McDougal, Shakya, Dehingia, Bhan, Raj); United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF (
Lapsansky, Conrad); International Institute for Population Sciences (
Singh); Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego (
McDougal)
"The existence of spatial dependence and/or spatial heterogeneity can be important markers for patterns of social norms dispersion and variation across geographic communities, providing information that can inform social norms change intervention strategies."
Research from around the world has revealed a complex nexus of factors that contribute to child marriage, including normative values regarding the status, value, and rights of women and girls. To that end, development and public health interventions to address child marriage have increasingly focused on the role of social norms, emphasising community engagement as well as social and behaviour change (SBC) strategies to shift these norms at the community level. In India, child marriage is encouraged through cultural traditions that dictate gender-discriminatory norms rooted in patriarchal values and ideologies. However, the prevalence and the social and normative factors associated with child marriage are not uniform across India. This article explores the localised norms that may contribute to the continuation of the practice of child marriage in certain states and communities in India, with the hope that highlighting place-based variations may improve targeting of SBC prevention efforts.