CSW70: Strengthening Legal Systems to Ensure the End of Child Marriage

Child marriage must be treated as a crime, not a cultural practice.

During the high-level week of the 70th Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations, global leaders, ministers, UN officials, diplomats, civil society representatives, and survivors came together to call for stronger enforcement of laws to end child marriage within a generation.

The deliberations took place during the special event 'Strengthening Legal Systems to Ensure the End of Child Marriage', held on the margins of #CSW70 and convened in partnership with the Office of the First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone and the Permanent Mission of Sierra Leone to the United Nations, with the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations Mission as co-host. The event focused squarely on strengthening legal systems to ensure the end of child marriage, not as a distant goal, but within this generation.

Those present were unequivocal in their position: child marriage must be treated as a criminal justice issue, not a cultural practice.

In her address, H.E. Dr. Fatima Maada Bio reinforced the urgency of confronting the issue with clarity. “Child marriage is not culture. It is not tradition. It is rape,” she stated, underscoring that when political will aligns with the rule of law, meaningful change becomes possible. Drawing from Sierra Leone’s own legislative progress, where strong legal penalties are in place, she pointed to the role of enforcement in translating laws into real protection for children.

The discussion repeatedly returned to a critical reality that many countries already have laws prohibiting child marriage. Yet weak or inconsistent enforcement continues to allow the practice to persist.

Bhuwan Ribhu, Founder of Just Rights for Children, highlighted that enforcement-driven approaches had already shown results. “In less than three years, our partner network has helped stop or prevent nearly 500,000 child marriages in India,” he noted. “The laws exist. What’s missing is consistent enforcement and institutional accountability.”

Just Rights for Children, through its global campaign Child Marriage Free World, has reached nearly 100 countries, amplifying the call to end child marriage worldwide.

Bhuwan Ribhu also called upon global leaders to urge the United Nations to dedicate a World Day for the Elimination of Child Marriage, recognising that such a day would elevate global commitment, strengthen accountability, and mobilise governments and societies worldwide to act.

With an estimated 12 million girls married before the age of 18 each year, globally, the urgency is undeniable. The message from the convening was clear and consistent — child marriage is child rape. Ending it requires not new conversations around culture, but decisive legal action, political will, and systems that are held accountable.

Together, we can end child marriage in this generation.