Objectives

OHCHR invites States and other relevant stakeholders, including women and girls at risk, United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, special procedure mandate holders, international and regional organizations, scholars, national human rights institutions, representatives of subregional and regional organizations, international human rights mechanisms and civil society organizations, to submit input for the elaboration of a report on the adverse impact of forced marriage on the full and effective enjoyment of all human rights by all women and girls

Key questions

1. Causes and consequences of forced marriage
   • What measures have been taken to address the root causes of forced marriage, and the social, economic, environmental, political, pandemics, cultural and religious factors that facilitate, support, or exacerbate it? Could you share some promising practices?
   • What legislative and policy measures have been taken to prevent and prohibit forced marriage in all its forms (abduction, kidnapping, marriage initiated by families or for tribals dispute settlements, captivity, trafficking in persons, temporary marriages, coerced or placement marriage, levirate, sororate, child marriage and early unions)?
   • What legislative and policy measures have been taken pertaining to the age of consent in accordance with the evolving capacity age and maturity of adolescent girls and boys?
   • What measures have been taken to ensure the agency and guarantee the respect of the economic rights of women and girls in forced marriage, and at its dissolution, especially in relation to family property, access to land and inheritance, and right to matrimonial property?
2. Prevention, empowerment, and community mobilization
   • What measures have been taken to ensure empowerment and agency of women and girls to make decision on their lives and protect them from stigma, to secure their right to sexual and reproductive health, including access to information and services?
   • What has been done to engage key actors in preventing forced marriage, including the media, community and religious leaders, families, and armed groups? What are the existing tools leveraged to addressing the issue of forced marriage?
   • What actions have been taken to empower women and girls, victims of forced marriage, promote social mobilization and provide socio-economic assets to women and girls, to raise awareness about the adverse impact of forced marriage, and build the capacity of professionals across sectors?
3. Accountability, access to justice, support, and reparations
   • What measures have been taken to address the physical, sexual, and socio-psychological consequences of forced marriage, and also stigma and rejection, including of the children born from such forced marriages?
   • What are the challenges related to barriers to accessing justice, reparations for women and girls, and for prosecutions and sanctions of perpetrators of forced marriage and how are they addressed in your national context?
   • What has been the impact of protection orders, rehabilitation centres and shelters for survivors of domestic violence, marital rape, and other forms of violence in the context of forced marriage?
   • What services are available for rehabilitation of both women and their children survivors of forced marriage? What are the viable alternatives, social, economic, and other financial assets available to support them?
4. Data collection
   • What are the challenges in relation to identification of cases of forced marriage, particularly in contexts of trafficking of persons, conflict, pandemics, emergencies, and patriarchal norms and systems and how are they addressed?
   • Could you share data about the prevalence of informal unions, cohabitations, forced marriages including in situation of crisis, such as in internal displaced and refugee camps, and on women and girls separated from their families due to conflict and emergencies and held in detention or captivity for the purpose of exploitation including forced marriage?

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