Authors: Meredith Dank, Hanna Love, Sino Esthappan, and Janine Zweig

Published: January 2018

This exploratory study examined forced marriage in the United States context and focused on the nature and scope of forced marriage, the intersection between forced marriage and violence and abuse as well as services needed and received by those who have experience forced marriage in the U.S. It was conducted by researchers at the Urban Institute in partnership with the Tahirih Justice Center, with funding from the National Institute of Justice. Please contact the Tahirih Justice Center for more information on the research design and implications of the study’s findings.

Author: Tahirih Justice Center

Publication: January 2014

This document outlines the Tahirih Justice Center’s policy recommendations regarding what the U.S. can do to end forced marriage.

Author: Lisa V. Martin

Publication: May 30, 2018

This report, published in the Nevada Law Journal, is the first to undertake a detailed evaluation of the viability of civil protection orders to prevent and redress forced marriage in the United States. Although protection orders show promise as a tool to prevent and redress forced marriage in many states, Martin writes, the nuances of the governing legal standards reduce the practical utility of the remedy for those who lack expert guidance. To enhance the accessibility of protection orders in a forced marriage context, Martin recommends that states create a new forced marriage protection order to address the specific needs of those facing this problem.

This webinar features Laura Vidal, a Social Worker with a Masters in Human Rights Law and Policy from Sydney, Australia. Drawing on her experience of developing and delivering Australia’s only survivor advocates program for victims of human trafficking and slavery (including forced marriage) —The Freedom Advocates Project— Laura Vidal presented key guidelines for engaging survivors in equal and equitable advocacy to influence policy development and service delivery. Opening authentic and equitable space for survivors’ voices to be heard is essential in the movement to end violence against women, and this webinar provides a roadmap for building principled survivor engagement opportunities and programs. This webinar is appropriate for all advocates working in the field of gender-based violence and human trafficking, including those in direct service and public policy advocacy on the local, state and federal level.

Author: Laura Vidal
Publication: December 2017

In this report to the Churchill Trust, Laura Vidal showcases learning on the treatment of forced marriage from Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, Denmark, the United States, Canada, and Kenya. From her observations of how the practice is addressed in these countries, Vidal distills a list of best practices and makes recommendations for how Australia can better respond to child, early, and forced marriage.