ENDING CHILD MARRIAGE AND TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN UGANDA A FORMATIVE RESEARCH TO GUIDE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL STRATEGY ON ENDING CHILD MARRIAGE AND TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN UGANDA Final Report - December 2015 ENDING CHILD MARRIAGE AND TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN UGANDA 1 A FORMATIVE RESEARCH TO GUIDE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL STRATEGY ON ENDING CHILD MARRIAGE AND TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN UGANDA ENDING CHILD MARRIAGE AND TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN UGANDA A FORMATIVE RESEARCH TO GUIDE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL STRATEGY ON ENDING CHILD MARRIAGE AND TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN UGANDA Final Report - December 2015 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) gratefully acknowledges the valuable contribution of many individuals whose time, expertise and ideas made this research a success. Gratitude is extended to the Research Team Lead by Dr. Florence Kyoheirwe Muhanguzi with support from Prof. Grace Bantebya Kyomuhendo and all the Research Assistants for the 10 districts for their valuable support to the research process. Lastly, UNICEF would like to acknowledge the invaluable input of all the study respondents; women, men, girls and boys and the Key Informants at national and sub national level who provided insightful information without whom the study would not have been accomplished. I ENDING CHILD MARRIAGE AND TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN UGANDA A FORMATIVE RESEARCH TO GUIDE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL STRATEGY ON ENDING CHILD MARRIAGE AND TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN UGANDA CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................I LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................. IV FOREWORD .................................................................................................. VI EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................. VIII 1. BaCKGROUND CONTEXT ....................................................................... 2 1.2 The problem and rationale ............................................................................................2 1.3 Report structure ............................................................................................................3 2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY ....................................... 6 2.1 Study objectives ............................................................................................................6 2.2 Research methodology and approach ...........................................................................7 2.3 Study sites and sample selection ...................................................................................8 2.4 Data collection ............................................................................................................11 2.5 Data management and analysis ...................................................................................13 2.6 Ethical considerations ..................................................................................................13 2.7 Limitation of the study ................................................................................................14 3. NATIONAL CONTEXT AND LITERATURE REVIEW ................................... 16 3.1 Socio-economic architecture of Uganda .....................................................................16 3.2 Marriage practices in Uganda .....................................................................................18 3.4 Prevalence and trends in teenage pregnancy .............................................................20 3.5 Childhood and transition to adulthood .......................................................................21 3.6 Drivers of child marriage in Uganda ..........................................................................23 3.7 Motivations and incentives for delaying child marriage .............................................32 3.8 Consequences of child marriage .................................................................................32 3.9 Interventions and strategies ......................................................................................35 3.10 National and local support institutions and structures ...............................................44 3.11 Adolescent girls’ vulnerabilities ...................................................................................46 3.12 Gaps in the literature ...................................................................................................46 4. RESEARCH FINDINGS ............................................................................. 48 4.1 Child marriage persists as a sticky norm .......................................................................48 4.2 Social norms and practices associated with child marriage ........................................50 4.3 Structural and institutional drivers .............................................................................61 4.4 Platforms and social institutions..................................................................................71 4.5 Communications for change in child marriage practice ............................................83 4.6 Suggestions for delaying marriage and reducing pre-marital pregnancies .................85 ENDING CHILD MARRIAGE AND TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN UGANDA II A FORMATIVE RESEARCH TO GUIDE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL STRATEGY ON ENDING CHILD MARRIAGE AND TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN UGANDA 5. A SYNTHESIS OF THE FINDINGS, POLICY AND PROGRAMME IMPLICATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................... 88 5.1 Synthesis of findings and emerging issues ..................................................................89 5.2 Policy and Programme Implications ...........................................................................95 5.3 Recommendations .......................................................................................................96 5.4 Indicators to monitor progress in ending child marriage ............................................99 REFERENCES ............................................................................................... 101 ANNEX 1: INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL COMMITMENTS ON CHILD MARRIAGE ................................................................................................. 105 ANNEX 2. STUDY DISTRICTS’ PROFILES .................................................... 107 ANNEX 3: RESEARCH TOOLS ...................................................................... 120 LIST OF BOXES Box 1: The Research Process .........................................................................................................8 Box 2: A young woman was stuck in a violent marriage for some years .....................................27 Box 3: Negative changes in social norms and practices around age at marriage ........................49 Box 4: A 19 year old married teenage girl was forced into marriage due to poverty ..................56 Box 5: The power of parental support in delaying marriage .......................................................65 Box 6: Study participants perspectives of adolescence period and child marriage.....................68 Box 7: Community perceptions around pre-marital adolescent pregnancy ................................70 Box 8: Increased value for girls education ...................................................................................75 Box 9: Got pregnant in S2 but continued with education and completed University .................76 Box 10: Categories of role models ...............................................................................................78 Box 11: Post primary and secondary education institutions in Arua district .............................109 Box 12: Threats to improving gender equity in Bundibugyo district .........................................115 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Map of Uganda Showing the Study districts .................................................................10 Figure 2: Poverty status in the different sub regions of Uganda .................................................17 Figure 3: Age at first sexual intercourse for girls by region in Uganda ........................................20 LIST OF TaBLES Table 1: Specific study objectives and research focus ...................................................................7 Table 2: Selected districts Reproductive Health indicators ............................................................9 Table 3: Sample size by Tool and category of respondents .........................................................13 Table 4: Civil Society Organizations working on child marriage related issues in the study areas .. 82 Table 5: Key focus areas and indicators for ending child marriage ..............................................99 III ENDING CHILD MARRIAGE AND TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN UGANDA A FORMATIVE RESEARCH TO GUIDE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL STRATEGY ON ENDING CHILD MARRIAGE AND TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN UGANDA LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ABEK Alternative Basic Education for Karamoja ACRC African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome ANPPCAN African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect BEUPA Basic Education for Urban Poor Areas CBO Community-Based Organization CHANCE Child-Centred Alternative, Non-Formal Community-Based Education COPE Complementary Opportunity for Primary Education