Re-emphasizing the individual components of ‘child, early, and forced marriage’
Summary & Objectives
This commentary critically examines the compound term “child, early, and forced marriage (CEFM)”, which has become standard in global human rights discourse and programming. The authors aim to trace how the term evolved, clarify how its individual components are defined across legal, policy, and institutional contexts, and assess how these definitions are applied in research and practice. The central objective is to show that while child marriage is relatively well defined and measured, early marriage and forced marriage remain conceptually underdeveloped and inconsistently operationalised, limiting progress toward gender equality and child well-being.
Findings
The review finds that in practice, CEFM is frequently reduced to child marriage alone, largely because age-based definitions are easier to quantify and monitor. Early marriage lacks a consistent definition, as it may involve adults and varies widely across cultural and legal settings. Forced marriage is often conflated with child marriage, despite occurring at all ages and hinging on consent rather than age. This conceptual compression obscures important forms of harm, weakens legal and policy responses, and leads to gaps in research and programming that fail to address coercion, consent, and power dynamics in marriage. The authors demonstrate that international human rights instruments recognise these distinctions, but implementation and measurement have not kept pace.
Recommendations
The authors call for clear, standalone definitions of early marriage and forced marriage that are consistently applied alongside child marriage in research, law, and programming. They recommend developing indicators that capture consent, coercion, and timing, rather than relying solely on age thresholds. Strengthening conceptual clarity would improve accountability, enhance policy coherence, and better align global efforts to end harmful marriage practices with the broader goals of gender equality and human rights.
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