Resources
This is a searchable library of publications, webinars, blog posts, and training manuals from the U.S. and around the world on the topic of forced marriage.
Historical Overview of U.S. Policy and Legislative Responses to Honor-Based Violence, Forced Marriage, and Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting
Authors: Marieke Brock and Emma Buckthal
Publication: September 2018
This report, produced by the National Institute of Justice, aims to support law enforcement’s ability to understand and identify acts of gender-based violence in the United States that are rooted in cultural practice by providing a high-level historical perspective of these practices and the U.S. government’s response to them.
Forced Marriage: Community Voices, Stories and Strategies
Author: Australian Red Cross
Publication: May, 2019
This report highlights the important role of communities and families in finding solutions to complex forms of harm such as forced marriage. The Australian Red Cross identifies pressures that lead to forced marriage, explores the inter-generation conflict inherent to many forced marriage cases, and lays out for broad strategies that communities use to negotiate and prevent forced marriage.
Alone without a Home: A National Review of State Laws Affecting Unaccompanied Youth
Authors: National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, and National Network for Youth
Publication: February, 2019
This report provides a state-by-state review of laws in 13 key issue areas affecting the lives of unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness. Topics include status offenses, emancipation statutes, health care access, consent and confidentiality statutes, and juvenile justice system statutes.
State Regulations Are Failing Our Children: An Analysis of Child Marriage Laws in the United States
Author: Rachel L. Schuman
Publication: May 31, 2019
Laws allowing for child marriage have a long history in U.S. and common law, but are currently receiving increased scrutiny from advocates seeking to prevent the documented harms of early marriage. This article examines whether Congress could legally promote the implementation of a uniform marriage age across states using precedent set in South Dakota v. Dole. Read more.
Protection Versus Rights: Age of Marriage Versus Age of Sexual Consent
Authors: Suzanne Petroni, Madhumita Das, & Susan M Sawyer
Publication: December 5, 2018
As many governments worldwide have raised the legal age of marriage to 18 years, some are also considering raising the age of sexual consent. Without close-in-age exemptions, arguments to align the legal age of sexual consent with that of marriage would restrict the ability of adolescents to legally have sex. The authors find that, because the consideration to marry and to have sex are very different, the minimum ages need not be aligned.
