PODCAST | Adolescents in crisis: unheard voices is a five-part podcast series that shines a light on the millions of adolescents around the world who are forced to flee their homes. They form part of a global community of some 70 million refugees, displaced because of persecution, climate crises and conflict. Nearly half of those are under 18.

The podcast series gives voice to adolescents – their lives, their stories, their aspirations and their hopes for the future. It draws on the nine-year research programme Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) and their recent publication ‘Adolescents in Humanitarian Crisis: Displacement, Gender and Social Inequalities’

“I felt like I was in jail”: adolescent refugees, child marriage and violence | PODCAST | Episode # 3

According to the UN, up to 650 million women and girls were married under the age of 18. Most are in countries deemed fragile states marked by conflict, climate crisis, and weak institutions.

In episode three, we learn about the issues adolescent girls face with violence and child marriage. We hear from Sabreen*, an adolescent refugee from Syria who was married at the age of 16 and now lives in a camp in Lebanon in a small tent with her family and in-laws. We hear about life in the camp and the challenges of being a young mother, and her advice to other young girls. We meet Noor*, a Palestinian adolescent married at the age of 16 who is part of GAGE’s longitudinal study group. We hear of her journey into, and out of marriage, and about the pressures and challenges of fighting for a better future for herself. “Child marriage is wrong for anybody. It’s wrong for girls because they are denied opportunities to go to school and realise their full potential. But it’s worse for refugees” says Dr. Faith Mwangi Powell, CEO of ‘Girls not Brides’ a global partnership to end child marriage.

Future episodes will be released every other Monday. Subscribe to ODI podcasts through your preferred podcast app to get notified. You can also listen to all episodes as they are released on ODI’s soundcloud channel.

This episode’s guests:

1. Dr. Bassam Abu Hamad Research director, GAGE, Palestine (Mena region)
2. Noor*, a divorced girl from Gaza who faced physical abuse in marriage
3. Sabreen*, a Syrian refugee girl living in tent in Lebanon
4. Sally Youssef, GAGE, Lebanon
5. Madeleine Forster, UNRWA
6. Dr Faith Mwangi-Powell, CEO, Girls Not Brides
7. Mohammed Nasr, UNFPA

*The names are pseudonyms to protect individual adolescent identities