Laws that establish 18 years as the minimum legal age of marriage have been a cornerstone of advocacy to prevent child, early and forced marriages and unions for decades. The emerging evidence on the impact of these laws is cause for concern. The CEFMU and Sexuality Working Group calls for investment in research that can teach us how laws can be better formulated and implemented to advance the rights of adolescent girls and young women.

The conceptual framework illustrates the link between gendered social norms, control of girls’ sexuality, and child, early, and forced marriages and unions. The framework describes how gender-transformative approaches in programming and advocacy can deconstruct these social norms to prevent CEFMU and advance girls’ rights and agency.

As a follow up to Tackling the Taboo, this report features case studies on five organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean using gender-transformative approaches to address control of girl’s sexuality as a driver of child, early, and forced marriages and unions.

The Working Group’s flagship report analyzes the work of 23 organizations addressing control of sexuality as a driver of child, early, and forced marriages and unions.