Algeria

In Algeria, when a child born out of wedlock is registered, official documentation may mark them as ‘illegitimate.’ This exposes the child to a lifetime of stigma and marginalization. The CRC and the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women (SRVAW) have both called attention to the discriminatory way in which children born outside of marriage are registered (with two surnames instead of the mother’s family name). The SRVAW recognized that this practice exposes girls to intersecting layers of discrimination based on their legal status and sex. This practice may lead mothers to prefer non-registration over branding their child as ‘illegitimate’.