Child marriage in Sierra Leone

In terms of prevalence based on geographic location, the practice varies, but child marriage is most common in "the northern and eastern districts of Sierra Leone, lower in the south, and lowest in the capital, Freetown.

[10] Organization Girls Not Brides contends that due to the presence of female child soldiers in Sierra Leone, it may have aided in cultural perceptions of young girls as being mentally capable of marriage, with the justification being that since they were capable to physically engage in armed conflict, they could handle being married.

[10] In post-civil war Sierra Leone, the ramifications of wartime sexual abuse have manifested in the difficulty of girl mothers acquiring spouses.

[10] These social and political stigmas create problems for girl mothers in Sierra Leone that may seek marriage as a means of acquiring economic resources and stability from their partners.

[13] Scholar Allard K. Lowenstein of the International Human Rights Clinic of Yale Law School has argued that socioeconomic conditions brought about by the systemic poverty in Sierra Leone further exacerbate the prevalence of child marriage.

[13] In 2013, during the twenty-fourth session of the United Nations Human Rights Council General Assembly, Sierra Leone formally committed itself to "preventing" and "eliminating" child marriage in the country to the international community.

[18] The program is also publicly supported by a number of nations and organizations, including "the Governments of Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and the European Union, as well as Zonta International.

[19] Because of the lack of funding of Sierra Leone's justice system, a viable presence of formal laws often does not extend into the country's most rural areas.