WOREC’s position: 1) WOREC strongly condemns the practice of forced child marriage and recognizes that various forms of child marriage are evolving. WOREC thus believes, there are forced child marriage, arranged child marriage, self-initiative child marriage, elopements, etc. 2) There are various underlying root causes and consequences related to child marriage but barely the voices of adolescents are reflected in research or policy making. The policy makers should work with adolescents while developing the policies concerning them. 3) In lack of proper responding mechanisms the survivors of child marriage are going through continuum of harm after child marriage. So, there is strong need of consolidated effort from concerned agencies with multi-sectoral approach to protect the rights of survivor of child marriage ranging from immediate rescue to referral to safe house, providing legal counselling, legal representation, psycho-social counselling to filing of case and such. 4) The existing legislations against child marriage, illustrates that the state has hampered adolescents agency on his or her decision related to marriage by placing prohibitions and mainly through absolute criminalization. However, due to weak enforcement of laws there are many cases of impunity and some cases of inter-caste child marriage are only being punished as they are reported by the family members as a part of revenge or retaliation to the adolescents. The laws and policies should be reformed from a rights based approach. 5) For Nepal the “cost of inaction” on child marriage for girls aged 15-19 over the next 36 years may cost the country 3.87% of its Gross Domestic Product (UNICEF Nepal, 2014). So, rather than relying on criminal law to prevent child marriage, the State should adopt preventing measures keeping child as rights holder acknowledging their capacity and agencies
