Rates of child marriage increase in communities displaced by conflict as well as communities affected by natural and environmental disasters.
The current crisis in Sudan is just one place where this could be an issue. The recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria are also typical situations where we are likely to see young girls pushed into marrying before they are ready. At these times of extreme fragility, there are fewer protections for young women than would normally be the case.
A report published in 2020, from the Institute of Development Studies, a research organisation affiliated with the University of Sussex, shows that crises exacerbate and complicate existing causes of child marriage, such as poverty and gender inequality. There are also additional crisis-specific causes. These include food insecurity; the breakdown of legal mechanisms that protect girls, such as minimum age of marriage laws; and an absence of rights and protections, such as the right to work or a guaranteed minimum household income.
