The Power of Fathers: Preventing Early Marriage in Refugee Communities

With the support of the European Union through its Humanitarian Aid Operations, UNHCR’s partners conduct training sessions for refugee fathers on preventing early marriages, aiming to address the protection needs of refugee children and their families.

"As a single father, I have to be both a mother and a father to my children. I find these training sessions very helpful because I am trying to do my best for them," says İbrahim, father of three daughters and one son, who fled Syria and arrived in Türkiye 12 years ago. Alongside other fathers in his community, he has joined training sessions offered by UNHCR’s NGO partner, SGDD-ASAM, designed to prevent early marriages by addressing the physical, psychological, and legal consequences, and to create a safe platform for in-person counselling.

İbrahim says that these sessions are beneficial not only for fathers but for all parents and young boys and girls. “Young boys and adults should also receive this training; we need to educate them on marriage being a serious responsibility and that even reaching 18 does not mean being ready for marriage."

Avvad, who arrived in Türkiye in 2016, has five daughters and five sons. Having sought support from SGDD-ASAM due to his daughter’s disability, he also attends these sessions frequently. Having observed the negative impacts of early marriage on children within his extended family, he emphasizes the importance of raising awareness to change such deep-rooted practices. “In our society, it's often believed that girls should marry young. However, anyone who could come here and listen can easily see all the consequences.”

Muhammed, another Syrian participant who came to Türkiye five years ago, is an active member of his community and tries to raise awareness about the harms of early marriages among his family and neighbours. "I was very excited when I heard about this training because I see a lot of ignorance around me on this topic, and I try to raise awareness," he says.
Muhammad highlights the importance of this training specifically for fathers: "Usually, these types of sessions are held with mothers, but this one was directed at fathers, which made it very important. In our community, the father usually makes the final decision at home, so it makes a huge difference if fathers are well-informed," he adds.
With the support of long-standing donors including the European Union, these sessions, part of a broader initiative led by UNHCR Türkiye and its partners, aim to empower parents, children, and caregivers, strengthening the protection environment for all children at risk. Through such trainings and awareness raising sessions on Child, Early and Forced Marriage, which target not only fathers but also mothers, boys and girls between 15 and 18 years of age in separate sessions, UNHCR and its partners contribute to maintaining and reinforcing the protection environment for refugee boys and girls. UNHCR and its child protection partners also organize community-based child protection activities, such as on peer bullying and personal boundaries, and recreational activities for children and their caregivers, including arts and sports activities as well as regular and structured activities with children’s groups.
UNHCR and its child protection partners identify, assess, and refer children at risk to public protection services, or provide directly specific protection services to children and their caregivers. So far this year, over 23,000 children at risk and their caregivers have benefitted from child protection services. Through these activities, parents like Ibrahim, Muhammed, and Avvad continue to advocate for their children’s rights and promote positive change within their communities.