Betrothing of young girls (the child bride/money woman) into marriage in Becheve, Obalinku Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria, an undisclosed danger

ABSTRACT Child marriage represents a fundamental violation of human rights, nonetheless, several societies accept and practice this. This practice is life in Becheve, in Obanliku Local Government, Cross River State despite its implications to people involved, their communities and the world at large. It has received less attention from policymakers and health researchers. This study is to assess the betrothing of young girls into marriage in this area. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was adopted among adults using questionnaires. Data was analysed using IBM SPSS version 23.0. Chi square test was used to ascertain the association between socio-demographic characteristics and agreement to betrothed/child marriage at significance level of p < 0.05. Binary Logistic Regression was used for predictors for variable with p value of ≤ 0.2 High proportion of the respondents 222(53.9%) were currently in betrothed/child marriage, 184 (44.7%) had female children and 319(77.4%) have relatives or know anyone in such marriage. Only 82(19.9%) were happy and agree with such marriage. Key perceived reasons for such marriage were poverty 412(100%), tradition 412(100%), lack of education 410(99.5%), gender inequality 404(98.1%) and rural/urban area residence 402(97.6%). Psychological effects include; personality problems 410 (99.5%) and worries 402 (97.6%). Socioeconomic effects include; large family size 410 (99.5%), low education 409 (99.3%) and lack of decision making 408 (99.0%). Medical effects include; malnutrition 410 (99.5%), poor health seeking behavior 408 (99.0%), increased maternal and child mortality 400 (97.1%) and increased risk of STD 396 (96.1%). Identified predictors were age 35 - 50 years (AOR 6.34; 95% CI 3.55 – 75.23), ≥ 51 years (AOR 12.37; 95% CI 8.86 – 138.88), Widowed/Divorced/Separated (AOR 4.06; 95% CI 1.23 – 18.35), Islam religion (AOR 40.36; 95% CI 4.54 – 358.84), secondary education (AOR 0.23; 95% CI 0.15 – 0.45), tertiary education (AOR 0.060; 95% CI 0.014 – 0.495) and farming (AOR 24.12; 95% CI 15.41 – 37.56). This practice is still common in the study area. Lack of education, tradition, religion, lack of family support and insecurity fuel this practice. The consequences are manifold, overlapping and the impact trans-generational. There is need for concerted effort by all to end this menace. Keywords: Betrothing, early child marriage, Becheve, culture, Nigeria