HarmonyVote

Initiative Title: Global Child Marriage Abolition and Protection Act

Description:

1. Universal Legal Minimum Age of Marriage (18+):
   Require all countries to adopt and enforce legislation setting the legal age for marriage at 18 without exception, including parental or judicial consent loopholes.

2. Marriage Registration and Civil Enforcement:
   Mandate compulsory birth and marriage registration systems. Unregistered, customary, or religious child marriages must be treated as legally invalid and prosecutable.

3. Education as Prevention:
   Ensure access to free and quality secondary education for all girls as a proven method of delaying marriage. Incentivize school attendance through stipends, meal programs, and safe transportation.

4. Community Engagement and Norm Change:
   Partner with local leaders, teachers, youth, and faith organizations to change norms around early marriage. Fund grassroots campaigns that empower girls to define their own futures.

5. Support and Shelter for At-Risk Girls:
   Establish confidential helplines, safe shelters, and social services for girls fleeing forced marriage. Provide trauma counseling, reintegration programs, and legal assistance.

6. Penalties and Legal Action Against Perpetrators:
   Prosecute adults—including parents, guardians, or religious officiants—who facilitate or perform child marriages. Penalize institutions that enable or ignore illegal unions.

7. International Accountability and Treaties:
   Push for child marriage to be included in binding human rights treaties with clear obligations and compliance reviews. Track national progress toward SDG Target 5.3.

8. Data Collection and Public Reporting:
   Invest in disaggregated data systems that monitor the incidence, causes, and consequences of child marriage at national and regional levels. Make data publicly available for accountability.

Possible Outcomes and Implications:

• Eradication of Child Marriage Globally: A major advance in protecting girls’ rights and bodily autonomy.
• Improved Education and Health Outcomes: Girls stay in school longer, delay childbirth, and avoid gender-based violence.
• Reduction in Poverty Cycles: Empowered girls are more likely to earn income, invest in families, and break generational disadvantage.
• Global Progress Toward Gender Equality: Reinforces international efforts under SDG 5 to eliminate harmful practices.
• Legal and Social Clarity: Removes ambiguity from marriage laws and protects vulnerable children in all cultural contexts.

Votes: