Report says Northern Division has the highest prevalence of child marriage

The Northern Division has the highest prevalence of child marriage, with 12 percent of women surveyed aged 20 to 49 years who first married or in union before reaching 18 years of age.

This is based on the Fiji Bureau of Statistics Fiji Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) which was carried out in 2021 in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Medical Services and other government ministries, as part of the Global MICS Programme.

The report says in total, 1 in 25 women surveyed aged 20 to 24 years was first married or in union before reaching the age of 18 years and in the same age group of women, none of them were reported first married or in union before the age of 15 years.

Among women aged 20 to 49 years, 1 in 10 were married before reaching the age of 18 years.

This practice has reduced over time, with 14 percent for women aged 40 to 44 years to 4 percent for women aged 20 to 24 years.

The proportion of women aged 20 to 49 years marrying or in union before 18 years is higher among those with lower levels of education (23 percent) compared to women aged 20 to 49 years with secondary education (11 percent) and tertiary or vocational levels of education (2 percent).