Project profile — Preventing Child, Early and Forced Marriage in Benin

• Benin (100.00%)

• Reproductive health care:
Reproductive health care (13020) (30.00%)
Family planning (13030) (10.00%)
STD control including HIV/AIDS (13040) (10.00%)
• Government And Civil Society, General: Ending violence against women and girls (15180) (50.00%)

• Gender equality (principal objective)
• Youth Issues (principal objective)

The project aims to promote sexual and reproductive health and adolescents’ and youth’s rights in Benin, by helping to reduce child, early and forced marriage in the Alibori and Borgou departments. To contribute to putting an end to child and early forced marriage and protect adolescent girls’ rights, the project works with communities to develop and promote local solutions. Capacity building of local actors and advocacy carried out by youth aim to create an environment conductive to the changes necessary to social and gender norms in order to end harmful traditional practices. Project activities include: (1) training on women’s and girls’ rights given to women, girls, men, boys and community and traditional leaders; (2) training health workers on adolescent sexual and reproductive health; and (3) providing complete sexual and reproductive health care for adolescents designed for youth.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) increased utilization of adolescent sexual and reproductive health care services by adolescents, girls and boys, in the Alibori and Borgou departments; (2) enhanced protection of adolescent girls’ rights, in the Alibori and Borgou departments; and (3) strengthened government and civil society policies and programs that respond to child, early and forced marriage, gender-based violence, and adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Results achieved as of the end of the project (September 2021) include: (1) an increase in the requests for modern contraceptives for married women or women in a relationship and for adolescent girls (age 15 to 19). This increased from 27% to 79% for married women or women in a relationship in the regions of Alibori and Borgou in Benin, and from 44% to 77% for adolescent girls (age 20 to 24); (2) the rate of use of modern contraceptives doubled, increasing from 15% to 38%; (3) the percentage of women who use no methods of contraception and for whom their most recent birth was unwanted decreased from 22% to 5%; (4) an increase in the percentage of people who support the right of women to control their bodies (an increase from 35% to 60% among women and girls and an increase from 45% to 65% among men and boys); (5) an improvement in the satisfaction of support received at 63% among female survivors of early and forced child marriage; and (6) led 16 advocacy actions with youth organizations, with the support of Youth Coalition, to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights and sexual and reproductive health geared toward youth and young people and to prevent early and forced child marriage in Benin.

• Proactive disclosure