- Three-fourths (75%) of Gambians say women should be able to decide for themselves whether and when to marry, but only one-third (32%) say they should be able to decide when to have children and how many children to have. o Women are more likely than men to believe in women’s autonomy in decisions about marriage (82% vs. 69%) and childbearing (39% vs. 26%).
- More than eight in 10 Gambians (82%) say pupils who get pregnant or have children should be allowed to continue their schooling. o More than seven in 10 (72%) endorse the teaching of sexuality education in school.
- Only about two in 10 citizens say contraceptives should be made available for anyone who is sexually active regardless of age (21%) or marital status (23%).
- A majority of Gambians say terminating a pregnancy is “never” justified in cases where the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest (66%), where the mother is economically unable to care for a child (71%), or where the pregnancy is unwanted for any reason (76%). o If a pregnancy threatens the woman’s life or health, almost half (46%) see abortion as “sometimes” or “always” justified.
Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are fundamental aspects of public health and human rights, encompassing physical, mental, and social well-being related to sexuality and childbearing (Starr et al., 2018). At their foundation is the right of individuals to make informed, autonomous decisions about their sexual and reproductive lives, free from coercion, violence, and discrimination.
In The Gambia, public attitudes toward SRHR are evolving within a context of generally conservative dispositions on issues such as women’s agency and autonomy over their bodies, contraceptive use, and abortion (see Afrobarometer, 2024, 64-66). Child marriage remains an issue of significant concern, despite a notable decline in prevalence in recent decades: Among women aged 40-44, 51% were married by age 18, while among those aged 20-24, the figure is 23% (UNICEF, 2025). The practice is far more common in rural than in urban areas. National and international efforts, including a UNICEF-supported plan to end child marriage by 2030, are seeking to address the practice and protect the rights of the girl child (FactCheck Gambia, 2024).
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is prohibited by law but remains a contentious issue. After the 2023 conviction of three women accused of performing FGM, a proposed – but eventually rejected – modification to the 2015 Women’s Act would have allowed the practice with parental consent (Equality Now, 2024). The proposal sparked strong opposition from advocates for women’s and human rights and the larger civil society, who emphasised the importance of safeguarding women’s health and bodily autonomy (Jawo, 2025; National Human Rights Commission, 2023).
Abortion is a criminal offence in The Gambia except under certain conditions, which include if it is to protect the life or physical or mental well-being of the pregnant woman, if the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest, or if there is a substantial risk that the child would be seriously handicapped (Republic of The Gambia, 2025).
A special question module in Afrobarometer’s Round 10 survey (2024) explores the opinions and experiences of Gambians related to sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Survey findings show that most Gambians support women’s right to decide whether and when to marry, but only one in three would extend that autonomy of action to decisions about childbearing. A majority say that girls who become pregnant or have children should be allowed to continue their education and that sexuality education should be included in school curricula. However, only a minority endorse the idea of making contraceptives available to all sexually active individuals regardless of age or marital status.
Views on whether abortion is justified are divided when the mother’s life or health is at risk, but there is broad opposition to pregnancy termination under other circumstances.
Related content
