Child Marriage (also referred to as early marriage) is defined as a formal or informal union between one or both parties before age 18.[1] Forced marriage occurs when “one and/or both parties have not personally expressed their full and free consent to the union”.[2] A child marriage therefore is deemed a forced union as one or both parties would not have expressed full or informed consent. Although the global average of child marriage has decreased over the years, it remains a widespread prevalence. Globally, 12 million girls below the age of 18 are married every year, with the highest incidences reported in the sub-Saharan Africa region.[3] Girls remain disproportionately affected by early marriages across countries. A recent UNICEF study however found that early marriages had also affected an estimated 115 million boys and men across 82 countries.[3] 

Within the Malaysian context, data to make an accurate assessment of the prevalence of early and forced marriage is either outdated, incomplete or unavailable.[4] Existing research seems to indicate that early marriage is practiced across communities including the Muslim, non-Muslim, indigenous and refugee communities in Malaysia.[4] The 2000 National Population and Housing Census indicated that 6,800 girls under 15 years old were married, of which Malay girls constituted the highest number at 2,450, followed by 1,600 Chinese girls, and 1,550 indigenous girls.[5] Subsequently in the 2014 National Population and Housing Census, it was reported that the number of women and girls aged 15 to 19 years old who were married was estimated at  52,618 persons.[5] Other sporadic data has also been reported in the media via statements by the Judiciary, with 10,240 child marriage applications between 2005 to 2015 in the Syariah courts;[6] and the  National Registration Department (NRD) that indicated 2,775 non-Muslim marriages involving individuals under 18 years old took place from 2010 to 2015.[7] 

In Malaysia, interventions have been ad hoc. In 2013, the government of Malaysia established a task force to develop an action plan to address the practice of child marriage in Malaysia.[4] The action plan identified various aspects for intervention including amendments to the law, SRH education in schools, parenting support, cash assistance for families, amongst others.[4] However, little to no progress has been reported for these interventions. In 2019, the government of Malaysia has once again been faced with the issue and is looking into amending the minimum age of marriage in the country. This however has received some resistance from various States and progress of the amendment is unclear at this stage.[8]  

Despite the above interventions, there exist significant gaps in addressing the issue of forced and early marriage. These gaps include data that reports depth and severity rather than just incidences; the prevalence and causes of early and forced marriage across different communities; incidences and impact of child marriage for boys and young men; and an analysis of various programs and interventions that aim to address the issue.[9] There is also a significant gap in understanding the lived realities of girls and boys who are faced with forced and early marriages and drivers that may reduce the risk of child marriage.[9] Further, within a Malaysian context, there are significant gaps in research in fully understanding the situation for various communities and differences in approaches within geographical regions.[10] There is also no published information on successful interventions undertaken to address the issue in the country.