Early and Forced Marriage

1. Child marriage or marriage without the free and full consent of both spouses is a human rights violation and is not in line with several international and regional agreements, including The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

2. Key Terms

2.1. Forced marriage

2.2. Arranged marriage

2.3. Gender mainstreaming

2.4. Gender parity

2.5. Gender-based violence

3. What are the challenges in enforcing laws that prohibit child marriage?

3.1. Lack of awareness and training among law enforcement officials

3.2. Lack of birth and marriage registration

3.3. Discrepancies between formal and religious or customary law on the minimum age of marriage

4. The consequences of early and forced marriage

4.1. Illiteracy and poor education

4.2. Higher risk of abuse

4.3. Poor sexual health

4.3.1. FGM

4.3.2. Increased risk of sexual infections

4.4. Increased mortality rate

4.4.1. Death during childbirth

4.4.2. Suicide

5. Key Institutions

5.1. International organisations

5.1.1. European Institute for Gender Equality

5.1.2. European Women’s Lobby

5.2. Social services

5.3. Local authorities

5.4. NGOs

5.5. European Commission

5.6. European Parliament

5.7. The Council of the European Union.

6. Ending child marriage will also help us achieve many of the Global Goals for Sustainable Development such as:

6.1. Goal 1: No poverty

6.2. Goal 2: Zero hunger

6.3. Goal 3: Good health and well-being

6.4. Goal 4: Quality education

6.5. Goal 5: Gender equality

6.6. Goal 8: Economic growth

6.7. Goal 10: Reduced inequalities

6.8. Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions

7. Victims of early and forced marriage typically have children very young. Approximately 70,000 girls die in labour every year because their bodies aren’t ready for childbirth.