This qualitative study explores child marriage practices among Syrian communities who have been living in Lebanon for one to three years, either in or outside refugee camps.
The study is useful to better understand the local context in the Al Marj and Bekaa regions in Lebanon, which is essential to better address child marriage.
Like in other studies about child marriage among refugee communities, the researchers found that families facing increased poverty, insecurity and a lack of access to education, turned to child marriage to cope with this difficult situation.
The study also highlights some differences between child marriage among refugee populations living in the camps and those living in urban areas. For example, concerns about girls' honour was found to be a stronger cause of child marriage among families living in urban areas, while married girls living in camps faced bigger challenges to register their marriage, with harmful consequences for themselves and for their children.