This report, published in 2025, examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on several elements of child marriage in South Asia, including types of child marriage, drivers and mediators of child marriage, and the dynamics within child marriages.
As part of this study, undertaken by Coram International for UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia (ROSA), qualitative research was undertaken in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. The research aimed to understand the changes brought about by COVID-19 and how these changes have impacted the drivers and moderators of child marriage; whether new drivers have emerged as a result of COVID-19 and COVID-19 containment measures; the impact of COVID-19 on girls who are already married, including assessing changes in terms of agency in decision-making and impacts of disruptions to social networks and services; the extent and nature of any shifts in the attitude of adolescents toward child marriage and the drivers and moderators of child marriage as a result of the impacts of COVID-19.
The research was conducted as part of the Global Programme to End Child Marriage implemented by UNICEF and UNFPA, and generates knowledge to inform more effective and targeted strategies, policies and programme interventions that aim to mitigate and avert the negative impacts of COVID-19 on child marriage in South Asia, specifically in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. The study is intended to generate knowledge that may help to inform child marriage programming within public health response contexts more generally.