Towards effective laws: An analytical framework and compendium of good practices on laws and policies to address child marriage

The report identifies a comprehensive set of measures that should inform laws and policies designed to prevent and respond to child marriage.

• Set the minimum age of marriage at 18 without exceptions: Laws should establish 18 as the minimum age of marriage and ensure consistency across constitutional, civil, customary and religious laws. Civil or constitutional protections against child marriage should take precedence where laws conflict.
• Build prevention into legal frameworks: Laws should include comprehensive prevention measures, including early warning mechanisms, access to judicial protection, institutional support for children at risk, awareness programmes and guaranteed access to free primary and secondary education.
• Strengthen registration and procedural safeguards: Birth and marriage registration should be compulsory, accessible and free, while marriage registrars should rigorously assess age and full and free consent. Mandatory registration requirements should not result in children losing legal protections because a marriage was unregistered.
• Create clear systems for implementation and accountability: Legal frameworks should designate responsible duty-bearers across government, establish a lead institution to coordinate implementation and require regular reporting and monitoring to ensure accountability.
• Protect children already in marriage: Children in existing marriages should have access to comprehensive protection, support and remedies, including shelter, free legal aid, healthcare, sexual and reproductive health services and psychosocial support. Their rights relating to property, inheritance, citizenship, maintenance, custody and guardianship should also be protected.
• Ensure children can safely leave a marriage: Laws should clarify whether child marriages are void or voidable while ensuring survivors retain legal protections regardless of the marriage’s validity. Cumbersome requirements and restrictive time limits for seeking annulment or dissolution should be removed.
• Prevent criminal laws from causing further harm: Criminal legal frameworks should never penalise, stigmatise or otherwise harm children and survivors. Their implementation should be guided by the best interests of the child and take account of the evolving capacities of adolescents.
• Protect adolescents’ sexual and reproductive rights: The minimum age of marriage should be legally distinct from the age of consent to sexual activity. Adolescents should not be criminalised for consensual, non-coercive sexual activity with peers of similar ages and should have access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, education and services.