This publication was developed to support an undertaking by the CEDAW Law Reform Committee, an inter-departmental working group established by the Cook Islands Government, to work towards legislative consistency with Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The Committee named marriage and family life and the safety and security of women and children as priorities for law reform. In order to work towards consistency with CEDAW in these areas, the Committee recommended the development of a comprehensive civil Family Law Bill to replace and modernize the disparate pieces of legislation that currently govern family law in the Cook Islands.