THE ROLE OF SOCIAL WORKERS IN CURBING GIRL MARRIAGES: A FAMSA CASE STUDY

Abstract

Girl marriage is a global problem which is also prevalent in South Africa. It imposes on the rights of children and is recognised as a harmful practice (United Nations, 2015). This paper reports on a case study with social workers of the Families and Marriage Society of South Africa (FAMSA) in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng. The study concludes that the developmental approach presents a framework for social workers to curb girl marriages. Resources, coordination among stakeholders, monitoring of programmes, interventions and policies are required to curb girl marriage. A rights-based policy and enforcement and monitoring of existing policies that protect children are key to ending the practice of girl marriage.