Litigation and Advocacy Tool to End Harmful Practices

Created by Equality Now, the Centre for Human Rights University of Pretoria and the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights Coalition (SOAWR Coalition), this manual provides guidance on litigating cases of harmful practices in Africa with a focus on female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage. Though it covers West and Southern Africa, our hope is that it will also be used to inform advocacy and litigation broadly.

It aims to:

• • provide a situational analysis of FGM and child marriage, particularly in West and Southern Africa;

• • assess the legal and policy frameworks adopted to curb harmful practices;

• • help lawyers identify opportunities for strategic litigation and build cases around harmful practices; and

• • help lawyers identify advocacy opportunities at both the national and regional level to ensure protection against harmful practices.