Table 4: Views on Intimate Trust [Source: Afrobarometer. 2012] Trust most Trust relatives Trust neighbours Trust others you know Female 25% 81% 69% 31% Male 13% 87% 40% 33% As for religion, which is argued to be an important factor in fostering early marriage, 69% of women reported belonging to an “Alternative Christian” religion 5, and most of these belonged to either “evangelical” or “pentecostal” churches. The Afrobarometer was also helpful in developing a perspective on the living conditions in Goromonzi, complimenting the Census and the perspectives of the respondents in the study. 53% of the respondents had access to water “Outside the compound”, 25 % had access to a toilet “Outside the compound” while 47% had access to a toilet “Inside the compound”. Perhaps critically, none of the respondents had access to water or a toilet “Inside the house”. An overwhelming 82% owned a radio and there was a marked decline (38%) in the number of people who owned a television, while none of the respondents owned a motor vehicle or motor bike. The Afrobarometer data also looked at other dimensions that defined quality of life. The data indicate that poverty is rampant and the general standard and quality of living was very low. Unemployment was very high and there was little in terms of other income generating projects/enterprises in which locals were involved. 56% of respondents frequently did not have “…a cash income”, 22% “…without medical care”, 22% “…without cooking fuel”, 6%“…without food”, and 6% “…without water”. Thus, the Afrobarometer gives a more nuanced picture about Goromonzi District, which is useful as background to the qualitative study on early marriage. 2. Rationale and Objectives This is a study of community perspectives on marriage in one District, Goromonzi District, in Zimbabwe. Drawing on Phenomenology and Critical Realism, the study seeks to understand how the community views marriage, including the phenomenon of early marriage, and possibly child marriage. The study will examine women’s experiences of marriage, how they got in marriage and ways of preventing child marriage. The major research questions were as follows:    5 What are women’s experiences of their marriages in Goromonzi District? What are their assessments of their own marriages? Are the experiences of child brides different? Evangelical, Pentecostal ( e.g.,“Born Again” and/or “Saved”), Independent (e.g., “African Independent Church”), Jehovah’s Witness, Seventh Day Adventist, Mormon, Church of Christ, Zionist Christian Church. 8