Four men appeared before a High Court in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on Friday in the country's first prosecution under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2024, which banned the practice two years ago. The accused — including the girl's father and her alleged husband — are charged with contracting, consenting to, and facilitating the forced marriage of a 17-year-old girl in Grafton, on the outskirts of the capital; if convicted, they face a minimum of 15 years in prison, a fine of around $4,000, or both. The case is seen as a landmark moment for gender rights advocates in a country where, according to Human Rights Watch, nearly 30% of girls are married before the age of 18, and where enforcement of the new law had previously been absent.