Civil society decries shortage of data on boys in child marriages

The engagement, which brought together journalists from traditional print and electronic outlets, seeks to enhance the role of the media in ensuring perpetrator accountability as a way of delivering justice to survivors and victims.

Civil society decries shortage of data on boys in child marriages
By Dedan Kimathi
Journalists @New Vision
#Civil society #Data #Child marriage #Boys

_______________

Civil society has raised concern over the glaring absence of data on boys in child marriages.

Julius Lwanyaaga, one of the facilitators, echoed this on August 27, 2025, during the commencement of a three-day transformative training for media personalities at the Child Welfare Guest House in Kamwokya, Kampala.

The engagement, which brought together journalists from traditional print and electronic outlets, seeks to enhance the role of the media in ensuring perpetrator accountability as a way of delivering justice to survivors and victims.

The event was organised by the Centre for Domestic Violence Prevention (CEDOVIP), a non-governmental organisation in Uganda that works to prevent violence against women and girls (VAWG).

Limited research

“Globally, 115 million boys were married before the age of eighteen. In comparison, the figure for girls stands at 650 million,” Lwanyaaga cited.

“One of the reasons we see fewer engagements, limited support, and fewer programmes addressing child marriage among boys is the lack of research. Not a lot of research has been done to explore early marriage involving boys,” he explained.

According to Penina Suzan Igaga, a lawyer with over a decade of experience, the challenge lies in the gap between reporting cases and their actual registration.

“There is a difference between reporting a matter to the Police and it actually being put into the system. Legally, a wrong thing becomes a crime once it enters into the system. We know for sure that all these things are happening so many times,” Igaga pointed out.

Stigma

She added that the phenomenon is no different when it comes to other controversial subjects, such as violence against men (VAM).

She recounted that while working in Kole, formerly part of Lira, she once visited a local police station to gather information for research on men being battered by their wives at home, only to be told that it was not the right place to obtain such data.

“It happening, you see men are talking about it. But the statistics are not supporting what we are saying. They can only be supported by a man going ahead and continuing with the process till its fruition, like most women do. Same things with boy children, that’s why the conversation with silence of boys and men is one that is coming up of late,” she elaborated.

What is child marriage?

According to Ann Nassamula, a human rights activist, child marriage is any formal union in which one or both parties are under eighteen years of age.

She explained that it can involve either two children or a child and an adult.

In Uganda, there are four recognised types of marriage: customary, church, civil, and Nikkah (Islamic) marriage.

She added that the practice is widespread and approximately 12 million girls are married off annually before reaching adulthood.

“This is 28 girls every minute. This is from the UNICEF report,” she cited.

“To put this into context, Uganda has the sixteenth prevalence of child marriage in the world,” Nassamula retorted.

She noted that the practice is largely driven by coercion, transactional arrangements, elopement and conditional factors.

“Elopement is where a young girl runs away without telling anyone. Conditional is where the marriage is contingent on certain things going on, for example, a girl is impregnated and the caretakers force her to get married. Or the other way round, the girl is impregnated and the family of the boy says this is our wife, since she is pregnant, send her here to get married,” Nassamula elaborated.