The impact of Gender-based violence and gender norms on child marriage among Syrian refugees in Lebanon: limited legal status and lack of education 1

The purpose of this paper is to analyse and identify root causes of gender-based violence (GBV) in forced migration as contributor to child marriage among Syrian refugee in Lebanon. Drawing on Bourdieu’s theory of practice and its concept of habitus, I argue that refugees’ habitus in Lebanon can be altered when the new field represented by the host society changes, the paper seeks to investigate entrenched gender norms and gender inequality that affect Syrian refugee women and girls in some aspects of their daily life in Lebanon. From this perspective, the paper examines existing social and gender norms that intertwined with factors such as lack of education and insecurity (limited legal status), which exposes refugees to the risk of arrest and detention, it also hampers their access to basic services like education and other social services, thus contributing to increase rates of child marriage among Syrian refugee in Lebanon. This paper is in the first phase of ongoing research, empirical data are not yet available, it will rely on an extensive literature review.