Abstract:
Child marriage is still widely practised in many developing countries. It is
estimated that the number of child brides in Sub-Saharan Africa will double by
2050 and become the region with the largest number of child brides
worldwide. Despite the available legal frameworks, the prevalence of child
marriage in Ghana remains high. This study, therefore, interrogated
stakeholders' contribution to ending child marriage in the Northern region of
Ghana. The stakeholder theory, victim blame theory and ecological model
underpinned the study. A conceptual framework on stakeholders' role in
ending child marriage was used to guide data collection and analysis. The
study used the pragmatist philosophy using a mixed method approach to data
collection, analysis, and reporting. A total of 1,465 responded to structured
questionnaires, and 44 individual in-depth interviews were conducted.
Thematic analysis, descriptive, and inferential statistics were employed in the
data analysis. Child marriage is still relatively high (36,6%) in the Northern
region of Ghana. Individual, family, structural and cultural factors influence
child marriage. Stakeholders use legal frameworks, policies and programmes
developed by the government, international bodies and Non-Governmental
Organization (NGOs) to end child marriage in the Northern region.
Stakeholders are faced with several challenges that are experienced at the
individual, family, cultural and structural levels. There should be conscious
efforts by the various stakeholders, such as the Police, Judiciary, NGOs, etc..
to further strengthen and enforce laws, programs and policies to end child
marriage.
