Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Child Marriage, Sexual and Reproductive Health, and Domestic Violence in India and Zambia

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The COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to severely slow down progress towards realising the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 5 on gender equality. This research project therefore aims to shed light on the pandemic's immediate impacts on three SDG targets: domestic violence (SDG target 5.2), child marriage (SDG target 5.3), and sexual and reproductive health (SDG target 5.6). These impacts will be investigated in India and Zambia, which are both among the lowest-ranking countries on the global Gender Inequality Index and in which the PI and research collaborators can rely on strong partnerships and data collection infrastructure from previous projects. Specifically, this project will sample 3000 adolescent girls aged 15-18 years in India, by drawing on previous household samples from urban slum communities in the city of Pune and rural villages surrounding the city of Sangli. In addition, a previous sample of 2500 school girls in the districts of Monze, Mazabuka, and Kalomo in Southern Zambia will be revisited for this study. By drawing on pre-COVID-19 survey data on households' food security and living standards, we will quantify the economic repercussions that the pandemic had for each participant and their families. We will use these insights to analyse whether adolescent girls whose families have been more adversely affected by the pandemic exhibit a higher risk of experiencing violence, of being married or pregnant, and of engaging in risky sexual behaviours. By adopting a mixed-methods approach, the project also aims to examine how cultural, political, and societal heterogeneities between the African and Southern Asian context affect the relationship between pandemic-induced shocks and outcome indicators. For instance, we will assess whether the return of informal labourers to rural areas in India may increase the risk of domestic violence due to household overcrowding and substantial income losses. We will also explore whether pandemic-related income losses translate into preponement of (child) marriages to receive bride prices in Zambia and to delays of marriages in India due to families’ inability to meet substantial dowry payments. Lastly, we will examine whether variances in the strictness of lockdown laws have different implications for girls’ sexual behaviour and their possible engagement in transactional “survival sex”. It is crucial to observe and measure the pandemic’s short-term impacts on the three identified indicators as these will likely determine girls’ educational opportunities and women’s employment prospects in the future and thus have long-run consequences, which may be explored in future research projects.