Regional Conference on the Prevention of Forced Marriage
Skopje, North Macedonia | 10–12 September 2025
Open Gate/La Strada, together with participants of the Regional Conference on Forced Marriage, held in Skopje from 10–12 September 2025, including representatives of governments, civil society organizations, survivor advocates, international institutions, academia, and donor partners from across the Western Balkans and Europe, express our shared determination to prevent and combat forced and child marriage in all its forms, including trafficking for the purpose of forced marriage.
As part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign, Open Gate/La Strada highlights forced marriage as a deeply gendered human rights violation. It disproportionately affects women and girls, restricting their autonomy and subjecting them to sexual violence, domestic servitude, and other forms of exploitation and human trafficking.
The conference acknowledged that, despite important legal developments such as the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive and the EU Directive on Violence Against Women, implementation remains inconsistent. Forced marriage is often under-reported, seldom prosecuted, and further enabled by legal loopholes, weak institutional response mechanisms, and deeply rooted patriarchal norms.
The joint conclusion commits to urgent action, including legal reforms to criminalize forced marriage as a stand-alone offense and prohibit all marriage under 18. It also stresses the need to strengthen birth and marriage registration and ensure that victim-centered support, including shelters, reintegration services, and survivor participation in policymaking, is central to all responses, alongside better data collection, professional training, and stronger regional cooperation.
- We urge governments to close legal loopholes, allocate sufficient budgets, and enforce laws effectively. Governments must recognize forced marriage as both a human rights violation and a form of exploitation and must ensure that national institutions are equipped and accountable.
- We call upon regional bodies and EU institutions to harmonize definitions, align legal frameworks, fund survivor-centered services, and monitor compliance with European and international commitments. Regional and international cooperation must be strengthened to address the cross-border dimension of forced marriage.
- We invite civil society and communities to continue their crucial role in prevention and support — raising awareness, advocating for survivors, engaging schools and families, and working with religious and community leaders to challenge harmful norms.
- We appeal to donors and international partners to sustain long-term financial and technical support for CSO’s in provision of prevention programs, survivor services, and cross-border cooperation. Ending forced marriage requires not short-term projects, but lasting investment in change.
Forced marriage is hidden exploitation. It is not tradition, it is a violation of freedom, dignity, and fundamental rights.
Together, we affirm: Consent is a right, not a privilege. No child, woman, or man should ever be forced into marriage.
By working collaboratively across institutions, sectors, communities, and borders, we commit to building a future where every person can live free from coercion, violence, and fear, with full autonomy over their lives and choices.
Read our full joint conclusion here.
The project “Improving the Prevention and Care for Victims of Forced Marriages,” implemented by Open Gate/La Strada with support from the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France (FEF-R), addresses forced marriage as a gender-based form of human trafficking, aiming to prevent and reduce its occurrence by deepening the understanding of its structural causes and consequences, raising awareness, and developing evidence-based recommendations that inform effective national policies and interventions. Building on the Analysis for Forced Marriage, which draws from lived-experience testimonies and consultations with national stakeholders, the project developed and disseminated practical recommendations for improved identification, protection, and support of victims. Public awareness and community engagement were strengthened through the “I Do Not Consent to Forced Marriage” campaign, while regional cooperation was enhanced through the Regional Conference on the Prevention of Forced Marriage. Overall, the project advanced evidence-based policy dialogue, improved recognition of forced marriage including as trafficking and GBV, and contributed to more coordinated, survivor-centred prevention efforts.
