Under the Palermo Protocol, child marriage is considered human trafficking if it involves the recruitment or transfer of a minor for exploitation. These unions predominantly occur in impoverished, conflict-ridden areas, placing child brides at severe risk for maternal mortality, female genital mutilation (FGM), and debilitating mental health conditions, including depression and suicidal ideation. While research is vital for improving health services, data on child brides’ participation is scarce. A critical ethical gap exists regarding whether to treat child brides as adults (as per local laws) or as children (under standard ethical guidelines). Often, consent strategies inadvertently default to local laws, thereby bypassing children’s rights and failing to recognize limitations on their voluntariness. This presentation highlights the inherent disjuncture in ethical-legal frameworks governing the participation of child brides in sexual and reproductive health research. It argues that categorically excluding child brides from health studies denies them vital health interventions and directly violates their equality rights under international human rights conventions. The call to action is to actively center the voices and lived experiences of child brides in research design to ensure findings are survivor-centered, age-appropriate, and culturally sensitive. These frameworks must establish special protections that allow child brides to safely participate in research without compromising their agency, autonomy, and well-being.
Trigger Warning: This presentation contains information (written, spoken, or visual) that may be triggering or (re)traumatizing to attendees.
Busisiwe Nkosi is a therapist at Beyond Health in Toledo, Ohio and an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of KwaZulu-Natal School of Law in South Africa. She specializes in adolescent mental health, blending clinical practice with academic research.
Dr. Ann Strode is a Professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s School of Law in South Africa. Her research focuses on HIV as a human rights issue, specifically addressing the forced or coerced sterilization of women living with HIV and evaluating legal approaches to HIV within the sub-Saharan region.