“"From Law to Literacy”: Using a Culturally Tailored Radio Drama to Bridge the Child Marriage Legal Awareness Gap in Nigeria
1
Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
2
Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Child marriage remains highly prevalent in Nigeria despite the existence of national and state laws prohibiting marriage before the age of 18 years. Evidence suggests that compliance with these laws is poor, particularly among migrant Hausa communities. As part of a larger project on ending child marriage in Nigeria through community-led media series, this study assessed baseline awareness of child marriage laws and evaluated the effect of a culturally tailored radio drama intervention on legal awareness among Hausa adults in southwest Nigeria.
METHODS:
A controlled pre–post study was conducted in two cities: Ibadan, Oyo State (intervention site), and Akure, Ondo State (control site). Hausa adults aged 40 years and older were recruited using multistage cluster sampling. A semi-structured, interviewer administered, questionnaire assessing awareness of child marriage laws, minimum age of marriage, and related perceptions was administered pre and post intervention. A difference in difference (DiD) analysis was done using Stata version 17.0.
RESULTS:
A total of 1,596 participants were recruited at baseline (802 from Ibadan and 794 from Akure, of these, 1,546 participants (97%) completed the follow-up survey. Awareness of child marriage laws was low in both sites at baseline (Ibadan: 1.0%; Akure: 2.5%), compared to endline, with awareness in the intervention group rising to 34.5%. Correct knowledge of the minimum marriage age increased from 5.4% to 46.0% in Oyo, greater than the control group's increase (4.9% to 19.8%). Difference-in-Differences (DiD) analysis confirmed a net intervention impact of +35.3% for legal awareness and +25.7% for child marriage age-specific knowledge.
CONCLUSIONS:
Awareness of child marriage laws was low. Culturally tailored, mass-media intervention improved awareness of child marriage laws among migrant and low-literacy populations. Scaling up similar community-specific communication strategies may strengthen the impact of child protection laws and contribute to efforts to reduce child marriage in Nigeria.
Child marriage remains highly prevalent in Nigeria despite the existence of national and state laws prohibiting marriage before the age of 18 years. Evidence suggests that compliance with these laws is poor, particularly among migrant Hausa communities. As part of a larger project on ending child marriage in Nigeria through community-led media series, this study assessed baseline awareness of child marriage laws and evaluated the effect of a culturally tailored radio drama intervention on legal awareness among Hausa adults in southwest Nigeria.
METHODS:
A controlled pre–post study was conducted in two cities: Ibadan, Oyo State (intervention site), and Akure, Ondo State (control site). Hausa adults aged 40 years and older were recruited using multistage cluster sampling. A semi-structured, interviewer administered, questionnaire assessing awareness of child marriage laws, minimum age of marriage, and related perceptions was administered pre and post intervention. A difference in difference (DiD) analysis was done using Stata version 17.0.
RESULTS:
A total of 1,596 participants were recruited at baseline (802 from Ibadan and 794 from Akure, of these, 1,546 participants (97%) completed the follow-up survey. Awareness of child marriage laws was low in both sites at baseline (Ibadan: 1.0%; Akure: 2.5%), compared to endline, with awareness in the intervention group rising to 34.5%. Correct knowledge of the minimum marriage age increased from 5.4% to 46.0% in Oyo, greater than the control group's increase (4.9% to 19.8%). Difference-in-Differences (DiD) analysis confirmed a net intervention impact of +35.3% for legal awareness and +25.7% for child marriage age-specific knowledge.
CONCLUSIONS:
Awareness of child marriage laws was low. Culturally tailored, mass-media intervention improved awareness of child marriage laws among migrant and low-literacy populations. Scaling up similar community-specific communication strategies may strengthen the impact of child protection laws and contribute to efforts to reduce child marriage in Nigeria.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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