Toolkit
30 August 2017

The law as a tool for changing gender norms affecting adolescent girls: The case of child marriage laws

Author: Rachel Marcus, Sophie Brodbeck
Published by: ODI
The law as a tool for changing gender norms affecting adolescent girls: The case of child marriage laws

This report explores the role of law reform as a tool for changing gender norms that affect adolescent girls, with a focus on child marriage laws. It finds that law reform is most effective in changing gender norms when it is building on changes in behaviour or attitudes that are already starting to occur. For reforms to have maximum impact, there needs to be widespread awareness of new laws and public confidence that they will be enforced.