A/HRC/26/22 Several countries with plural legal systems also have laws that apply different marital ages to different religious communities.85 In other countries, the minimum age of marriage is based on the age of criminal responsibility, the age of sexual consent, the onset of puberty or pregnancy.86 43. Another challenge is related to laws that exempt a rapist from punishment if he marries his victim.87 In some circumstances, it may be possible to use laws relating to rape or statutory rape to assist girls subjected to child marriage; however in many countries the law provides an exception when the perpetrator is the husband.88 44. Provisions relating to child, early and forced marriage are often contained in various, sometimes conflicting laws. For instance, in Egypt, such provisions concerning child, early and forced marriage can be found in the Children Law, the Penal Code, the Civil Status Law, the Law on the Combating of Human Trafficking and Decree No. 11 of 2011 on the criminalization of harassment.89 In Nigeria, the Child Rights Act stipulates 18 years of age for marriage with some much lower state exceptions, and conflicts with the relevant constitutional provision.90 45. Even when the legislation is in line with international standards, effective implementation of the law is often constrained by the continued presence of underlying conditions which, as noted by UNFPA, include “Gender inequality, lack of protection of girls’ human rights, persistent traditions in favour of early marriage, poverty, humanitarian crises and tough economic realities.”91 Furthermore, deeply embedded cultural beliefs and lack of awareness amongst officials, parents and families about the reasons for legislating against child, early and forced marriage and the harmful consequences of the practice often hinder the application of the legislation.92 46. Several civil society organizations noted that criminalization of early marriage may deter victims, especially those from immigrant or minority communities, from coming forward, particularly if it may result in the criminal prosecution and imprisonment of family members.93 They highlighted the need to accompany legal reforms with awareness-raising efforts for families and communities. 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 for Iran, and Save the Children. See the concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on Israel (CEDAW/C/ISR/CO/5) and the State party report of Kenya for that Committee (CEDAW/C/KEN/7); and State party report of Trinidad and Tobago for the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/83/Add.12). See, for example, the concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on El Salvador (CRC/C/SLV/Q/3-4/Add.1), Eritrea (CRC/C/ERI/3) and Guatemala (CRC/C/GTM/3-4). Equality Now, “Protecting the girl child: using the law to help end child, early and forced marriage and related human rights violations”, available from: www.equalitynow.org/sites/default/files/Protecting_the_Girl_Child_Annex_v3.pdf. Ibid. Submission from Egypt. Section 29 (4) of the Nigerian Constitution states that a woman is deemed to be of full age upon marriage; see also Committee on the Rights of the Child, concluding observations (CRC/C/NGA/CO/3-4). See for examples submissions from the Zambia Chapter of GNB; the Nigerian Chapter of GNB; Save the Children, François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human Rights; the Red Elephant Foundation, and Children’s Dignity Forum (CDF) UNFPA, Marrying too young (see note 70), p. 50. Submissions from the Red Elephant Foundation, p. 14; Southall Black Sisters, p. 1; and the Commonwealth Secretariat, p. 10. This concern was raised by Southall Black Sisters and were supported by 33 other organizations 15