Population Council Research that makes a difference

XXVI IUSSP International Population Conference
27 September–2 October 2009

Abstract

New patterns of marriage practices among poor and nonpoor women in Latin America (Poster no. 162)
Jorge Armando Valencia Rodríguez and Katherine Wilson

Latin America has experienced important developmental and sociodemographic transformations in the last century that are reflected in an increased dissociation between sex and marriage and childbearing greatly attributed to growing secularization. Latin American women have benefited from improvements in educational level, greater autonomy, lower fertility, and higher contraceptive use. However, a large differential between poor and nonpoor women exists, thus impacting marriage practices that could result in a lack of options and reduced opportunities for the well-being of women in low-income groups. The weakening of traditional norms, such as shotgun marriages, may result in making women more vulnerable to entering into consensual unions that are more unstable and where unbalanced gender relations prevail (characterized by domestic violence). Data from DHS and other demographic surveys for two points in time will be used. Countries to be analyzed—Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru—represent the possible variations in the Latin American region.

IUSSP 2009 conference Web site

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