Liberia Country Report: Strengthening the Legal Protection Framework for Girls in India, Bangladesh, Kenya and Liberia

In order to gain a deeper understanding of the factors that support or inhibit the enhanced legal protection of girls, IDLO partnered with local organizations in India, Bangladesh, Kenya and Liberia to carry out a six month review of the legal protection framework for girls in these countries, as part of a broader two-year research project. IDLO and its local partners focused on the following seven factors as key to enhancing the economic and legal empowerment of girls: 1. Access to birth registration; 2. Access to education; 3. Access to property rights; 4. Protection from child labor; 5. Protection from trafficking; 6. Protection from commercial sexual exploitation; and 7. Protection from underage marriage It should be noted that there is a causal connection between ‘means of protection’ and ‘protection risks’ in that poor access to birth registration, education and property rights (all regarded as means of protection) have the potential to increase exposure to protection risks such as child labor, trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation and underage marriage. Moreover, there is also often a causal link between risk factors and means of protection as, for example, underage marriage or trafficking can lead to diminished possibilities for access to education.