Addressing Child Marriage in India: A Systematic Review of Determinants and Challenges to Interventions

Abstract

The practice of marrying off children is common around the world, with prevalence in South Asia and specifically India. Child marriage is defined in the literature as the union between couples where at least one party is under the legal age, generally below 18 years, regardless of whether the union is formal or informal. India is at the forefront of countries contributing to child marriage, with the largest number of child brides in the world, despite significant reductions in the last decades. The practice is problematic because of the negative consequences for children, specifically girls, who bear health and mental issues, in addition to losing their social network and education. The problem got global recognition, and efforts were directed to address the problem after the United Nations adopted the target of eliminating child marriage in their goals that are to be achieved by 2030. There have been significant declines in the occurrences of child marriage across the world. However, it would be difficult to achieve the goal by 2030. The efforts would need to increase at least 12 times to achieve the goal on time. To understand the determinants of the problem and the challenges that reduce the effectiveness of interventions, a systematic review is conducted, adhering to PRISMA guidelines. A total of 28 articles and reports were included in the final selection, then underwent thematic synthesis, which resulted in six categories of determinants and eight categories of challenges to intervention. Findings on determinants of child marriage are grouped into six categories, which are: a) Social structures, norms, and traditional practices; b) Economic Background and Limited Potential; c) Education, Literacy, and Awareness; d) Spatial Characteristics; e) Age and sexuality, and finally f) Family Characteristics and Dynamics. Findings on challenges of interventions are grouped into eight categories, which are: a) Implementation of Law, b) Compliance and Community Resistance, c) Political factors, d) Organization and Administration, e) Theory of Change (ToC), f) Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), g) Resource Constraints, h) and finally External Constraints. The study suggests that understanding determinants of child marriage alongside challenges to interventions can help design and deliver better programs, which can support the effort to eliminate the practice of child marriage.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	HBKU College of Public Policy