Exploring the capacity of faith-based actors in Jordan and Lebanon to prevent child marriage

This research highlights the influence and the role of faith-based actors in responding to child marriage in Jordan and Lebanon. It is based on 20 qualitative interviews on child marriage with a range of faith-based actors in Jordan and Lebanon. The interviews provide in-depth knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of faith-based actors in response to child marriage, conceptualizations of child marriage and the challenges of working with other actors to prevent child marriage. Nowadays, marriage of girls under 18 years of age has received increased attention, partly due to emerging evidence of increased levels of child marriage amongst Syrian refugees in both countries. Therefore, this paper is part of an increasing research activity aimed at better understanding the social process of marriage, illuminating the multi-dimensions of child marriage in refugee communities and providing an overall view of the actors involved.