Child marriage rising among refugees and host communities in South Sudan

In South Sudan, the rising incidence of child marriage among refugees and host communities has become a pressing concern, particularly in areas like Renk County, which has experienced severe conflict. The United Nations Population Fund reports that approximately 210,900 girls in the country are married before the age of 15, often as a means of coping with financial instability and the threats of sexual violence in crisis settings. Despite a national trend showing a decline in child marriage, localized spikes in regions affected by conflict threaten to reverse this progress, with many young girls, some as young as 13, being married off to older men in exchange for dowries. The UNFPA is actively addressing these issues by providing safe spaces for women and girls, offering essential services such as sexual and reproductive health care, economic support, and awareness programs aimed at preventing gender-based violence and child marriage.

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