Awareness and public information campaigns
[61] To ensure full and effective prohibition of child marriage, States
Parties should develop public awareness and information campaigns
that reach all areas of the territory and all sectors of society. A powerful
strategy, and one which seeks to ensure the participation of girls, is one
in which once married, at risk or married women and girls in a child
marriage themselves narrate the circumstances of their child marriage,
detailing in their own language the impact of child marriage on their
life chances, education, health and human rights. Messaging and
information should try to link and situate child marriage within the
broader context of gender inequality and discrimination against women,
in order to transform beliefs and attitudes about both child marriage
and women.
[62] States Parties are encouraged to support Civil Society initiatives
and partnerships that promote the wellbeing and protection of
children, particularly those invested in empowering communities and
girls at risk of child marriage. States Parties are further encouraged to
facilitate dialogue and promote collaboration between all stakeholders,
and particularly traditional, community and religious leaders, in the
prevention of child marriage.
32