Publications
Youth Agency and the Culture of Law: A High School Curriculum on Forced Marriage
Author: Dr Anver M. Emon (University of Toronto) and Persia Etemadi
Publication: 2015
This curriculum examines “forced” marriage by interrogating the law’s culture on youth agency and consent. It was designed for high school teachers situated in Ontario, Canada, and speaks directly to Ontario’s educational guidelines.
She Goes With Me In My Boat: Child and Adolescent Marriage in Brazil
Author: Promundo: Alice Taylor, Giovanna Lauro, Marcio Segundo, & Margaret Greene
Publication: July, 2015
This study – the first of its kind in Brazil – explores attitudes and practices around child and adolescent marriage in the two Brazilian states with the highest prevalence of the practice, according to the 2010 Census, namely Pará in the north and Maranhão in the northeast. The study examines local attitudes and practices, as well as risk and protective factors, around child and adolescent marriage in the capital cities in these two states. It looks at both formal and informal unions (i.e., co-habitation), as the latter are the most prevalent forms of child and adolescent marriage in Brazil yet hold similar implications as formal marriages. The analysis highlights the ways in which a child or adolescent marriage may create or exacerbate risk factors (i.e., related to health, education, security) while often being perceived by girls or family members as offering stability in settings of economic insecurity and limited opportunities.
I Carry the Name of my Parents’: Young People’s Reflections on FGM and Forced Marriage
Author: Create Youth Network – Joanne Hemmings, PhD (Options) & and Saria Khalifa (FORWARD)
Publication: November, 2013
This report presents the results of three Participatory Ethnographic Evaluation Research (PEER) studies, carried out as part of the CREATE Youth-Net project, which aims to safeguard young people in three European countries (the United Kingdom, Portugal and the Netherlands) from harmful practices, in particular Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage. A total of 82 respondents took part and interviews covered a range of themes, including migration experiences, gender and social norms, notions of cultural identity, and harmful practices including
FGM and forced marriage.
Is Forced Marriage a Problem in the United States? Intergenerational Conflict over Marital Choice Among College Students at the City University of New York from Middle Eastern, North African, and South Asian Migrant Families
Author: Anthony Marcus (John Jay College of Criminal Justice) in partnership with the AHA Foundation
Publication: 2015
Drawing on interviews from a purposive sample of 100 City University of New York students, this study documents the presence of intergenerational conflict over honor, sexuality, and marital choice within MENASA migrant communities with the goal of assessing whether forced marriage is a problem in the United States.
Criminal Laws Addressing Forced Marriage in the United States
Author: Tahirih Justice Center
Original Publication: July 2013
Updated: September 2022
This document provides an overview of state criminal codes that address forced marriage in the United States, including those of California, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, Virginia, and West Virginia, as well as Washington DC and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It also provides information on Massachusetts, Michigan, and Minnesota’s laws addressing abduction for the purpose of marriage.
