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SEPTEMBER 2025
Dear friend,
At the 16th Regional Conference on Women in Mexico City, Girls Not Brides' Secretariat and membership in Latin America and the Caribbean came together to highlight child, early and forced marriage and unions as a critical barrier to gender equality.
LAC membership at Conference on Women
Highlights
Presentation of 'Options Not Sanctions'
Participatory session, co-organised with nine Girls Not Brides member organisations in Mexico to highlight child, early, and forced marriage and unions as a priority issue in the region and explore comprehensive alternatives from a non-punitive perspective.
Visitors at immersive installation of 'Un Futuro Propio'
Immersive sound installation Un Futuro Propio at the Museo de la Ciudad de México in collaboration with the Secretariat of Culture in Mexico and Estudio Plumbago. As part of the #DearFutureme campaign, the exhibit showcased the voices of girls and adolescents from the region who, in letters to their “future selves”, speak of their dreams, demands, and the future they envision building.
LAC membership at Conference on Women
Participating Member States of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) approved the Tlatelolco Commitment to strengthen knowledge, capacities and monitoring mechanisms for national actions to prevent adolescent pregnancy and to end harmful practices such as child marriages and early unions.
📣NEWS
Collective Influencing in Action: Regional Partners Unite to End Child Marriage
Participants at the regional convening in Nairobi
Over three transformative days in Nairobi, Girls Not Brides brought together representatives from the African Union, the SADC Parliamentary Forum, UN agencies, youth networks, and international and national civil society organisations for Regional Consultative Discussions on Collective Influencing to Address Child Marriage.
Bolivia approves raising the minimum legal age of marriage to 18
Bolivia has taken a significant step in protecting the rights of adolescent girls and boys by approving an amendment to raise the minimum legal age for marriage to 18 years old with no exceptions.
Burkina Faso has adopted the bill for the new Personal and Family Code (CPF), changing the minimum legal age for marriage to 18 years old for both girls and boys.
📝 LEARNING AND RESOURCES
Updated thematic brief: Child marriage and sexual and reproductive health and rights
This World Sexual Health Day, Girls Not Brides reaffirmed global commitments to end child marriage and achieve universal access to sexual and reproductive health care by 2030.
Our updated brief includes valuable input by Dr Suzanne Petron, an expert in gender equality and global health. It shares the latest evidence on child marriage and SRHR, from adolescent pregnancy and contraception to HIV, violence, and SRHR in times of crisis.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Dr. Faith Mwangi Powell in Raising Women magazine
Girls Not Brides CEO, Dr. Faith Mwangi-Powell, featured in the latest issue of Raising Women Magazine; a special edition highlighting organisations and leaders making a difference.
She shared why ending child marriage is so close to her heart, why this moment feels especially urgent in today’s context of funding cuts to international development and gender equality work, and why continued investment in girls’ rights is essential. Her voice, alongside so many inspiring women working endlessly for a more equitable world, reminds us that progress is possible when we act collectively.
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