Social and cultural factors perpetuating early marriage in rural Gambia: an exploratory mixed methods study

Background: Over the last two decades, early marriage in the Gambia declined significantly (from 58% to 30%), however this rate is still high. The reasons for the decline but continuing practice of early marriage, despite existing legislation prohibiting child marriage, are not very well understood. Very few studies have been conducted to find out what and how local factors influence decisions about early marriage in the Gambia. More information is therefore needed on underlying reasons for the persistence of early marriage in the Gambia so that program managers can use this information to design strategies to decrease early marriages. Methods: The study was conducted in 24 rural settlements in Lower Baddibu District in the North Bank Region of the Gambia. It was based on a mixed-methods design including a cross-sectional household survey with a sample of 181 female adolescents, focus group discussions with 16 male and female parents, and eight key informant interviews with community-based decision makers. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic content analysis, while survey data were analyzed using Stata. Results: The study finds that ethnicity and the fear that girls may engage in premarital sex are two important factors associated with early marriage in rural Gambia. In addition, lack of meaningful alternatives to marriage including work opportunities in rural areas may also limit the options and resources available to girls, resulting in early wedlock. Conclusions: These findings suggest that in order to decrease early marriages in rural Gambia, future efforts should focus on understanding and addressing the role of ethnicity in determining marriage patterns and allaying the fear around premarital sex.The findings also suggest a need to provide girls with employment-oriented education including vocational skills which may result into more empowerment and a delay in marriage.