Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Sexual Development
- The Cambridge Handbook of Sexual Development
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I What Is Sexual Development?
- Part II How Do We Study Sexual Development?
- Part III Media, Family, Education
- Media
- Family
- 24 Puberty as Biopsychosocial Enfolding
- 25 Stolen Childhood
- Education
- Index
- References
25 - Stolen Childhood
Understanding Sexualization of Young Girls through “Child Marriage” in Zimbabwe
from Family
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 December 2018
Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Sexual Development
- The Cambridge Handbook of Sexual Development
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I What Is Sexual Development?
- Part II How Do We Study Sexual Development?
- Part III Media, Family, Education
- Media
- Family
- 24 Puberty as Biopsychosocial Enfolding
- 25 Stolen Childhood
- Education
- Index
- References
Summary
In this chapter, the authors draw on legal and conceptual arguments to assert that child unions should not be understood as marriages, rather, they are criminal abuses of children. The authors examine the case of Zimbabwe, where child unions are common, to explore the cultural, political, and economic drivers of this practice, as well as its consequences. They argue that, above all, a rigidly patriarchal society is at the root of the issue and that the practice of child unions perpetuates gender inequality.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge Handbook of Sexual DevelopmentChildhood and Adolescence, pp. 505 - 518Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2018
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