and evaluating the overall impact of the program on child marriage, thus creating the evidence base for programmatic scale-up. In order to achieve these goals, separate evaluations will be conducted for the full programme model and a selected sub-set of programme components that are seen as potentially scalable to either implementation organizations or to governments. This will be supported by an in-depth monitoring system that both provides rapid feedback to program staff on challenges with implementation and generates critical tracking data on project progress. This system will be paired with a reporting system on programme costs, allowing for the evaluation of the economic costs of individual elements of the programme.

Progress Monitoring

A unified Monitoring Information System (MIS) will be developed for the 18+ programme that ensures that a standardized set of information is collected in all levels of project implementation (sub-regional, national and sub-national). The MIS will be based on a set of interlinked forms capturing both quantitative and qualitative indicators of programme implementation, with information reviewed and entered into a database on a regular basis. This information will both form the basis for much of the assessment of the levels of investment required to implement different variations of the program and to measure fidelity of the implementation to the program model. Process monitoring activities will include the systematic completion of forms by project staff following each activity related to the project, the collection of these forms in each research site, an initial review of forms by monitoring staff to identify issues of concern for project implementation, and the entry of the data into a consolidated monitoring database at the country level (these can be merged together to assess overall progress across all countries). In all cases, the forms will be kept as simple as possible to ease the burden on programme staff and assist in maintaining fidelity to the monitoring process. Where possible, forms will be designed to collect data from multiple activities, and where possible, the monitoring system will build on existing structures and systems. Each country will be charged with submitting quarterly progress reports to the evaluation team and programme management. This will be paired with a detailed accounting of resources (financial and otherwise) dedicated to specific activities that will allow for the assessment of relative costs of different components. The evaluation team will in turn be charged with working closely with monitoring staff in each implementation country, beginning with training on the forms used, data management and entry, basic data analyses, and the preparation of quarterly reports within a specific template. Following the receipt of the quarterly reports, the evaluation team will conduct a more thorough review of the data and provide timely feedback to the larger project team.

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Monitoring Roles and Responsibilities

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The global team, which consists of Plan International staff at both the national, sub-regional and global levels, implementation partners at the national and sub-regional levels, and the evaluation partner, will work collaboratively to ensure that the project generates the data required to meet the dual goals outlined above. At the local level, monitoring and evaluation specialists employed by Plan International will be embedded as part of the core project team in each country. These individuals will work alongside the programme implementation teams and be tasked with overseeing the collection and review of monitoring forms, their entry into the MIS database and the development of reports. Embedding the monitoring and evaluation specialists in the programme teams will help ensure that the evaluation needs of the project are met in a consistent way. The evaluation team will coordinate closely with these individuals and provide capacity building and support as required throughout the life of the project.

Evaluating the programme

The evaluation approach adopted for the 18+ programme is designed to meet both the impact assessment and learning goals of the project. In order to do this, a full impact evaluation design will be implemented alongside a more flexible approach that allows for ongoing learning throughout the life of the project. The impact evaluation component will focus on assessing the full program as outlined in the â&#x20AC;&#x153;18+ Programme Descriptionâ&#x20AC;? section, while the learning component will allow country teams to experiment with adaptations to the model by focusing on certain components over others. In all cases, a detailed assessment of cost will be conducted to allow for an assessment of the relative costs of specific components of the program. In both cases, the MIS will be broadly the same, as will the indicators used to assess the success of specific activities (see Annex E: Results Framework for a detailed listing of illustrative indicators for specific programmatic outcomes and the proposed data collection methods). Data will be collected at three levels: individual girls, their families and communities, and at the national level, using a variety of data collection approaches (including the MIS).

Evaluation of complete programme model

As noted above, the formal evaluation of the programme will be based on a mixed-methods quasiexperimental design that aims to assess the impact of the full program model. Both quantitative survey data and qualitative data will be collected from girls and from a subset of community members, while the assessment at the national level will be based on both monitoring and qualitative data. The evaluation itself will focus on one carefully selected location in each of the programme countries where the full program model was implemented in its entirety and in a standardized way. These locations will be limited in size, either in individual communities or in closely grouped communities. This allows for full program saturation and for a more robust sampling approach where data is collected from every household in the implementation area in addition to the target population of adolescent girls (i.e. a full household census).This will provide basic information on the number of eligible girls (unmarried girls aged 10-14) for inclusion in the programme and their marital status, allowing for both a robust assessment of the role selection plays in shaping program outcomes and the levels of child marriage in the community. The household census will also provide the information used to construct the sampling frame for the selection of eligible girls for inclusion in the individual data collection (both qualitative and quantitative). A random sample of eligible girls will be drawn both immediately before the start of programming activities (baseline), providing a baseline assessment of the characteristics of this population, and after 45 | P a g e

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the program is completed (endline). A quantitative survey will be used to collect data from girls directly, while qualitative data collection techniques (e.g. focus group discussions, in-depth/key informant interviews) will be used to assess impact of activities aimed at bringing about change at the community or national levels (including broader-based advocacy aimed at the legal and policy framework). The size of the sample collected will be determined using power calculations drawing on estimations of expected change based on prior evaluations of programs using components of the model (such as safe spaces for girls). A comparable community in the same general geographic area will be selected to act as a comparison site in each of these locations, with particular care paid to ensuring common socioeconomic conditions and a similar programmatic environment (particularly in terms of interventions aimed at child marriage and other related programs, such as those targeting girlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s education). Survey data will be collected from this group on the same topics as in the intervention area, allowing for direct statistical comparisons to be drawn from. While a variety of approaches will be used to assess impact, the primary method will be based on a multivariate regression framework that allows for an estimate of the degree to which change in intervention areas compares to that in comparison sites (e.g. difference-in-difference estimation). The qualitative data will be collected via participatory focus group discussions (PFGDs) and in-depth interviews (IDIs) conducted with girls who actively participated in the programme, focusing specifically on how girls perceived the programâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s impact. The indicators at the community level will be based on both survey and qualitative data. The survey data will be collected from a subsample of households (based on the household census) with oversampling to ensure the selection of a sufficient number of households of eligible girls for analyses. A similar analytical approach will be used as for at the girl-level. Qualitative data will be collected from a subsample of these households, both through PFGDs and IDIs. The impact of the national level activities will be assessed through IDIs with key targets of the advocacy efforts (e.g. legislators, ministry officials, policy-makers) and with other organizations and/or activists focusing on child marriage.

Assessment of scalability of programme

In contrast to the impact evaluation component described above, the assessment of scalability will focus largely on testing modifications to the overall programme with an eye to developing clear recommendations for governments. The selection of specific programme components will be systematic, with individual component deliberately excluded from the full programme package to assess how this influences the program impact and other indicators of scalability such as overall cost of the intervention. For example, community engagement may be limited to community dialogue, or the direct programming with girls may focus only on in- or out-of-school girls, or the program in individual sites may not develop a mass media component to support the programing. The exclusion of specific elements of the program will allow for a comparative assessment of their value across a range of factors, including staff engagement, cost and integration with other components of the programme. This assessment will be based on smaller quantitative and qualitative assessments of impact utilizing a limited version of the approach taken for the impact evaluation and a more extensive process evaluation drawing on programme documents and interviews with implementing staff. For the most part, these approaches will also be more focused on the impacts at the level of the girl, though this will vary according to the modifications made to the programme model. These analyses will allow for an assessment of the feasibility of integrating the programme into existing government structures or nongovernmental programming, which have different objectives in terms of both scalability and 46 | P a g e

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sustainability. These analyses will be paired with the costing assessment described above, thus providing a robust bases for programmatic recommendations at either the government or non-governmental levels.

Two potential approaches include:  Test a mass media component: Mass media has been shown to be an effective strategy for child marriage prevention47 and for other strategies, such as adolescent reproductive health and HIV prevention in some settings. Mass media campaigns are often supported in part by governments to raise awareness or change behaviour on an issue of importance to the public welfare. With clear evidence of impact and/or cost-effectiveness, relevant government departments may take on media campaigns to change attitudes and practice vis-à-vis child marriage, particularly regarding implementation of laws. The impact of the mass media campaign could be assessed through examining the effect of exposure to media messages on core attitudes towards child marriage, girl’s education and other determinants of child marriage.  Test effectiveness with in-school and out-of-school populations: The overall programme approach is intended to reach girls in school and out of school and to address some of the barriers to girls’ education. Some components of the curriculum may be adopted by Ministries of education to help improve girls’ retention in school. Furthermore, if recruitment strategies and program content are successful in reaching and engaging hard-to-reach, out-of-school girls, Ministries may adopt some of these for the purposes of getting girls who have dropped out of school to reenrol. The relative effectiveness of working with each group would be assessed through a variety of methods, including direct data collection (quantitative or qualitative) with girls and family/community members and detailed program-level data (from the MIS and through qualitative data collection with program staff).

Evaluation Roles and Responsibilities

The evaluation of the project will be led by an external evaluator/organization. This organization will be involved in the project from the beginning of the formal design process, providing Plan International staff with technical assistance in ensuring that the program is implemented in a manner that allows for the planned evaluation approach to be successfully implemented. The partner will take the lead in the development of data collection tools, both quantitative and qualitative, the sampling approach, selection of any data collection partners, training of data collectors, data collection, and the analyses of the data. The evaluation partner will also be tasked with designing the MIS, including the forms, working closely with Plan International staff to ensure the feasibility of the system. The external evaluator will work closely with the monitoring and evaluation expert in each of the sites (who will also be tasked with day-to-day oversight of the MIS) to coordinate data collection efforts and continually monitor project activities via the MIS. The external evaluator will also coordinate with the global team from Plan International on the dissemination of materials generated by the data collection and the preparation of a variety of project documents, including the baseline and evaluation reports, material for presentations, policy briefs, etc.

Gage 2013

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VIII. Sustainability and Scalability A.

Sustainability

The proposed programme model is ambitious in its scope. It intentionally takes a multi-level approach, with intensive girl and community mobilization at its core, in order to maximize the positive impact on the issue of child marriage. The proposed model has implications for sustainability and scalability. Girl-Level Activities: The girls’ groups will engage the girls who are most vulnerable to child marriage through informal education in group settings. Through these activities, girls will gain information, support and skills that they can use and apply throughout their transitions through adolescence and into adulthood. The groups themselves will only be actively supported by the programme for [at least] one year, but many groups members may choose to continue to meet and would not require infrastructure to continue reaping many of the social benefits of the programme. Furthermore, the “cascading leadership” approach adopted through training of mentors will equip young participants to learn and apply leadership skills and will also enhance mentors’ own skills that can be applied in other professional or community settings. Finally, the advocacy activities that girls take on will position them for more prominent roles in their communities and will also help to transform some of the structural impediments to their full participation in community life. In an analysis of programs reaching the most disadvantaged girls, Sewall-Menon and Bruce find that such programs can be cost-effective because they enhance girls’ access to services and entitlements that are available but underutilized, that they provide a platform to which additional content and services can be added.48 Household and Community Activities: The programme is designed to help facilitate a social movement to transform norms and practices at the community level. The activities supported through the programme (engagement of family members, community dialogues, training of leaders) will help to “ignite” the social movement toward positive change; however, the truly transformative aspects of this movement come from community members themselves, and will therefore be self-sustaining. The programme is also designed to facilitate partnerships and action at the community level, via school/community partnerships and community action committees. These will be entirely governed and led by community members, and will not require outside resources or support beyond the initial organizing and training phases. Social/Political Environment: One of the main purposes of working at this level is to support legal and political systems at the national and sub-regional levels that will support girls’ rights to choose if, when and whom to marry. The programme will build networks, strategically influence decision-makers and contribute toward the harmonization of legal and customary law, thereby helping to increase the demand from rights-holders and the accountability from rights-bearers for girls’ improved rights. The programme will support the start-up of these activities, however, the changes that are set in motion will be self-sustaining.

Sewall-Menon and Bruce (2012).

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Scalability

Designing a scalable model was one of Plan’s priorities; however, this is also a challenge for a programme that intends to reach vulnerable populations and work at multiple levels. ExpandNet defines scaling up as “deliberate efforts to increase the impact of successfully tested pilot, demonstration or experimental projects to benefit more people and to foster policy and programme development on a lasting basis.”49 The scaling-up process can occur in a “horizontal” or “vertical” direction; the 18+ programme can be adapted to do both. In its entirety, the 18+ programme model lends itself best toward horizontal scale-up— that is, a similar approach could be adapted and replicated by other Plan offices, and/or by other non-governmental organizations that are operating at the community level. As explained further in the M&E section above, the entire programme model will be implemented in at least one location in each country, and will be evaluated for impact in at least two of these settings. The lessons learned through the implementation and evaluation processes will help Plan and other potential implementers learn more about the costs and benefits of this multi-level model in reducing child marriage. Plan will also adapt the model to evaluate certain elements that may lend themselves to vertical scale-up, or adoption by national/local governments. The purpose of this strategy is to test those elements of the programme that are most feasible for implementation by government.

IX.

Conclusion

The 18+ Ending Child Marriage in Southern Africa programme will build on and significantly extend existing efforts to combat child marriage. It will do so by systematically incorporating strategies that have been identified as being successful in delaying or preventing child marriage in multiple settings. This allows the programme to address a much wider range of the drivers of child marriage than is usually the case, particularly at the scale envisioned, which include four countries and includes activities at the sub-regional level. The variations in program application across sites will also allow for an assessment of the value of individual programmatic components. The proposed monitoring and evaluation approach aims to take advantage of this opportunity by adopting a learning-based agenda in addition to rigorously assessing programmatic impact, building the regional and global evidence base on not only what works for preventing child marriage but also how this works.

World Health Organization and ExpandNet (2011). “Beginning with the end in mind: Planning pilot projects and other programmatic research for successful scaling-up.” 49 | P a g e

ANNEX A: Country Profiles

Annex A: Country Profiles Malawi 1. Overview Malawi is an ethnically diverse country, divided into three regions – North, Central and Southern – which are further divided into 27 districts, populated by at least 12 distinct cultural sub-groups. The Northern Region is dominated by social groups that follow a patrilineal system of family formation and descent, characterized by inheritance through sons and the relocation of brides to the home of her husband’s family upon marriage (patrilocal). Most ethnic groups in the Southern Region (the Sena excepted) follow a matrilineal lines of descent and newly married couples settle near the bride’s family home (matrilocal). The Central Region is home to a mix of patrilineal and matrilineal groups, but because it is home to the Chewa, Malawi’s largest ethnic group, the region is primarily matrilineal and matrilocal. There is some evidence that the Central Region may be shifting slowly towards a stronger patrilineal and patrilocal tradition due to contact between different ethnic groups. 50 In addition to inheritance rights and relocation, these social systems determine many aspects related to family formation, including marriage traditions such as the locus of decision-making and negotiation, dowry or bride-price, as well as age of marriage, divorce, and, in some cases, polygyny. Other traditions and cultural factors also play a role in child marriage throughout Malawi. One commonly-cited and cross-cultural reason for early marriage here is the family’s desire to preserve the girl and the family from dishonor resulting from pre-marital pregnancy.51 In some parts of Malawi, hastened marriage may be the alternate choice given to young men in lieu of paying damages to the family of the pregnant girl.52 Some parents also marry daughters off early believing the transfer of responsibility for her safety to her husband will protect the girl from sexual assault.53 Initiation ceremonies and peer pressure (based on avoiding shame or gaining social status) are also common influences that encourage girls to marry early.54 Traditional marriage pledges such as kutomera (betrothal of very young or even unborn daughters for a future marriage), kupimbira (as payment for a 50

Zulu, 1996 and Palamuleni, 2011 UNICEF. (2005) Early Marriage: A Harmful Traditional Practice: A Statistical Exploration. New York: UNICEF Annie Bunting (2005), Stages of Development : Marriage of Girls and Teens as An International Human Rights Issue, Social and Legal Studies , Vol.14(1), 17-38.28. 52 Malawi Human Rights Commission (2006), Cultural Practices and Human Rights : A Study into Cultural Practices and their Impact on the Enjoyment of Human Rights Particularly the Rights of Women and Children in Malawi, (Malawi Human Rights Commission), p 28 53 Jonathan Wittenberg, Alister Munthali, Anne Moore, Eliya Zulu, Nyovani Madise, Macbain Mkandawire, Felix Limbani, Leila Darabi and Sidon Konyani (2007),Protecting the Next Generation in Malawi: New Evidence on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs, (Guttmacher Institute), p13. 54 Malawi Human Rights Commission (2006), p 28 & 29 51

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ANNEX A: Country Profiles debt), or a young sister sent to take the place of a deceased wife (chimeta masisi, chidzutsa nyumba, chiusya nyumba, impyana, mbirika, or nthena) are also still common in various ethnic groups, as are marriages arranged to build familial ties.55 Though some of these practices blur the lines between cultural and economic drivers of child marriage, particularly when poverty is a factor, Bunting points out that without the cultural, religious and gender dynamics that allow child marriage, economic hardship alone would not drive the practice.56

2. Gender Disparities a) Education and Literacy

Girls and boys in Malawi have similar rates of attendance in primary school – 65 percent and 63 percent, respectively. Gender differentials increase at the secondary level: nearly one in three boys attends secondary school, compared to 18 percent of girls. Three percent of women have not attended school; almost 60 percent have at least some primary schooling, and just under 20 percent have some secondary schooling. Girls’ school attendance declines moderately between ages 11 and 14, then decreases rapidly around age 14. Grades 7 and 8 have the highest rates of dropout for girls, with the 7th grade showing the greatest difference between girls’ and boys’ dropout. The Central region has the highest rates of dropout and, overall, dropout is more prevalent in rural than urban areas. Four out of five women in Malawi are literate.

b) Decision-Making Women in Malawi report the lowest participation in decision-making in the sub-region, and decisionmaking power is particularly low among the youngest age groups, the unemployed, and women in rural areas. Women’s decision-making power is lowest in the Central and highest in the Northern region.

c) Access to Contraception One in five out of all women aged 15-19 report ever having used any modern method of contraception, compared to 67 percent of those aged 20-24. Among women ages 15-19, 46 percent of those currently married and half of those who are sexually active but unmarried report ever using any modern method of contraception. Among 20-24 year old women, these rates increase to nearly 73 percent and 81 percent, respectively.

d) Violence Just over 30 percent of women aged 15-19 report experiencing physical and/or sexual violence from their husband or partner, and spousal violence rates are significantly higher in urban areas than in rural areas. 55

Malawi Human Rights Commission (2006), p 28 & 19 UNICEF. (2005) 56 Bunting, 2005. p 26.

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ANNEX A: Country Profiles 3. Prevalence of Child Marriage

Half of women aged 20-24 in Malawi were married by age 18, and almost 12 percent of girls were married by age 15. Malawi bears the 11th highest rates of child marriage globally and ranks second in the SADC sub-region.58 The prevalence of child marriage in Malawi exceeds the sub-Saharan Africa regional average (37percent).59 Though child marriage is prevalent throughout Malawi, there is considerable variation in the prevalence of child marriage within Malawi. Table 1 shows the proportions of women aged 20-24 in each district who reported having been married or having had sexual intercourse by ages 15 and 18. TABLE 1: PROPORTIONS OF WOMEN AGED 20-24 MARRIED AT AGE 15 AND 18, BY DISTRICT

Chitipa Karonga Nkhatabay Rumphi Mzimba Kasungu Nkhota Kota Ntchisi Dowa Salima Lilongwe Mchinji Dedza Ntcheu Mangochi Machinga Zomba Chiradzulu Blantyre Mwanza Thyolo Mulanje Phalombe Chikwawa Nsanje Balaka Neno

Age 15 25.85 26.83 19.78 13.17 11.90 16.62 16.70 10.43 18.58 18.64 11.26 12.38 21.66 17.57 34.33 26.20 29.39 26.50 14.54 26.36 28.00 37.00 42.74 27.35 27.49 22.52 25.69

Age at first Union Age 18 70.15 71.22 58.39 55.22 66.17 69.08 66.33 53.80 56.73 63.20 59.24 59.84 69.73 61.93 70.38 73.37 66.80 67.88 43.24 64.09 74.35 78.29 84.21 77.25 73.18 65.04 69.18

Age at first sexual intercourse Age 15 Age 18 27.54 79.71 41.17 86.26 36.96 83.87 19.75 70.65 20.86 71.61 24.26 69.41 30.26 78.47 12.70 58.47 19.59 57.70 29.73 76.96 19.58 69.11 18.89 71.19 23.04 76.09 25.24 78.83 50.26 85.49 39.61 88.61 44.52 75.07 33.31 79.20 24.55 64.32 33.02 77.44 43.03 87.71 58.48 90.81 47.74 88.11 47.24 84.82 29.64 78.61 33.92 84.75 33.30 77.56

Total

21.13

64.73

31.14

75.66

Except where otherwise cited, the statistical information for Malawi is based on the 2010 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), a nationally representative sample examining a range of social and demographic factors. We focus on the 20-24 year age range, as this is the closest age range to our target age group where very significant proportions have married and undergone other important life transitions. 58 UNFPA. 2013. State of the Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Children. UNFPA. New York. 59 UNFPA Child Marriage Profiles, Malawi. Available at http://www.devinfo.info/mdg5b/profiles/

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ANNEX A: Country Profiles

The districts with the highest rates of child marriage and early sexual activity are Mulanje, Phalombe and Chikwawa, where around 80percent reported being married by age 18 and around 90percent were sexually active at age 18, while the lowest were Blantyre, Ntchisi and Rumphi. Even in these districts, however, around half of women were married by age 18.

a) Risk Factors

Rural residence: Child marriage prevalence is much higher in rural areas. Figure 1 shows the proportions of women who had had sexual intercourse and were married by age 15 and 18.

FIGURE 1: PROPORTIONS OF MARRIED RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD WHO WERE MARRIED, HAD HAD SEXUAL INTERCOURSE, AND FIRST BIRTH BY SPECIFIC AGES

Sexually active at age 18

79 24

Sexually active at age 15

33 45

Married at age 18

70 13

Married at age 15

23 0

20 Urban

100

Rural

Those who resided in rural areas were more likely to have experienced both marriage and sexual activity at young ages than their urban counterparts. By age 18, four in five (79percent) were sexually active and almost three quarters (70percent) were married â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the figures for their urban counterparts were 63percent and 45percent respectively. These figures suggest that in Malawi the greatest need for child marriage prevention programming is in rural areas (though urban areas also have very high rates of child marriage). As a result, the remainder of the figures in this report focus on rural areas only.

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ANNEX A: Country Profiles While these figures do suggest that sexual activity may precede marriage for at least some of these girls, the ages at which the majority of sexual activity, marriage and the start of childbearing take place are broadly similar, as shown below in Figure 2. Figure 2 shows the proportion of married adolescents who experienced each of these events at particular ages. This allows for both an examination of the relative timing of events (keeping in mind that these figures are only available for those who are married or had been sexually active or had children respectively, and that reporting of key events by age is notoriously problematic in Malawi and similar contexts60), and the identification of key ‘tipping points’ where the incidence of these events increases rapidly. FIGURE 2: PROPORTIONS OF MARRIED RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD WHO WERE MARRIED, HAD HAD SEXUAL INTERCOURSE, AND FIRST BIRTH BY SPECIFIC AGES

Proportion of each age

25 20 15 10 5 0 8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Age Age at first marriage

Age at first sexual intercourse

Age at first birth

Figure 2 suggests that sexual intercourse does occur at slightly earlier ages than marriage or childbearing, but that generally these events are timed quite closely together. In terms of the ‘tipping point’ there are sharp increases between the ages of 13 and 15 (e.g. the proportion reporting being married at age 13 is 5.6 – 16.1 percent reported age 15 as the first age that they became sexually active). Some studies are showing that contraception use is increasing in Malawi. According to a recent study in Malawi, the use of contraception in married women aged 15 to 49 years rose from 13percent in 1992 to 46percent in 2010, whereas among married adolescents aged 15 to 19 years, it rose from 7percent in 1992 to around 29percent in 2010.61 A key rationale for preventing child marriage is that it comes with significant costs to the girl in terms of overall opportunities, wellbeing and life opportunities. To examine this, we compare the educational, wealth, and marital relationship characteristics of rural women aged 20-24 who were married before age 18 with those who either married after age 18 or who had not married when interviewed. 60

Mensch et al 2013. http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2014/feb/17/access-to-contraception-birthcontrol 61

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ANNEX A: Country Profiles As Figure 3 demonstrates clearly, child brides in rural Malawi were more than half as likely (21percent vs. 55percent) to have completed primary school or had some secondary education than those who had not married by age 18. Almost four in five (79percent) of those married at or before age 18 had not completed primary school (compared to 45percent of those married later) – of these, 11 percent had no education at all (compared to 6percent of those married later). FIGURE 3: PERCENTAGE OF RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD WITH DIFFERENT EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT LEVELS, BY WHETHER THEY WERE MARRIED AT OR BEFORE AGE 18

Primary or higher

21 45

Less than Primary

79 6

No Education

11 0

Married after age 18 or never married

100

Married at or before age 18

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ANNEX A: Country Profiles FIGURE 4: PERCENTAGE OF RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD IN DIFFERENT WEALTH STATUS, BY WHETHER THEY WERE MARRIED AT OR BEFORE AGE 18

Richest

Richer

16 22

Middle

Poorer

Poorest 0

Married after age 18 or never married

Married at or before age 18

The type of marriage entered into was also influences somewhat by age at marriage, though the differences are less stark than for the outcomes discussed above. Women who married before age 18 were more likely to have married a man who is at least five years older than them, as shown in Figure 5. 38percent of those married before age 18 had a spouse who was at least five years older than there were, compared to 27 percent of those married after age 18. This is important, as large age differences between spouses often result in significant power differentials within relationships. FIGURE 5: PERCENTAGE OF MARRIED RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF AGE DIFFERENCE WITH HUSBAND, BY WHETHER THEY WERE MARRIED AT OR BEFORE AGE 18

Husband is 5+ years older

Husband is 1-5 yrs older

Husband is younger

3 0

Married after age 18

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Married at or before age 18

ANNEX A: Country Profiles A similar relationship may take place in polygynous societies, where younger wives may be more likely to be second or third wives and therefore occupy a lower status in the household. As Figure 6 shows, this does not seem to be the case in rural Malawi, with very small differences between the different marital ages in terms of the status of their marriage.

FIGURE 6: PERCENTAGE OF MARRIED RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD IN POLYGYNOUS MARRIAGES, BY WHETHER THEY WERE MARRIED AT OR BEFORE AGE 18

1 or more co-wives

No co-wives

Married after age 18

100

Married at or before age 18

4. Access To Mass Media

A key component of the proposed program is a mass media campaign. To assess the access that married adolescents may have to media, we compare child brides to those who married later. Figure 7 shows the proportions of women who access different types of media at least once per week, with very significant differences in terms of use of television and newspapers, likely reflecting the differences in income and education discussed above.

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ANNEX A: Country Profiles FIGURE 7: PERCENTAGE OF RURAL WOMEN ACCESSING MEDIA OF DIFFERENT TYPES, BY WHETHER THEY WERE MARRIED AT OR BEFORE AGE 18

Televison

Radio

Newspaper

8 0

Married after age 18 or never married

Married at or before age 18

Those married later are three times more likely to view television or read a newspaper at least once a week (27percent vs. 9percent and 25percent vs. 8percent respectively), while only slightly more likely to have listened to the radio. Overall the most commonly used form of media was radio – for those who married later, radio use was roughly 2.5 times higher than other sources of media, while child brides used of radio roughly 6 times more than either of the other forms of media.

Mozambique 1.

Overview

Mozambique is divided into ten provinces and one city (Maputo) that holds the status of a province. Though there are at least six distinct ethnic groups, some of which have sub-groups, the three dominant groups are the Makua, the Sena/Nadu, and the Tsonga. Similar to Malawi, these groups can be categorized by their patrilineal or matrilineal social structures, which influence each group’s traditions regarding family formation. The Makua, a matrilineal society, are the largest ethnic group in Mozambique, dominating the northern wing of the country. The remainder of the country is primarily populated by patrilineal societies—the Sena/Nadu throughout the Zambezi Valley, which stretches across the middle of the country, and the Tsonga in the southern wing. A 2004 study of Mozambique found that age of marriage and rates of divorce showed the greatest differences between matrilineal and patrilineal groups, even after controlling for rural/urban, education and income differences.62 Contrary to previous hypotheses, the study found girls from matrilineal groups tend to marry younger, 62

Arnaldo, 2004

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ANNEX A: Country Profiles on average, than those from patrilineal societies.63 This is attributed, in part, to the rising cost of brideprice (primarily a patrilineal custom), which takes increasingly longer for men to save. The author also found that divorce and marital dissolution are much more common among matrilineal unions due to the younger age of marriage, shorter marriage negotiation process, absence of the bride-price (which must be returned in a patrilineal divorce), and matrilineal control of inheritance, reproductive rights and child custody.64 According to the study, it is much more difficult for a woman to leave a patrilineal marriage than for either spouse to dissolve a matrilineal one. Polygyny is less clearly aligned with matrilineal/patrilineal affiliation, but the study did find that rates differed significantly between the six ethnic groups.65 It is important to interpret these findings with caution, however, since other scholars have emphasized the complexity and diversity of inheritance patterns, with many groups having a mix of matrilineal and patrilineal customs. As in Malawi, child marriage in Mozambique has both cultural and economic drivers. Combined with the gendered norms that place a low value on girls, economic hardship fuels child marriages, particularly in rural areas and communities where a bride-price is customary. Arranged marriage, betrothals and marriage pledges, and bride price (lobolo) are common in various marriage traditions throughout the country.66 Initiation ceremonies are blamed for triggering girls’ early sexual debut, and families’ desire to protect the girl and family from shame of pregnancy out of wedlock frequently leads to hastened marriages.67 Gendered discrimination and harassment in schools, including emotional, physical and sexual violence towards girls, have been a reported factor in driving girls out of school and towards early marriage.68 In Mozambique the customary marriage process for some ethnic groups can be quite complex and drawn out over a long period of time. Some marriage processes include extended negotiation processes with various levels of commitment (some of which start at a very early age), and some may include a period of cohabitation before the marriage is considered final.69 Older data collection efforts did not differentiate between marriage (or its many stages) and cohabitation, but the most recent DHS survey does. This explains why the most recent DHS surveys show a drastic change in the prevalence of child marriage between 2004 and 2011 (55.1 vs. 43.9 percent married by 18, respectively, and 21.7 vs. 14.4 percent married by age 15). It also explains the high reported rate of cohabitation (23percent) and low rate of marriage (44percent) for the overall population in 2011 compared to other countries in the subregion. Girls in Mozambique attend primary school at a lower rate than their male counterparts – half of girls compared to 58 percent of boys, and 27 percent of boys attend secondary school, compared to 17 percent of girls. Over 12 percent of women have no educational attainment—the highest in the sub63

Ibid. Ibid. 65 Ibid. 66 From the Plan 18+ Literature Review, p 19 The National Statistics Institute (2009) Final Report on Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2008. Maputo/Mozambique 67 Ibid. 68 Plan 18+ Literature Review (p 20) cites Action Aid study on Status Of Girls Education And Violence In Manhiça 69 Bandali, 2008 and Arnaldo, 2004 64

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ANNEX A: Country Profiles region, 48 percent have at least some primary schooling, and one quarter have some secondary schooling. Girls’ school attendance decreases sharply around age 13. Just under 60 percent of women in Mozambique are literate. Women in Mozambique report moderate participation in decision-making, compared to the other countries in the sub-region. Women’s decision-making power is lowest in the Manica and Cabo Delgado and highest in Moputo and Inhambane. Just over 8 percent of all women aged 15-19 report ever having used any modern method of contraception, compared to 15 percent of those aged 20-24 – the lowest of the programme countries. Among women ages 15-19, only 6 percent of those currently married and 27 percent of those who are sexually active but unmarried report ever using any modern method of contraception. Among 20-24 year old women these rates increase to only 11 percent and 38 percent, respectively. Nearly a quarter of women aged 15-19 report experiencing physical and/or sexual violence from their husband or partner, with higher rates of spousal violence reported in urban areas than in rural areas.

2. Child Marriage Prevalence70

The 2011 DHS found that half of women aged 20-24 in Mozambique were married by age 18, and over 14 percent of girls are married by age 15 – the highest rate of very early marriage among the four program countries. Mozambique has the 9th highest rate of child marriage globally and the single highest in the SADC sub-region.71 The prevalence of child marriage in Malawi exceeds the sub-Saharan Africa regional average (37 percent).72 Though child marriage is extremely prevalent throughout Mozambique, it is highest in Cabo Delgado Region, followed by Nampula, Manica, Zambezia, Niassa, Tete, Zambezia, Sofala and Gaza—all of which have prevalence rates of marriage by age 18 of over 50 percent. Maputo district and Maputo City each have prevalence rates around or above 20 percent, but are much lower than the national average. The pattern of higher prevalence in rural areas is clearer for age at marriage than for the initiation of sexual behavior, which in many cases is as high or higher in more urban areas, where child marriage is less prevalent. Table 2 shows the proportions married and sexually active at ages 15 and 18 by region.

The country profile that follows for Mozambique is based on the 2011 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), a nationally representative sample examining a range of social and demographic factors. We focus on the 20-24 year age range, as this is the closest age range to our target age group where very significant proportions have married and undergone other important life transitions. 71 UNFPA (2012) Profiles of 10 Countries with the Highest Prevalence of Child Marriage http://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/2012/ChildMarriage_8_annex1_indicatordefinition.pdf 72 UNFA Child Marriage Profiles, Malawi. Available at http://www.devinfo.info/mdg5b/profiles/

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ANNEX A: Country Profiles

TABLE 2: PROPORTIONS OF WOMEN AGED 20-24 MARRIED AT AGE 15 AND 18, BY DISTRICT

Niassa Cabo Delgado Nampula Zambezia Tete Manica Sofala Inhambane Gaza Maputo Provincia Maputo Cidade

Age at first Union Age 15 Age 18 32.86 66.95 31.82 77.47 27.38 74.61 25.94 63.25 23.94 63.97 29.78 72.29 27.49 56.59 17.27 46.31 17.69 54.03 11.24 36.76 6.44 19.57

Total

23.79

Age at first sexual intercourse Age 15 Age 18 70.57 89.43 78.68 95.06 52.66 95.22 60.11 90.97 28.59 79.04 32.7 86.6 39.41 87.82 64.6 94.28 40 91.93 42.15 89.78 30.26 85.17

60.08

48.37

89.55

3. Risk Factors for Child Marriage

As Figure 8 shows, there are very significant differences between rural and urban areas in Mozambique. Figure 8 shows the proportions of women who had had sexual intercourse and were married by age 15 and 18. FIGURE 8: PROPORTIONS OF MARRIED RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD WHO WERE MARRIED, HAD HAD SEXUAL INTERCOURSE, AND FIRST BIRTH BY SPECIFIC AGES

89 90

Sexually active at age 18 40

Sexually active at age 15

Married at age 18 19

Married at age 15 0

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53 69

Urban

Rural

100

ANNEX A: Country Profiles

These figures suggest that sexual behavior starts earlier in rural areas, with over half of women aged 2024 in rural areas reporting that they were sexually active at age 15, compared to 40 percent of urban women. However, this difference largely disappears by age 18, at which point sexual activity is almost universal (around 90 percent) for both urban and rural women. Rural women are also much more likely to have been married at both age 15 and 18 than their urban counterparts. At both ages, rural girls are roughly 1.5 times more likely to have been married (19 percent vs. 27 percent at age 15 and 69 percent vs. 45 percent at age 18). Figure 8 also suggests that sexual activity often precedes marriage in Mozambique, with the proportions sexually active at both 15 and 18 around twice as high as the proportions married in both rural and urban areas. This pattern is also evident when examining the ages at which rural women aged 20-24 experienced first sexual activity, marriage and childbearing, as shown in Figure 9. Figure 9 shows the proportion of married adolescents who experienced each of these events at particular ages. This allows for both an examination of the relative timing of events (keeping in mind that these figures are only available for those who are married or had been sexually active or had children respectively) and the identification of key ‘tipping points’ where the incidence of these events increases rapidly.

Proportion of each age

FIGURE 9: PROPORTIONS OF MARRIED RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD WHO WERE MARRIED, HAD HAD SEXUAL INTERCOURSE, AND FIRST BIRTH BY SPECIFIC AGES 25 20 15 10

5 0 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Age Age at first marriage Age at first sexual intercourse Age at first birth

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ANNEX A: Country Profiles

A key rationale for preventing child marriage is that it comes with significant costs to the girl in terms of overall opportunities, wellbeing and life opportunities. To examine this, we compare the educational, wealth, and marital relationship characteristics of rural women aged 20-24 who were married before age 18 with those who either married after age 18 or who had not married when interviewed. As Figure 10 demonstrates clearly, child brides in rural Mozambique were more than half as likely (14 percent vs. 27 percent) to have completed primary school or had some secondary education than those who had not married by age 18. Almost nine in ten (86percent) of those married at or before age 18 had not completed primary school (compared to 73percent of those married later). While there are important differences between child brides and those marrying later; however, it is worth noting that overall education attainment among rural women is very low – about one third of all girls have no education and a further 50percent of rural girls fail to complete primary school.

FIGURE 10: PERCENTAGE OF RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD WITH DIFFERENT EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT LEVELS, BY WHETHER THEY WERE MARRIED AT OR BEFORE AGE 18

Primary or higher

14 73

Less than Primary

86 33 32

No Education 0

Married after age 18 or never married

100

Married at or before age 18

This difference is also reflected in the wealth status of the households these women live in. The DHS calculates wealth based on the household ownership of a core set of assets, and then uses this information to classify households into five categories of wealth relative to all the households in the country. As Figure 11 demonstrates, those who married before age 18 were generally more likely to reside in households classified as ‘Poorer’ or ‘Poorest’ and less likely to be in households classified as ‘Richer’ or ‘Richest’. For example, those married later were twice as likely to be classified as ‘Richest’ (7percent vs. 3percent) and 1.5 times as likely to be ‘Richer’ (26percent vs. 19percent). It is worth noting that the majority of both groups were classed as ‘Poorer’ or ‘Poorest’, suggesting that there are major inequalities in terms of wealth between urban (not shown here) and rural areas.

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ANNEX A: Country Profiles FIGURE 11: PERCENTAGE OF RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD IN DIFFERENT WEALTH STATUS, BY WHETHER THEY WERE MARRIED AT OR BEFORE AGE 18

Richest

Richer

19 18

Middle

25 26

Poorer 23

Poorest

Married after age 18 or never married

Married at or before age 18

The type of marriage entered into was also influenced somewhat by age at marriage, though the differences are less stark than for the outcomes discussed above. Women who married before age 18 were more likely to have married a man who is at least five years older than them, as shown in Figure 12. While 39 percent of those married after age 18 had a spouse who was at least five years older than they were, 46 percent of those married before age 18 did. This is important, as large age differences between spouses often result in very significant power differentials within relationships.

FIGURE 12: PERCENTAGE OF MARRIED RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF AGE DIFFERENCE WITH HUSBAND, BY WHETHER THEY WERE MARRIED AT OR BEFORE AGE 18

Husband is 5+ years older

46 52

Husband is 1-5 yrs older

49 9

Husband is younger

0 Married after age 18

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Married at or before age 18

ANNEX A: Country Profiles In contrast to some of the other settings, being married before age 18 has relatively little impact on whether or not the woman was in a polygynous relationship. This is potentially important because younger wives may be more likely to be second or third wives and therefore occupy a lower status in the household. As Figure 13 shows, the proportions in polygynous relationships are roughly the same regardless of age at marriage.

FIGURE 13: PERCENTAGE OF MARRIED RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD IN POLYGYNOUS MARRIAGES, BY WHETHER THEY WERE MARRIED AT OR BEFORE AGE 18

1 or more co-wives

No co-wives

86 0

Married after age 18

100

Married at or before age 18

4. Access to Mass Media

A key component of the proposed program is a mass media campaign. To assess the access that married adolescents may have to media, we compare child brides to those who married later. Figure 14 shows the proportions of women who access different types of media at least once per week, with very significant differences in terms of use of television and newspapers, likely reflecting the differences in income and education discussed above.

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ANNEX A: Country Profiles FIGURE 14: PERCENTAGE OF RURAL WOMEN ACCESSING MEDIA OF DIFFERENT TYPES, BY WHETHER THEY WERE MARRIED AT OR BEFORE AGE 18

Televison

20 47

Radio

43 16

Newspaper

6 0

Married after age 18 or never married Married at or before age 18

Those women who were married earlier are much less likely to use/access both newspapers and television – in both cases they were half as likely to have report using them at least once a week. Overall the most commonly used form of media was radio – for those who married later, radio use was roughly two times higher than newspapers for both groups. The difference between use of/access to radio and the other two forms of mass media is particularly wide for those married early, who were twice as likely to have listened to the radio at least once per week than watched television (43percent vs. 20percent) and seven times more likely than to have read a newspaper (43percent vs. 6percent).

Zambia 1.

Overview

Zambia is comprised of nine provinces, divided into 72 districts. Though there are at least 73 distinct ethnic groups, the Bantu cluster accounts for almost 99 percent of Zambia’s population. Within this cluster, the Bemba is the largest (37percent), dominating the Northern, Copperbelt and Luapula provinces, and is traditionally a matrilineal and matrilocal society, requiring men to work for his wife’s family as a kind of bride-price. The Tonga group (19percent) is matrilineal and patrilocal, living in the Southern province, and traditionally requiring a bride-price paid in cattle. The Tonga also practice levirate succession in which, if a man dies, his brothers and nephews receive top priority over inheritance and take on the man’s familial responsibilities, including marrying his widow and caring for his children. Some literature de-emphasizes the importance of matrilineal systems in the actual practice of women’s inheritance in Zambia due to the influence of colonialism, which held the rights of men over

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ANNEX A: Country Profiles women.73 The Lozi (7percent) are in the Western province and practice bilateral inheritance by which the children, male and female equally, have the first rights of inheritance, followed by the brother of the deceased. The wife may not inherit her husband’s land, but may inherit a share of the crops. The Nyanja (11percent) of Eastern province, along the Malawi border, are the best example of a patrilineal and patrilocal society. The Lunda (12percent) and the Mambwe (8percent) are other large ethnic groups. Of the four countries, Malawi and Zambia are most closely related in terms of cultural drivers and traditions that relate to child marriage.74 Qualitative research conducted in 2011 by Plan Zambia found that Chinamwali, an initiation ceremony, is held to prepare girls for marriage based on the customary age of marriage rather than the official legal age, and may contribute to adolescent’s early sexual debut and marriage. As noted above, lobola, or bride-price, and inheritance of widows for remarriage by the brother of the deceased are common practice among some social groups. Women in Zambia attend primary school at a slightly higher rate than their male counterparts – 54 percent and 46 percent, respectively, but 42 percent of boys attend secondary school, compared to 30 percent of girls. Four percent of women have no educational attainment, 34 percent have at least some primary schooling, and 42 percent have some secondary schooling. Girls’ school attendance decreases sharply around age 14. Grades 5, 6 and 7 have very high rates of dropout for girls, significantly higher than for boys. The Eastern province has the highest rates of dropout, followed by Lusaka. Approximately 73 percent of women in Zambia are literate. Women in Zambia report moderate participation in decision-making, compared to the other countries in the sub-region. Women’s decision-making power is lowest in the Eastern province and highest in Lusaka and the Western province. One in five out of all women aged 15-19 report ever having used any modern method of contraception, compared to over 60 percent of those aged 20-24. Among women ages 15-19, 45 percent of those currently married and 54 percent of those who are sexually active but unmarried report ever using any modern method of contraception. Among 20-24 year old women these rates increase to nearly 69 percent and 77 percent, respectively. Nearly 40 percent of women aged 15-19 report experiencing physical and/or sexual violence from their husband or partner, and these rates are nearly 10 percentage points higher in urban areas than in rural areas.

2. Child Marriage Prevalence

The 2007 DHS found that 42 percent of women in Zambia aged 20-24 were married by age 18 and 8.5 percent were married by age 15. Nationally, the median age at marriage was 19.0, meaning half are married by this age, but the median age at marriage was a full year younger in rural areas than in urban

Chuma N. Himonga. (2011). Family Law in Zambia. Kluwer Law International. United Nations Human Settlements Programme. ‪(2005). Land Tenure, Housing Rights and Gender in Zambia. ‪Volume 3 of Land Tenure, Housing Rights, and Gender in Zambia, ‪United Nations Human Settlements Programme‪. Law, land tenure and gender review: Southern Africa. UN-HABITAT. ‪ 74

From‪Plan’s‪18+‪Literature‪Review

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ANNEX A: Country Profiles areas. Figure 1 shows the proportions of women who had had sexual intercourse and were married by age 15 and 18 for rural and urban women.

There is significant geographic variation in the patterns of child marriage across the different regions of Zambia. The proportions of women married by age 18 in four regions (Eastern, Luapula, Northwest, and Northern) are close to or above 60percent, while in three (Western, Copperbelt, and Lusaka) the proportion is below 40percent. However, even in those areas where prevalence is relatively low, it is worth noting that these include a full one third of girls. The proportions married and sexually active by ages 15 and 18 for each region are shown below in Table 3.

TABLE 3: PROPORTIONS OF WOMEN AGED 20-24 MARRIED AT AGE 15 AND 18, BY REGION

Central Copperbelt Eastern Luapula Lusaka Northern Northwest Southern Western

Age at first Union Age 15 Age 18 23.19 53.81 13.11 37.08 20.86 69.21 14.67 61.71 8.97 33.90 27.35 58.27 17.84 60.15 11.25 47.98 11.33 37.87

Total

16.66

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49.61

Age at first sexual intercourse Age 15 Age 18 53.81 69.85 37.08 64.05 69.21 83.42 61.71 77.92 33.90 65.83 58.27 69.84 60.15 87.89 47.98 81.37 37.87 92.85 49.61

74.08

ANNEX A: Country Profiles FIGURE 15: PROPORTIONS OF MARRIED RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD WHO WERE MARRIED, HAD HAD SEXUAL INTERCOURSE, AND FIRST BIRTH BY SPECIFIC AGES

Sexually active at age 18

83 21

Sexually active at age 15

41 32

Married at age 18

63 9

Married at age 15

22 0

20 Urban

100

Rural

3. Risk Factors for Child Marriage

The figures show a very clear difference between rural and urban areas with regard to sexual and marital behavior at both ages focused on here. Rural women were roughly twice as likely to be married at age 15, age 18 and sexually active at age 15 than their urban counterparts, and roughly a third more likely to be sexually active at age 18 (62 percent vs. 83 percent). These figures suggest that sexual activity outside of marriage is common, particularly in urban areas – while 62 percent had been sexually active before age 18, the proportion reporting having married before age 18 was 32 percent. While the difference is less dramatic for rural areas, the pattern is broadly the same. Figure 16 shows the proportion of married adolescents who experienced first sexual activity, marriage and childbearing at particular ages. This allows for both an examination of the relative timing of events (keeping in mind that these figures are only available for those who are married or had been sexually active or had children respectively) and the identification of key ‘tipping points’ where the incidence of these events increases rapidly.

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ANNEX A: Country Profiles

Proportion of each age

FIGURE 16: PROPORTIONS OF MARRIED RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD WHO WERE MARRIED, HAD HAD SEXUAL INTERCOURSE, AND FIRST BIRTH BY SPECIFIC AGES 30 20 10

0 8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Age Age at first marriage Age at first sexual intercourse Age at First Birth

While marriage and childbearing are relatively closely linked, with marriage preceding childbearing by a year or so, sexual activity begins significantly earlier. In terms of a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;tipping pointâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; where the proportions experiencing each of these events increases rapidly, the critical ages in Zambia appear to be between 13 and 15, particularly in terms of sexual behavior. While the proportion reporting having sex for the first time at age 13 is 1.6percent, almost a quarter (24.4 percent) of sexually active women aged 20-24 reported having sex for the first time at age 15. A key rationale for preventing child marriage is that it comes with significant costs to the girl in terms of overall opportunities, wellbeing and life opportunities. To examine this, we compare the educational, wealth, and marital relationship characteristics of rural women aged 20-24 who were married before age 18 with those who either married after age 18 or who had not married when interviewed. As Figure 17 demonstrates clearly, child brides in rural Zambia were more than half as likely (28percent vs. 56percent) to have completed primary school or had some secondary education than those who had not married by age 18. Seven in ten (72 percent) of those married at or before age 18 had not completed primary school (compared to 73 percent of those married later). While significant proportions of both groups reported having no education at all, the proportion of those married before age 18 was considerably higher than for those who married later (17 percent vs. 11 percent).

FIGURE 17: PERCENTAGE OF RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD WITH DIFFERENT EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT LEVELS, BY WHETHER THEY WERE MARRIED AT OR BEFORE AGE 18

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ANNEX A: Country Profiles

Primary or higher

28 44

Less than Primary 11

No Education 0

17 20

Married after age 18 or never married Married at or before age 18

This difference is also reflected in the wealth status of the households these women live in. The DHS calculates wealth based on the household ownership of a core set of assets, and then uses this information to classify households into five categories of wealth relative to all the households in the country. As Figure 18 demonstrates, those who married before age 18 were generally more likely to reside in households classified as ‘Poorer’ or ‘Poorest’ and less likely to be in households classified as ‘Richer’ or ‘Richest’. For example, those married later were almost twice as likely to be classified as ‘Richest’ or ‘Richer’ (16 percent vs. 19 percent). The proportion of child brides classed as ‘Poorest’ is almost double that of those marrying later (20 percent vs. 36 percent, but it is worth noting that the majority of both groups were classed as ‘Poorer’ or ‘Poorest’, suggesting that there are major inequalities in terms of wealth between urban (not shown here) and rural areas. FIGURE 18: PERCENTAGE OF RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD IN DIFFERENT WEALTH STATUS, BY WHETHER THEY WERE MARRIED AT OR BEFORE AGE 18

Richest

Richer

Middle

32 31

Poorer 20

Poorest 0

Married after age 18 or never married

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36 25

Married at or before age 18

ANNEX A: Country Profiles In contrast to some of the other countries studied here, there was very little difference between those married before age 18 and those married after in terms of the type of marriage, measured by the age difference between spouses and whether the marriage was polygynous. These are shown in Figures 19 and 6 respectively.

FIGURE 19: PERCENTAGE OF MARRIED RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF AGE DIFFERENCE WITH HUSBAND, BY WHETHER THEY WERE MARRIED AT OR BEFORE AGE 18

Husband is 5+ years older

44 49 53

Husband is 1-5 yrs older 4 4

Husband is younger 0

Married after age 18

Married at or before age 18

FIGURE 20: PERCENTAGE OF MARRIED RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD IN POLYGYNOUS MARRIAGES, BY WHETHER THEY WERE MARRIED AT OR BEFORE AGE 18

1 or more co-wives

No co-wives

92 0

Married after age 18

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Married at or before age 18

100

ANNEX A: Country Profiles 4. Access to Mass Media:

A key component of the proposed program is a mass media campaign. To assess the access that married adolescents may have to media, we compare child brides to those who married later. Figure 21 shows the proportions of women who access different types of media at least once per week, with very significant differences in terms of use of television and newspapers, likely reflecting the differences in income and education discussed above.

FIGURE 21: PERCENTAGE OF RURAL WOMEN ACCESSING MEDIA OF DIFFERENT TYPES, BY WHETHER THEY WERE MARRIED AT OR BEFORE AGE 18

Televison

Radio

Newspaper

Married after age 18 or never married Married at or before age 18

While the proportions of both child brides and those who married later that listen to the radio at least once per week were broadly similar (52 percent vs. 55 percent), use of television and newspapers was much higher among those marrying after age 18. The proportion watching television at least once per week was almost three times higher for this group than those marrying at or before age 18 (44 percent vs. 16percent), and over three times higher for having read newspapers. As with the other countries included in this project, radio was the most common form of media regularly accessed followed by television.

Zimbabwe 1.

Overview

Zimbabwe consists of eight provinces and two cities that have provincial status. In speaking, however, the provinces are sometimes combined into two large regions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mashonaland and Matabeleland â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 73 | P a g e

ANNEX A: Country Profiles which correspond with the two major ethnic groups that compose the majority in their respective areas. The north-eastern two-thirds of the country is known as Mashonaland, for the Shona ethnic group (and its six sub-groups) which comprises 76 percent of Zimbabwe’s population and is concentrated in this area. To the southwest is Matabeleland, home of most of the Ndebele peoples (with two sub-groups) who account for 18 percent of the total population. The Batonga, Shangaan/Hlenge and Venda each account for approximately 1 percent of the national population. Both the Shona and the Ndelbele have patrilineal and patrilocal social structures; the Tonga are matrilineal and matrilocal.

Religious and cultural practices in Zimbabwe play a large role in the country’s child marriages. A brideprice – called lobola or roora – is a common component of union formation among patrilineal societies in the country, including the Shona – the largest ethnic group in Zimbabwe.75 Lobola or roora are traditionally paid in cattle, but money is becoming a more common method of payment, particularly in urban areas.76 A practice known as kuzvarira - the pledging of a girl child as a bride, often in exchange for food or in repayment of a debt, is becoming more common in rural areas due to Zimbabwe’s continuing economic crisis.77 Another practice permits young girls to be taken to bear children for a married sister who is unable to conceive, and kuripa ngozi (homicide bride) refers to the accepted practice of a young girl being given as a wife to compensate a family for the loss of a deceased relative, usually in cases of murder.78 Similar to other programme countries, initiation ceremonies are seen to encourage girls to become sexually active and may lead to hastened marriages. Child marriage and polygyny are also common practice among members of Zimbabwe’s Apostolic Sect, a Zionist group that boasts 1.2 million members and enjoys strong political support.79 A baseline survey commissioned by Plan Zimbabwe80 found that early pregnancy and early marriage were common events precipitating school dropout among the study population, with early pregnancy being the more common of the two by four percentage points. Adult respondents overwhelmingly acknowledged marriage before completing school or reaching age 19 (the legal age in Zimbabwe) as a common practice. Respondents cited economic reasons (such as lack of school fees and poverty) as the primary drivers behind marrying early, but also listed peer pressure and prestige as important reasons.

Women in Zimbabwe benefit from high educational attendance and completion. Girls attend primary school at a slightly higher rate than their male counterparts – 28 percent and 21 percent, respectively, though 70 percent of boys attend secondary school, compared to 65 percent of girls. Virtually 100% (99.9) percent of women have no educational attainment at all, one in ten girls have at least some 75

J. Richard Udry, Nancy Dole and Karin Gleiter. 2002. Forming Reproductive Unions in UrbanZimbabwe. International Family Planning Perspectives, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 10-12+17 76 Meekers, Dominique. 1994. Combining ethnographic and survey methods: A study of the nuptiality patterns of the Shona of Zimbabwe. Journal of Comparative Family Studies 25.3 (Autumn 1994): 313. 77 Roselyn Hanzi, 2006, Sexual abuse and exploitation of the girl child through cultural practices in Zimbabwe: a human rights perspective [dissertation], Makerere University, Kampala. 78 Hanzi, 2006 79 From Plan’s 18+ Literature Review 80 There are no references cited in this report, so difficult for us to assess.

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ANNEX A: Country Profiles primary schooling, but more than three quarters of girls have some secondary schooling. Girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; school attendance begins to decrease between ages 12 and 14. Over 96 percent of women in Zimbabwe are literate. Women in Zimbabwe report the highest participation in decision-making in the sub-region. Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision-making power is lowest in Manicaland and highest in Matabeleland South. One in ten women aged 15-19 report ever having used any modern method of contraception, compared to 44 percent of those aged 20-24. Among women ages 15-19, 35 percent of those currently married and the same for those who are sexually active but unmarried report ever using any modern method of contraception. Among 20-24 year old women these rates increase to 59 percent and 57 percent, respectively. Nearly half of women aged 15-19 report experiencing physical and/or sexual violence from their husband or partner, and these rates are slightly higher in rural areas than in urban areas.

2. Prevalence of Child Marriage

The 2010-11 DHS found that 30 percent of women in Zimbabwe aged 20-24 were married by age 18 and just under 4 percent were married by age 15. Zimbabwe has the 39th highest prevalence of child marriage globally.81 There is considerable variation in child marriage rates across Zimbabwe. As shown below in Table 4, over half of women aged 20-24 were married before age 18 in four regions (Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West and Masvingo), while in Bulewayo the proportion was 16percent. A similar pattern is evident for age at first sexual intercourse, though the proportions of sexually active women at each age group are generally higher than for marriage, suggesting that realatively large proportions in this age group are sexually active prior to marriage.. Interestingly, this is particularly the case in those regions where early marriage is least common, suggesting that in these places sexual activity and marriage are less closely linked.

UNFPA. 2012(b) Marrying Too Young: End Child Marriage. UNFPA. New York, cites UNFPA database using household surveys (DHS and MICS) completed during the period 2000-2011.

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ANNEX A: Country Profiles TABLE 4: PROPORTIONS OF WOMEN AGED 20-24 MARRIED AT AGE 15 AND 18, BY DISTRICT

Manicaland Mashonaland Central Mashonaland East Mashonaland West Matabeleland North Matabeleland South Midlands Masvingo Harare Buluwayo Total

Age at first Union Age 15 Age 18 6.95 42.84

Age at first sexual intercourse Age 15 Age 18 9.42 48.31

20.68 10.09

63.36 55.68

19.90 13.34

67.97 58.04

20.29

53.7

15.17

59.99

5.56

42.69

13.32

71.23

6.29 7.17 11.16 4.18 3.10

24.08 49.49 53.04 26.72 16.16

17.85 8.98 12.12 4.29 5.32

71.48 54.07 56.44 29.13 35.72

9.56

43.00

10.83

51.10

3. Risk Factors for Child Marriage

As Figure 22 shows, there are very significant differences between rural and urban areas. Figure 22 shows the proportions of women who had had sexual intercourse and were married by age 15 and 18. FIGURE 22: PROPORTIONS OF MARRIED RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD WHO WERE MARRIED, HAD HAD SEXUAL INTERCOURSE, AND FIRST BIRTH BY SPECIFIC AGES

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ANNEX A: Country Profiles

Sexually active at age 18

62 5

Sexually active at age 15

15 29

Married at age 18

53 5

Married at age 15

13 0

10 Urban

Rural

These figures suggest that sexual behavior starts earlier in rural areas, with 15percent of women aged 20-24 in rural areas reporting that they were sexually active at age 15, compared to 5 percent of urban women. This difference is even more marked at age 18, where rural girls were twice as likely to have been sexually active (62 percent vs. 36 percent). Rural women are also much more likely to have been married at both age 15 and 18 than their urban counterparts (5 percent vs. 13 percent at age 15 and 29 percent vs. 53 percent at age 18). Figure 22 also suggests that sexual activity generally slightly precedes marriage in Zimbabwe, with the proportions who reported having had sex by age 18 higher than those being married in both rural and urban areas (36percent vs. 29percent for urban and 62percent vs. 53percent for rural). This pattern is also evident when examining the ages at which rural women aged 20-24 experienced first sexual activity, marriage and childbearing, as shown in Figure 23. Figure 23 shows the proportion of married adolescents who experienced each of these events at particular ages. This allows for both an examination of the relative timing of events (keeping in mind that these figures are only available for those who are married or had been sexually active or had children respectively) and the identification of key â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;tipping pointsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; where the incidence of these events increases rapidly.

FIGURE 23: PROPORTIONS OF MARRIED RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD WHO WERE MARRIED, HAD HAD SEXUAL INTERCOURSE, AND FIRST BIRTH BY SPECIFIC AGES

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Proportion of each age

ANNEX A: Country Profiles 25 20 15 10 5 0 8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Age Age at first marriage

Age at first sexual intercourse

Age at first birth

The data suggests that sexual activity begins before marriage for many girls, particularly between the ages of 14 and 17, though for the most part the three processes take place at very similar ages. In terms of a ‘tipping point’ where the proportions experiencing each of these events increases rapidly, the critical ages in rural Zimbabwe appear to be between 13 and 16 – while the proportion who first had sex at age 13 is almost zero, by age 16 this was almost 15percent. A similar pattern, though less dramatic and delayed by a year or so, is evident for age at first marriage and birth. A key rationale for preventing child marriage is that it comes with significant costs to the girl in terms of overall opportunities, wellbeing and life opportunities. To examine this, we compare the educational, wealth, and marital relationship characteristics of rural women aged 20-24 who were married before age 18 with those who either married after age 18 or who had not married when interviewed. Figure 24 shows the proportions of rural women aged 20-24 with different levels of educational attainment. In contrast to patterns in neighboring countries, the differences between child brides and those who marry later are relatively small in Zimbabwe. Nevertheless, those who married later are more likely to have completed primary school or have a higher level of education (93 percent vs. 82 percent) and less likely to have less than a primary education (7 percent vs. 18 percent).

FIGURE 24: PERCENTAGE OF RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD WITH DIFFERENT EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT LEVELS, BY WHETHER THEY WERE MARRIED AT OR BEFORE AGE 18

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ANNEX A: Country Profiles

Primary or higher

82 7

Less than Primary

1 1

No Education 0

100

Married after age 18 or never married

Married at or before age 18

The differences between child brides and those marrying later are starker when examining the wealth status of the households they live in. The DHS calculates wealth based on the household ownership of a core set of assets, and then uses this information to classify households into five categories of wealth relative to all the households in the country. As Figure 25 demonstrates, those who married before age 18 were generally more likely to reside in households classified as ‘Poorer’ or ‘Poorest’ and less likely to be in households classified as ‘Richer’ or ‘Richest’. For example, those married later were three times as likely to be classified as ‘Richest’ (10percent vs. 3percent) and 1.6 times as likely to be ‘Richer’ (16percent vs. 10percent). FIGURE 25: PERCENTAGE OF RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD IN DIFFERENT WEALTH STATUS, BY WHETHER THEY WERE MARRIED AT OR BEFORE AGE 18

Richest

Richer

Middle

Poorer

Poorest 0

Married after age 18 or never married

31 30

Married at or before age 18

As in other settings, large proportions of both groups (62percent in the case of child brides) were classed as ‘Poorer’ or ‘Poorest’, suggesting that there are major inequalities in terms of wealth between 79 | P a g e

ANNEX A: Country Profiles urban (not shown here) and rural areas. Overall, those married later lived in significantly poorer households than those whose marriages were delayed. The type of marriage entered into was also influenced somewhat by age at marriage, though the differences are less stark than for the outcomes discussed above. Women who married before age 18 were more likely to have married a man who is at least five years older than them, as shown in Figure 26. While 35 percent of those married after age 18 had a spouse who was at least five years older than they were, 48 percent of those married before age 18 did. In other words, child brides were almost 1.5 times more likely to have a significantly older husband. This is important, as large age differences between spouses often result in very significant power differentials within relationships.

FIGURE 26: PERCENTAGE OF MARRIED RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF AGE DIFFERENCE WITH HUSBAND, BY WHETHER THEY WERE MARRIED AT OR BEFORE

Husband is 5+ years older

48 56

Husband is 1-5 yrs older

50 9

Husband is younger

2 0

Married after age 18

Married at or before age 18

In contrast to some of the other settings, being married before age 18 has a modest effect on whether or not the woman was in a polygynous relationship. This is potentially important because younger wives may be more likely to be second or third wives and therefore occupy a lower status in the household. As Figure 27 shows, almost one in ten of child brides are in polygynous marital arrangements, double the rate of those married later.

FIGURE 27: PERCENTAGE OF MARRIED RURAL WOMEN 20-24 YEARS OLD IN POLYGYNOUS MARRIAGES, BY WHETHER THEY WERE MARRIED AT OR BEFORE AGE 18 80 | P a g e

ANNEX A: Country Profiles

1 or more co-wives

No co-wives

Married after age 18

100

Married at or before age 18

4. Access to Mass Media

A key component of the proposed program is a mass media campaign. To assess the access that married adolescents may have to media, we compare child brides to those who married later. Figure 28 shows the proportions of women who access different types of media at least once per week, with very significant differences in terms of use of television and newspapers, likely reflecting the differences in income and education discussed above.

FIGURE 28: PERCENTAGE OF RURAL WOMEN ACCESSING MEDIA OF DIFFERENT TYPES, BY WHETHER THEY WERE MARRIED AT OR BEFORE AGE 18

Televison

Radio

Newspaper

7 0

Married after age 18 or never married Married at or before age 18

Those women who were married earlier are much less likely to use/access both newspapers and television, with smaller differences for use of radio. Child brides were almost two times less likely to 81 | P a g e

ANNEX A: Country Profiles have used television at least once a week (26 percent vs. 48 percent) compared to those marrying at older ages, and almost four times less likely to regularly read newspapers (7 percent vs. 25 percent). Overall the most commonly used form of media was radio (used weekly 30 percent of child brides and 40 percent of women marrying at older ages) though television was the most accessed form of media by those who had married later.

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Annex B: Review of Promising Practice

ANNEX B Review of Promising Practice Recently, there has been a significant increase in the number of interventions targeting child marriage and increased demand to understand “what works.” In 2010 and 2011, ICRW conducted a systematic review of evaluated child marriage prevention projects.82 Of more than 150 relevant programs and policies identified, ICRW identified only 23 such programs with an available, documented evaluation.  



The programs identified were implemented between 1973 and 2009, with several of the programs continuing through the present, and evaluations were published between 1991 and 2010. The majority of programs work directly with girls, offering them opportunities to obtain skills and education. Most efforts engage with families and community members and attempt to change underlying social norms that perpetuate the practice of child marriage. Many interventions also offer economic incentives to parents to promote education and healthy behaviors as well as prevent child marriage. The vast majority of programs have had limited outreach and have yet to go to scale. In fact, nine of 23 programs aimed to reach fewer than 5,000 beneficiaries and almost three-quarters or 14 programs reached fewer than 15,000 beneficiaries. Only six programs reached more than 60,000 beneficiaries. Five out of 23 programs had preventing child marriage as a primary objective. A significant proportion of the programs (7 out of 23) included child marriage-related outcomes only as an incidental objective.

While a small number, they do point to some important trends in the field and a foundation on which future programs can build. It identifies five key strategies that have been shown to be effective in addressing child marriage:

A. Empower girls at-risk for early marriage with information, skills, and support networks. 18 of 23 programs identified in the review had a component that directly supported girls at-risk for early marriage. The primary mechanism for reaching girls is through forming peer groups in safe space settings. Within these safe spaces, girls receive information, life skills and social support groups from their peers and from mentors. These assets help girls better understand themselves, their world, and their options, and give them skills to make decisions and influence others. They typically aim to minimize girls’ social isolation by giving them opportunities to interact with their peers and with mentors. As girls gain skills, information, and self-confidence, their increased social capital often motivates them to aspire to jobs and enterprises as alternatives to marriage. Additionally, through broader social networks, they gain access to resources, support systems, and an increased sense of self-worth. Similarly, as girls gain human and social capital, they may also be viewed differently by parents and community members, making it less acceptable to marry them at young ages and thus helping to change norms around child 82

Malhotra, Warner, McGonagle Glinski and Lee-Rife, “Solutions to End Child Marriage: What the Evidence Shows,” International Center for Research on Women, 2011.

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Annex B: Review of Promising Practice marriage. At least for the duration of the programs, these activities may also serve as socially acceptable alternatives to marriage, something often lacking in communities with high rates of child marriage. These programs incorporate one or more of the following range of interventions: 

  

 

Life skills training to teach girls about health, nutrition, money, finance, legal awareness, communication, negotiation, decision-making and other relevant topics. Vocational and livelihoods skills training to equip girls for income generation activities. Sexual and reproductive health training (may be incorporated under life skills). Information, education, communication (IEC) campaigns—using various platforms—to convey messages about child marriage, schooling, rights, reproductive health and other topics. Mentoring and peer group training to youth leaders, adults, teachers, etc. to provide ongoing information and support to girls. “Safe spaces” or forums, clubs and meetings that allow girls to meet, gather, connect and socialize outside the home.

The age of girls participating in these programs ranges from 10-24, and participants are usually targeted via community channels and school systems. Program components may be provided in conjunction with schools, or outside of school settings, and may or may not involve boys of similar age groups. Some programs also incorporate livelihoods skill-building components to further build girls’ human capital and prepare them for income-earning opportunities.

ISHRAQ Organizations: Save the Children, Caritas, CEDPA, Population Council, Ministry of Youth, National Council for Childhood and Motherhood Strategies: Ishraq is a two-year program for girls ages 12 to 15 who are not in school. It aims to help them return to the classroom by teaching literacy and numeracy, health and life skills. The program also provides financial education and sports programming. Ishraq engages community members through group education sessions about consequences of and alternatives to child marriage. Results (2001-2004): Ishraq girls expressed a desire to wait until they are older to marry and to have a say in choosing a husband. The more exposure they had to the program, the bigger the impact was. For example, the percentage of girls who said they preferred to get married when are younger than 18 decreased with program exposure: from 35 to 15 percent among girls who participated for less than 12 months; from 28 to 5 percent among those involved for 13 to 29 months; and from 26 to 1 percent among girls in the program for the full 30 months. The program is ongoing. Source: http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/Ishr aqFullReport.pdf

Programs in this category are almost always implemented in conjunction with strategy 2.

B. Educate and mobilize parents, religious/traditional leaders, and community members. 13 of 23 programs used this strategy. Girls rarely have the power to decide on their own if, when, or whom to marry. They are part of households and communities that directly and indirectly influence their choices and opportunities. Thus, it is essential that activities designed to inform and empower girls also 84 | P a g e

Annex B: Review of Promising Practice include parallel efforts to educate and mobilize parents, in-laws, religious/traditional leaders, and other community members. The activities include in this category are wide-ranging. In some programs, families and COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT communities are informed and engaged to support girls’ PROGRAM groups. Other programs take more concerted efforts to Organizations: Tostan, Center for change social norms and practices around child marriage. Research in Human Development, Engaging and informing boys and men, especially fathers, Population Council, UNICEF, Macro can be particularly important. International Inc. Strategies: This program targeted This strategy is generally implemented as an mostly women with informal accompaniment to others, and it is difficult to assess the education sessions around hygiene, extent to which community education and mobilization problem solving, women’s health and efforts contribute to program failure or success, because human rights. It also mobilized village most evaluations are not designed to isolate the impact of leaders and community members to this component. At the same time, most program stand up against harmful practices, implementers argue that it may well be impossible to such as female genital cutting and implement programs aimed at such significant social change child marriage. Results: Several villages made public without actively engaging community members. declarations to end child marriage. Women who participated in the Programs employing this strategy include the following program and were exposed to range of interventions: community mobilization activities –  One-on-one meetings with parents, community and as well as those who were only religious leaders to gain support. exposed to community activities – reported that they were more  Group and community education sessions on the knowledgeable about their rights. consequences of and alternatives to child marriage.  Parental and adult committees and forums as Source: guides to life skills and sexual and reproductive http://www.unicef.org/evaldatabase health curricula. /index_59605.html)  Information, education, communication (IEC) campaigns—using various platforms—to convey messages about child marriage, schooling, rights, reproductive health and other topics.  Public announcements and pledges by influential leaders, family heads, and community members.

C. Enhance the accessibility and quality of schooling for girls. One of the most promising interventions for delaying marriage is enhancing availability and quality of schooling. Girls with a primary education are twice as likely to marry or enter into union as those with a secondary or higher education, while girls with no education are three times more likely to marry or enter into union before age 18 as those with a secondary or higher education (UNFPA 2012). If girls are in school, they are usually not married, and if girls are married, they are usually not in school. The sequencing and causality of these events is often difficult to pinpoint: school drop-out usually precedes marriage or pregnancy; however, it may be that the social norms that suggest that marriage and motherhood are the only options for girls’ futures discourage parents from keeping girls in school and discourage girls from seeking alternatives. School can be protective against early marriage, by enabling the girl to be seen as a child and thus unmarriageable and also creates a safe space for girls. Interventions to enhance education include efforts to reduce barriers to schooling (e.g. stipends, school 85 | P a g e

Annex B: Review of Promising Practice materials or conditional cash transfers to offset the financial costs); efforts to increase demand for schooling from girls and their communities; and interventions to enhance the quality of schooling. Both formal and non-formal school education enable girls to develop social networks and acquire skills and information to enhance their ability to better communicate and negotiate their interests. Non-formal and girl-only educational programs can build economic and social assets to keep girls in school through the transition to secondary level, improve their ability to protect themselves from child marriage, and enhance community norms to reject child marriage. Quality is essential, which includes efforts to ensure that schools are safe and girl-friendly. Programs employing this strategy tend to use the following interventions:  

Preparing, training and supporting girls for enrollment or re-enrollment in school. Improving the school curriculum and training teachers to deliver content on topics such as life skills, sexual and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, and gender sensitivity.  Building schools, improving facilities (especially for girls), and hiring female teachers.  Cash, scholarships, fee subsidies, uniforms and supplies as incentives for girls to enroll and remain in school. Most of these interventions can be mobilized at large scale by the education sector, but thus far the connection with delayed marriage in preparing girls for school, improving school curriculum and building schools is being forged largely by external actors, including community and gender advocates, NGOs, and the HIV/AIDS and reproductive health sectors. For the most part, such interventions have yet to go to scale or be fully integrated into the educational system. In contrast, interventions focused on subsidies, scholarships and cash incentives have full engagement with governments and school systems, and may even emerge from the education sector. For this reason, they tend to reach larger numbers of beneficiaries. However, few national or local incentive programs have been designed with preventing child marriage in mind; thus, viable evaluations are difficult to undertake. The Zomba Cash Transfer program in Malawi has evaluated the role of conditional cash transfer programs for changing schooling, marriage, and sexual behaviors of adolescent girls in Malawi.

D. Offer economic support and incentives for girls and their families. Intergenerational poverty and the lack of viable income-generating options for girls and young women are important factors contributing to high rates of child marriage. Many programs attempt to offset these pressures by providing economic opportunities either to girls at-risk for child marriage or to their families. The programs that provide such opportunities to girls have as their rationale the idea that income-generating opportunities may provide an acceptable alternative to marriage and increase the daughter’s value in her family’s home. She may also be less likely to feel pressure to marry because of extreme economic insecurity. Some programs provide access to economic assets immediately, while others provide skills or financial literacy to prepare her for future economic opportunities. Other programs may provide the financial opportunities to parents or other family members, hoping to reduce the financial pressure to marry off their daughters to earn a brideprice and/or to avoid having to pay a higher dowry when a girl is older. Eight of 23 programs in ICRW’s systematic review used one of these strategies. Mechanisms included: providing a direct incentive for delaying marriage (such as a goat in the Berhane Hewan program in Ethiopia), incentivizing a behavior that is linked with delay of marriage (such as school attendance), or increasing the financial knowledge and skills of girls or other family members that help to increase financial security. 86 | P a g e

Annex B: Review of Promising Practice

Programs employing this strategy include two primary interventions:  Microfinance and related training to support income generation by adolescent girls.  Cash and non-cash incentives, subsidies, loans and scholarships to families or girls. Evaluations of these programs are showing some impact, but with important caveats. The Berhane Hewan program in Ethiopia incentivized families with a goat, contingent on the daughter not marrying during the program. While the program was successful in delaying the age of marriage among the younger cohort of girls, it is not known whether the goat or other activities (informal education for girls, support for girls to return to school, and community dialogues) were the main drivers of the positive changes. The Population Council is scaling up and testing this approach in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Burkina Faso to compare the effects of these different approaches, which will yield important insights for the field of child marriage prevention programming. The Zomba Cash Transfer program in Malawi compared the role of conditional versus unconditional cash transfers among girls who were enrolled in school at the beginning of the intervention, and found that unconditional cash transfers had a much greater impact on reducing the likelihood of being married at the end of the two-year program than conditional cash transfers did—almost entirely due to the effect of unconditional cash transfers among girls who dropped out of school during the course of the program. The implication of this finding is that among those who are likely to drop out of school, having additional income is a critical determinant of their ability to delay marriage. However, the longer-term impacts of this temporary income are unknown.

E. Foster an enabling legal and policy framework Many countries with high rates of child marriage have implemented laws to establish or raise the minimum age of marriage, or to reform other laws that are directly relevant to child marriage, including the right to enter into and dissolve marriage unions with free and informed consent; the right to protection from violence in all public and private spaces; the right to own, transfer and inherit assets on an equal basis with males; the right to citizenship; the right to education; the right to health; and the right to access justice on an equal basis with males. Activities included legal reform or advocacy for the reform of laws or policies, and/or effective implementation and enforcement of laws at the national and community levels by raising awareness and building capacity of duty-holders and duty-bearers. While this strategy has been used frequently, and is considered a necessary component of child marriage prevention efforts, very few of these efforts have been evaluated. ICRW’s systematic review identified only four evaluated programs or policies using this strategy, and three of these four used advocacy activities in combination with activities from other strategy areas. These activities are among the most difficult to evaluate for several reasons: they usually apply to an entire country or community, which means that there is no counterfactual against which to compare the changes that are observed over time; and additionally, such changes generally take years or even generations to have effect. The impact of national legal reform can be particularly challenging to detect in contexts where there are plural legal systems, and where marriages are governed by customary law and where birth registration is less common to verify people’s age. A more recent analysis of the impact of child marriage legislation in Africa by the World Health Organization found “little correlation between legislation and trends: Among the 12 countries that have had more than 10 percent decrease in general or in either rural or urban areas, only three countries are considered to have a strong legal framework (Ethiopia, Liberia, Sierra Leone),” and “in the few countries with declining rates it is not possible to ascribe the changes to

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Annex B: Review of Promising Practice legal reforms or legal mechanisms.”83 Improving the enabling legal and policy environment is considered a necessary, but not sufficient, strategy for social change. Changing the law alone is probably not sufficient to change behaviors or attitudes, especially in poor, rural areas where formal law often carries less weight; however, in combination with other programs that enhance skills and change norms, it can be an important facilitator of positive social change.

F. Summary of Effective Strategies Among these five strategies, the ones that had the most promising evaluations were those that sought to:  Empower girls at-risk of child marriage with information, skills and social support.  Educate and mobilize families and community members.  Provide girls with incentives to stay in or return to school. Programs that use these approaches are among the best-evaluated; however, some limitations should be noted. First, these strategies are almost always employed in combination, which makes it difficult to define exactly what components are the most effective in changing marriage-related knowledge, attitudes and behavior. The Population Council’s Age of Marriage project in three countries in subSaharan Africa aims to fill some of these gaps in knowledge about which components of multi-pronged interventions work best by evaluating separate “combinations” of programs in different places and comparing the outcomes. Of particular interest will be to what extent the conditional “cash” transfer (in the form of a goat or chickens, in these programs) drives changes in knowledge, attitudes and behavior regarding age of marriage. Secondly, the number of programs that have been evaluated is only a small portion of programs that have or are being implemented, and the contexts in which they were implemented varied dramatically. Also, the degree of rigor used in the design and analysis of these interventions varied considerably. All of these factors limit our ability to conclusively say what will work well in different settings, and makes the case for investments in targeted formative research prior to program implementation, as well as investments in robust monitoring and evaluation approaches that shed light on what is working well during, at the end of, and after a program has closed.

Temmerman, 2013

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Annex C: Illustrative Workplans and Required Resources

ANNEX C Illustrative Workplans and Required Resources 1.

Objective 1 Activities: Girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Empowerment Groups a)

Illustrative Workplan

This workplan assumes that most of the formative research will have already occurred prior to year 1. Activity

Recruit and hire staff Reach out to community leaders and partners Community mapping to identify characteristics of vulnerable girls and availability of safe spaces Identify and make improvements to safe space facilities in each community Finalize recruitment criteria for mentors Design/adapt curriculum for girls and training curriculum for mentors Conduct outreach to parents, community members (linked with objective 2) Recruit mentors for wave 1 and conduct training Recruit girls Launch wave 1 programming for girls Implement baseline study for wave 1 Monthly meetings for mentors Complementary programming for family members Implement endline study for wave 1 Recruit mentors for wave 2 and conduct training Launch wave 2 programming for girls Implement wave 2 baseline Implement wave 2 endline Facilitate opportunities for girls to conduct advocacy (linked with objective 3) Implement wave 2 follow-up study

1 X X

Y2 3

X X X X

X X

Y3 3

X X

X X X

X X

X X X

X X

Resource Requirements

For budgeting purposes, we assume that the programme will reach 5,000 girls in each country during the project period (about 200 groups of girls of 25 each). The resource considerations below are illustrative, and will depend largely on Planâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s existing management structure, how far apart the

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Annex C: Illustrative Workplans and Required Resources communities are from one another within the programme area and what the existing infrastructure is in these areas.  Staffing o Girls’ Mobilization Program Coordinator (1 at 100% FTE)  M&E Coordinator (50% FTE)  Field Coordinators (2 at 100% FTE)  Mentors (35, each managing about 6 groups of girls)  Monthly stipends for 35 mentors over 24 months (equivalent to teacher or health outreach worker)  Space (improvements to physical spaces)  Training materials (manuals) and meals for mentors for 5-day training (2 waves)  Materials for girls’ sessions (stationery)  Refreshments for girls’ sessions  Vehicles

Objective 2 Activities: Family and Community Mobilization a)

Illustrative Workplan

Activity Recruit and hire staff Conduct outreach to community leaders and partners about the programme Identify facilities/spaces for group meetings Finalize recruitment criteria for community facilitators/group leaders Design/adapt curricula for group programming and training curriculum for community facilitators/group leaders for all activities Conduct outreach to community members and parents Recruit and train community facilitators/group leaders Facilitate school/community partnerships Formative research on girls’ barriers to school participation (with girls, parents, school administrators) Analysis of current mechanisms to encourage school retention and identification of gaps Form or facilitate discussions among school administrators and parents Conduct awareness-raising sessions on issue of child marriage in school setting Implement or reinforce new mechanisms to improve girls’ retention in school Targeted Group-Based Outreach Recruit wave 1 parents (linked to objective 1) Launch wave 1 programming for parents (linked to activity 1) 90 | P a g e

Y1 1 X X

Y2 3

Y3 3

Y4 3

X X

Annex C: Illustrative Workplans and Required Resources Facilitate targeted meetings and events for men and boys Implement parents wave 1 baseline study Conduct home-based meetings with parents as necessary Implement parents wave 1 endline study Recruit wave 2 parents (linked to objective 1) Launch wave 2 programming for parents (linked to objective 1) Implement wave 2 baseline study for parents Community Dialogue Develop content and curriculum for community conversations using participatory processes Train facilitators Promote community conversations Hold community dialogue sessions (monthly) Community Action Plans Raise awareness of communities of opportunity for CAPS Explain CMC concept and invite nominations Vote on CMC to run CAPs Training of CMCs CMCs hold meetings to define priorities CMCs implement plans Training and capacity-building of community leaders and gatekeepers Identify existing community groups and leaders Share information on program and training opportunities Develop training curriculum Implement training

X X X

X X

X X X X

X X X X X

X X

Resource Requirements

For budgeting purposes, assume that objective 2 activities cover a population of 200,000 people in each country. The resource considerations below are illustrative, and will depend largely on Plan’s existing management structure, how far apart the communities are from one another within the programme area and what the existing infrastructure is in these areas. 

    

Staffing o Community Mobilization Coordinator (100% FTE, 4 years)  4 Field Coordinators (100% FTE, 3 years)  M&E Coordinator (50% FTE, 3.5 years) Room rental (4 times per year, 3 years) Refreshments for meetings (120 per year, 3 years) Vehicles and fuel (ongoing, 4 years) Training consultants for COMBI/edutainment activities Development of COMBI/edutainment materials – TBD

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Annex C: Illustrative Workplans and Required Resources 

Training materials (design and printing)

Objective 3 Activities: Improving the Legal and Policy Environment a)

Illustrative Workplan

Activity

Hire staff Engage and plan with key partners and networks Conduct analysis of legal and policy framework in each country and sub-region Develop detailed advocacy and communications for each country and sub-region strategy based on analysis Implement advocacy and communications strategy Develop briefs, talking points and reports on key issue areas (ongoing) Identify duty-bearers for training and capacitybuilding Conduct training for duty-bearers Facilitate advocacy opportunities for girls (linked with objective 1)

1 X X X

X X

Resources Required

The resource considerations below are illustrative, and will depend largely on Plan’s existing management structure, how far apart the communities are from one another within the programme area and what the existing infrastructure is in these areas. Staffing:  One sub-regional coordinator (100%, 4 years)  Four country office analysts (25%, 2 years)  Four country office advocacy organizers (50%, 3 years) Travel:  Regional travel: 8 regional trips per country office, per year, 4 years  Local travel (round trip capital to communities): average 1 trip per month, 4 years, 4 countries (192 trips)  Travel for girls and community leaders to conduct advocacy: 32 from community to capital, subregional capital (4 per country, two rounds) Materials:  Printing policy briefs: 10  Photography/videography to document girls’ activities

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Annex D: Questions for Formative Research

ANNEX D Key Domains and Illustrative Questions for Formative Research Developed January 2014 Formative research provides an opportunity to more carefully assess the needs and priorities of the target population, particularly girls who are vulnerable to child marriage and whose needs may not otherwise be captured by secondary data; to assess the gaps and resources in the communities that the programme should aim to target; to assess the feasibility of the proposed programme model; and to inform the indicators that can be used in the programme evaluation. If the methods are designed to be participatory, the formative research process can also provide an opportunity to engage the potential programme participants in the research and design process. The following provides an overview of domains, potential questions, and potential methods that could be used in a formative design process, but these would need to be further developed and prioritized into a full research plan.

A.      

Situational Analysis: Plan and Partners (Self-Assessment)

What is Plan’s experience in each country using the approaches set forth in the programme model? Where are the strengths and weaknesses? What are Plan’s geographic priorities and technical expertise that should be leveraged? Are there other actors (governmental and non-governmental) who are implementing similar activities that would either be complementary or duplicative of these efforts? How should they be engaged? What services (education, health, livelihood support) are available to girls in the target population? Who utilizes these services, and who does not? What are the risks of these strategies/approaches, and how can these be mitigated? Are key activities, partners or target populations missing?

Understand Needs and Priorities of Target Population 1)

Analysis of the “marriage market” in each locality

a) Questions What forms do marriage or unions take in this setting? How formal or informal are they, and how are they regulated (by law, custom, religion)?

Annex D: Questions for Formative Research ii. Do marriages of girls and boys under the age of 18 tend to differ from above? iii. Who makes the decisions about when, to whom and how a girl is to marry? Who is consulted and how? What role do the girl and her intended husband have in these decisions? iv. What factors determine whether or not a girl should marry? v. What, if any, economic transactions take place when a girl marries? How much control, if any, does a child bride, her natal family and her marital family have over assets exchanged during marriage? vi. What risks do child brides face in their marriages? What access do they have to social networks, health services, educational opportunities, work, community engagement? vii. How secure or durable are child marriages? How easy or difficult is it for a child bride to leave her marriage? b) Methods i. Desk review, drawing on anthropological, sociological, ethnographic, economic literature that is specific to the country/sub-national region ii. Qualitative methods with priority communities 2)

i. ii. iii. iv. v.

Understand needs and priorities of girls in each setting

a) Questions What are girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; aspirations for themselves, their families, their communities? Specifically, what are their aspirations for romantic relationships, marriages, motherhood â&#x20AC;&#x201C; both now and in their futures? What do girls see as the greatest challenges they face in fulfilling their aspirations? What ideas do they have for overcoming these challenges? What support do they need to overcome challenges? b) Methods Participatory qualitative research with girls (in-depth interviews, focus groups using participatory methods) 3)

Identify characteristics of girls most at risk of marriage in these settings

a) Questions i. Which girls are most vulnerable to early marriage in this setting (e.g. outof-school, poor, rural)? ii. What are the characteristics of their households? 94

Annex D: Questions for Formative Research iii. Why are these girls most vulnerable to early marriage? What are the personal, household or community-level characteristics that tend to magnify their vulnerability? iv. What social networks do vulnerable girls have? Who do girls tend to seek out for help, support during a crisis? v. What services (e.g. health, education, training) do girls access? vi. Who are the key gatekeepers in girls’ lives, particularly regarding decision to have romantic/sexual relationships, to marry, to stay in school, to work, etcetera? vii. What are the characteristics of “positive deviants” (girls or young women who would seem at risk for child marriage but have managed to avoid it)? c) Methods i. Analysis of secondary data to look at (for example): - Median age of marriage (at smallest geographic unit possible) - Median age at first sex - Age/grade of school drop-out - Marital status by wealth quintile - Marital status by highest level of education received - Marital status by location ii. Participatory qualitative research with girls (in-depth interviews, focus groups using participatory methods) iii. Brief survey 4)

Feasibility and targeting of group programming a) Questions

Recruitment and Retention - How do girls spend their time? - Who, besides girls, makes decisions about how girls spend their time? - What are the specific barriers to 10-14 year olds’ participation, versus 15-19 year olds? - What are the places where 10-14 year old / 15-19 year-old girls can be found, in addition to school? i. Safe Spaces - Where do girls feel safe in their communities, and where do they feel threatened? - What existing platforms are there for girls to gather in the community? Who accesses them (age groups, schooling status, ethnic groups, wealth status)? Who does not? - Are schools considered safe and girl-friendly? - What attributes do girls need and want in safe spaces? ii. Group formation

Annex D: Questions for Formative Research -

iii.

iv.

vi.

Are there any existing girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; groups that are already operational for in or out of school girls? What do they offer; what are key gaps? Who is included in these groups, and who is currently left out? - What is girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; availability and interest in group meetings, and how often can they week? What is appropriate frequency and length of group meetings? - Do girls have to get permission to participate in groups? - What is appropriate size and composition of groups (e.g. age disaggregation at what level)? Mentors - What is appropriate profile of mentors (age, educational level, other characteristics)? - What is reasonable weekly/monthly time commitment for mentors, and what is appropriate compensation for mentors? Curriculum - What do girls of different ages and characteristics most want and need out of a group-based curriculum? For girls in school, what gaps in curriculum can an extracurricular format fill? For girls out of school, what are their key needs and priorities? - What external resources (existing curricula, key experts) need to be drawn on to develop curriculum? Support to stay in or return to school - What are the key barriers to school attendance in this setting (financial? normative? safety? individual readiness? need for child care?) - Develop criteria for receiving material support (e.g. regular participation in group activities) Mobilization activities - What are opportunities for girls to engage at community level? Who needs to be influenced to facilitate that engagement? - Where can girls engage at national level? Who needs to be influenced to facilitate that engagement? - Sub-regional level? - What kind of training, skills do girls need before they are prepared to advocate at these levels?

a) Methods Participatory qualitative research with girls (in-depth interviews, focus groups using participatory methods) Key informant interviews with parents, community leaders, traditional authorities, school administrators and teachers, government functionaries at local level

Annex D: Questions for Formative Research 5)

Assessment of community influencers and gatekeepers

a) Questions Who are the key gatekeepers and influencers regarding marriage at the household and community levels? Who do they influence and how? ii. Are there champions for change already in these communities? If so, what strategies have they found to be most successful in generating community support for resisting child marriage? iii. Are there like-minded advocacy groups and networks that can be engaged on the issue of child marriage? iv. How can parents of girls who are at-risk for early marriage be motivated and encouraged to participate in activities? v. What are the best strategies for reaching boys and young men? vi. What are most effective BCC strategies (e.g. theatre, billboards, radio, etcetera) in these settings? What segment of the population is reached through these various formats? vii. What services are available to girls ages 10-19 in the community? How accessible and girl-friendly are they? viii. What are the most important community structures and institutions that need to be influenced? i.

i. ii. iii.

a) Methods Participatory methods with girls, key community members and gatekeepers Key informant interviews Analysis of secondary data (access to media, etc)

Annex E: Results Framework

ANNEX E: Results Framework for 18+ Ending Child Marriage in Southern Africa Overall goal: To contribute to ending child marriage in Southern Africa, particularly Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi

Program Outcomes and activities

Intermediate Outcome 1. To mobilize girls at risk of child marriage so that they have the capabilities to determine their own futures, especially choices about if, when and who they marry Intermediate Outcome 1.1. Girls have improved agency and assets

General outputs:  Formation of girls groups  Peer educators identified and trained  Girls groups regularly meet throughout program cycle  Girls trained in 18+ curriculum

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# girls groups formed # peer educators identified/recruited #peer educators trained %age of girls reporting having say in decisions about:  major household decisions  their schooling and marriage  their SRHR %age of girls reporting having support to  stay in school  not get married % girls with correct knowledge of:  SRHR  Marriage laws and rights %age of girls able to define life goals # close friends reported by girls %age girls with basic

Ongoing project monitoring system Girl-level surveys at baseline and endline Qualitative data collection with girls at endline

Annex E: Results Framework

Overall goal: To contribute to ending child marriage in Southern Africa, particularly Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi

Program Outcomes and activities Intermediate Outcome 1.2. Girls have improved advocacy skills and opportunities

Intermediate Outcome 2. To transform, through social movement-building, gender norms and practices that drive child marriage

financial literacy Indicator 1: Increased attention to issues of child marriage by governments and regional organizations such as SADC and the AU Indicator 2: Decreases in the rates of child marriage in intervention areas in each country. Core Outputs Illustrative Indicators Data sources  Girls trained in community  # community events advocacy techniques where girls spoke about their needs and  Girls participate in against child marriage program advocacy events  %age of girls reporting that  they feel they can effectively advocate in their communities  they have opportunities to advocate for themselves in their communities General outputs: Ongoing project  # mass media monitoring messages transmitted  Mass media messaging system campaign conducted  # mass media campaigns completed  Civil society networks created or strengthened  # meetings/network (via coordinated meetings, strengthening events or other networking held events)  # community dialogue  Community Action Plans meetings held developed  # Community Action  COMBI campaign Plans developed conducted  # COMBI campaigns conducted

Annex E: Results Framework

Overall goal: To contribute to ending child marriage in Southern Africa, particularly Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi

Program Outcomes and activities Intermediate Outcome 2.1. Increased awareness and understanding about child marriage, girls’ education and girls’ rights among families, community members and gatekeepers

Intermediate Outcome 2.2. Increased mobilization of families, communities and gatekeepers to prevent CM and support girls’ rights and opportunities, especially rights to education and sexual and reproductive health.

100

Indicator 1: Increased attention to issues of child marriage by governments and regional organizations such as SADC and the AU Indicator 2: Decreases in the rates of child marriage in intervention areas in each country. Core Outputs Illustrative Indicators Data sources Community  Influential household and  %age individuals able survey at family members engaged to correctly by project  Define child marriage baseline and endline  Influential household and  Describe legal rights family members engaged of adolescent girls by project  Identify main health  Discussions held with complications community and specific associated with child Qualitative data collection at groups (e.g. men/boys) marriage endline  Religious leaders  %age of families of identified and trained unmarried adolescent girls who report:  Traditional leaders identified and trained  Supporting daughter/sister staying in/returning to school  Encouraging daughter/sister to  Intending to allow daughter/sister to decide for herself when to marry Community  Influential household and  %age community survey at family members engaged members reporting baseline and by project having endline  Influential household and  Taken direct action family members engaged to prevent child by project marriage in their

Annex E: Results Framework

 Discussions held with community and specific groups (e.g. men/boys)  Religious leaders identified and trained  Traditional leaders identified and trained

Intermediate Outcome 3. To facilitate an enabling legal and policy environment to protect girls from child marriage

101

General outputs:  Review of legal environment for child marriage conducted  Review of policy environment conducted  Communications plan developed  Advocacy plan developed

communities / country  Discussed girl’s rights with other community members  Had participated in community dialogue about child marriage  %age of family members of unmarried adolescent girls who report:  Intervening to keep daughter/sister in school  Intervening to prevent marriage of family member

Qualitative data collection

Ongoing project monitoring system

Annex E: Results Framework

Overall goal: To contribute to ending child marriage in Southern Africa, particularly Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi

Program Outcomes and activities Intermediate Outcome 3.1. Enhanced awareness and capacity of authorities to prevent CM and support girls’ rights

Intermediate Outcome 3.2. Laws and policies written, reformed and/or effectively implemented at sub-national, national and sub-regional levels

102

Indicator 1: Increased attention to issues of child marriage by governments and regional organizations such as SADC and the AU Indicator 2: Decreases in the rates of child marriage in intervention areas in each country. Core Outputs Illustrative Indicators Data sources  Policy  Increased ability to discuss child Qualitative data collection at briefs/reports/position marriage and problem and endline papers developed and identify potential solutions disseminated to policy  # meetings of advocates and makers and legislators activists  # duty-bearers trained Ongoing project  Development of networks of monitoring reformers system  # awareness events conducted with authorities  # policy briefs/reports/position papers developed  # policy briefs/reports/position papers disseminated  Awareness of 18+ program among duty-bearers Qualitative data  Key laws and policies  # laws written or reformed collection at identified and targeted  # enforcement campaigns endline  Coordination meetings  Harmonization of plural legal held with other rights around marriage Ongoing project organizations focused  # regional and sub-regional monitoring on legal/policy reform agreements reached targeting system  Revised laws/policies child marriage drafted