The present report describes attitudes on harmful practices of early/child marriage in Kvemo kartli. The aim of the present study was to examine the views of parents who supported early marriage and the in-depth reasons behind their decisions. A proper understanding of the essential and in-depth reasons of the above group’s behavior will help government agencies, the non-governmental sector, and activist groups to analyze transformational work, plan and implement further steps. It is noteworthy that despite numerous studies on early marriage issues, this is the first study has been conducted with such narrow focus.

The study found that government agencies and community members have fundamentally different views and explanations on the issue of early marriage. The meetings revealed that the mainstream narratives, which are often reproduced and promoted by local agencies, are not shared by community members. It should be noted that stereotypes and prejudices about ethnic minorities within agencies often prevent them from conducting in-depth and comprehensive work on the issue.

The report was prepared by the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia, in cooperation with the platform Salam, with the support of the United Nations Population Foundation (UNFPA) Georgia Country Office, in the frameworks of the UN joint program for Gender Equality, funded by Government of Sweden.