Ending child marriage – a guide for policy action

This guide makes a strong case for international action, and strengthens the advocacy efforts of development practitioners and women’s and children’s rights activists to end child marriage. It documents the special needs of child brides and outlines the nature of the economic and social factors which reinforce the practice. It also provides solutions based on a child protection framework, and advocates for the use of legal, policy and multi-sector programme strategies for delaying child marriage for those at risk and meeting the needs of young women who are newly married.This advocacy tool is also part of the wider initiative on reventing HIV infection, particularly among adolescent girls, which is led by the United Nations Global Coalition on Women and AIDS (GCWA), with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Young Positives.