Rojas, V.; F. Bravo & N. van der Gaag (2020). Breaking the Silence. Why do Young Women in Peru Marry or Cohabit at a Young Age, and What are the Consequences?. En: Crivello, G. & G. Mann (eds.). Dreaming of a Better Life Child Marriage Through Adolescent Eyes (pp. 49-60). Oxford: Young Lives; IDRC.

On the basis of qualitative data, the chapter shows how different factors lead young women to start cohabitation or marriage before adulthood. Through the experiences of three women who began cohabitation before the age of 18 in Peru, the authors show what life is like for them, the inequities in the power relations they face in their daily lives and how far they are from the reality are your current hopes and aspirations. Furthermore, the authors wonder about how different the lives of these young women would be if there were the possibility of changing some of the social norms. The analysis of these life experiences allows researchers to reflect on how the relationship between poverty, inequalities and rigid social gender norms form the basis of a problem that limits women’s opportunities and leaves them vulnerable to violence.

For this chapter, information on young people belonging to the sample of the Young Lives study and who were part of the research “Young Marriage and Parenthood Study”, which was also carried out in Ethiopia, India and Zambia. This chapter is part of the book Dreaming of a Better Life: Child Marriage Through Adolescent Eyes, which shows evidence and new learning from an international set of research and projects on “Early Child and Forced Marriage” supported since 2015 by the International Development Research Center (IDRC) in Canada.