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.
Child Marriage in America: An Interim Solution Pending a Total Ban
Author: Raquel Wildes Genet
Publication: August 2019
This article provides legal and historical background on the state of laws allowing for child marriage in the United States, and goes on to examine the arguments for and against eliminating marriage under age 18 without exceptions. The author makes recommendations for policy changes, taking into account both protective measures and perceived political feasibility.
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.
