Facilitating lasting change through local, national and global advocacy

CARE has developed relationships with a diverse range of actors – donors, policymakers, researchers, activists, and I/NGOs in national and international arenas for action on child marriage. Tipping Point’s advocacy and influencing work is grounded in our learning and experience working side-by-side with girls and communities to support action by local, national, and global coalitions, activists, and decision-makers’ in support of girls’ rights.Advocacy efforts extend beyond a focus on formal policies – such as legislation on the age of marriage – to influence social and cultural institutions that drive gender discrimination and contribute to child marriage.

United States Government Advocacy

CARE helped found and actively participates in Girls Not Brides USA (GNB USA), a leading US-based coalition as part of the Girls Not Brides Global Network. Over the past year, GNB and CARE have engaged strategically with key US Government (USG) officials through meetings, events, and key moments to encourage implementation of financial and policy commitments to prevent child marriage and support married adolescents.

As part of the GNB-US coalition, we’re excited to see the Keeping Girls in School Act passed through mark-up and is headed to the House of Representatives floor for a vote, all with the support of advocates Representative Brooks and Representative Frankel. This act formalizes U.S. government support to empowerment, economic security, and educational opportunities for adolescent girls around the world.

Finally, Tipping Point and the GNB USA coalition developed and disseminated this detailed policy brief outlining steps the US government could take to integrate child marriage prevention and response into key development sectors and diplomatic efforts.

Global Discourse on Child Marriage

Tipping Point seeks to broaden the discourse among donors, researchers, and policy makers focusing on girls’ rights and CEFM beyond focusing on surface-level indicators of progress, such as education and socioeconomic indicators, and towards addressing root causes of the practice. This involves tackling social norms, addressing control of adolescent sexuality, applying a comprehensive and integrated approach and addressing the needs of married girls.

To this end, we co-chair the CEFM Sexuality Programs Working Group, which published Tackling the Taboo, which focuses on the need to address patriarchal control of adolescent girls’ sexuality in the fight against child, early and forced marriage and unions, and highlights the vital role played
by gender-transformative programs. The report presents findings from a review of 23 organizations that work at the intersection of child marriage and sexuality, and includes three case studies that feature the work of grassroots organizations working in politically and culturally
conservative contexts.