Situation of child marriage among ethnic minorities in Phong Tho district, Lai Chau province in 2019

Abstract

This research was conducted with 90 ethnic minority people who got married in Phong Tho district, Lai Chau province with objectives to describe the status of child marriage and some factor affecting among ethnic minorities in Phong Tho district, Lai Chau province. The cross-sectional descriptive research methods, combining quantitative and qualitative was applied in the present study. Research results show that the percentage of women who get married before legal age is higher than that
of men (55.6% compared to 44.4%). The average age for men to get married is 21.1 and that for women is 19.5. The Dao ethnic group has a higher rate of child marriage at 60%. The highest qualifcation that most of these young married people have is secondary school (90%). 75% of young people marry without registering with the authorities. Up to 58.9% of the relatives of the child marriages support their marriage. The decision to marry is largely made by the marriage partner (76.7%). Factors related to child marriage include: ease of marriage, ethnic customs and habits that facilitate early marriage, the easy acceptance by parents and relatives, and the difculty with which the government faces when imposing sanctions on child marriage.