Over the past several decades, efforts to end child, early, and forced marriage

and unions (CEFMU) have placed strong emphasis on legal reform.Yet, a substantial body of evidence and on-the-ground experience has emerged that calls into question the effectiveness - and the unintended consequences - of the predominant legal approach. Legal and policy reforms alone have often failed to reduce CEFMU. More troublingly, where criminal law is involved, such laws have at times exposed adolescent girls and their families to surveillance, punishment, and social stigma and exclusion, while doing little to address the structural conditions that lead to human rights violations.

This publication - a joint endeavor with the Sexuality Working Group and several collaborating partners - argues that advancing adolescent girls’ rights and equality and reducing CEFMU requires a fundamentally different and more nuanced approach to law: one that recognises its importance, while rejecting its elevation as a singular or sufficient solution. Further, it calls for distinguishing between the value of civil law in standard setting, while cautioning against criminal law as a uniform response.

Download the publication below - including the nine points of guidance for legal reform - in English, Spanish, and French.

• Read about the global collective process that led to this publication, including the SWG/UNFPA expert meeting at the United Nations in Geneva, here.

• Check out the publication pre-launch webinar here.

Read the publication!