Child Marriage and Teenage Pregnancy in Rohingya Refugee Camp, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

Abstract

Background: Ending child marriage and teenage pregnancy has become a priority health and development agenda in the last decade. However, the rate of improvement is still significantly slower than what is required to achieve the target set in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in many countries. Child marriage and teenage pregnancy is a common phenomenon in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh since their displacement. Nonetheless, there are not many updates and specific reports about it in a forcibly displaced Rohingya community in a limited area due to insecurity and unavailability. Aim: This paper aims to examine the drivers of child marriage and teenage pregnancy in Rohingya Refugee Camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Methods: It is a community based cross-sectional study that has been designed with simple random sampling and interviewed 400 adolescents and young adults who got married after their displacement to Bangladesh and currently living in selected camps. Results: The majority participants responded that they got early marriage due to the fear of insecurity, poverty, illiteracy and inadequate legal protections. A substantial number of the participants mentioned family honor, cultural and social norms, while a few of them stated that they were physically and mentally mature enough for marriage. The results indicate that 100% of the respondents know the legal age of marriage and almost all of them were aware of family planning. Among all respondents, (15.5%) were not pregnant whereas (84.5%) of teenagers became pregnant before they turned 18. Conclusion: Evidence generated through this research would help to raise awareness about child marriage and teenage pregnancy leading to better policies and methods surrounding health care areas and socio-economic status.