IS CHILD MARRIAGE LEGAL?
Most countries have a legal age of marriage, and often this is set at 18. All countries which have formally approved the United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women have committed to raise the minimum age for marriage to 18.
However, even if countries have set 18 as the legal age of marriage, there are usually exceptions to this which allow marriages at younger ages. Some countries have a very low or no minimum age.
TYPES OF LEGAL EXCEPTIONS WHICH ALLOW CHILD MARRIAGE
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Consent of a parent or guardian
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Consent of the government or a judge
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Pregnancy: if a girl under the age of 18 is pregnant, some national laws permit marriage between the parents of the child
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Legal recognition of customary, religious, or traditional practices: for example, marrying girls off once they start menstruating, betrothing children to join families together, or to maintain family or community relations
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Legal exceptions to protect men from rape charges: in a handful of countries, girls who have been raped can be legally forced to marry their rapist, allowing the rapist to avoid a criminal charge
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Nine of the ten countries with the highest rates of child marriage in the world have these types of legal exceptions. Mozambique, where more than half of young women were married as children, is the only country in the top ten which does not, as the law was changed to end all exceptions to child marriage in 2019.
In Niger, which has the world’s highest rate of child marriage (76% of young women were married as children), the legal age of marriage for girls is 15, but parents or guardians can give consent for girls younger than 15 to marry. The law also recognises customary marriages, and most marriages in Niger are conducted under customary law.
Fewer than 40 countries set 18 as the legal age of marriage with absolutely no exceptions.
Africa
Asia
Europe
Latin America and the Caribbean
North America
11 countries
9 countries
8 countries
8 countries
0 countries
However, even in countries where the law states that 18 is the minimum legal age for marriage with no exceptions, governments have to commit to implementing the law and punitive measures (such as large fines or imprisonment) for those who break the law. Governments must also provide easily accessible, child-friendly protection mechanisms for children who are vulnerable to child marriage. A child marriage law alone is not enough to end child marriage.
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Knowing what’s happening in different countries is important because national governments have a responsibility to deliver children’s rights, and understanding the scale of the challenge in a country helps people to campaign for the laws and policies which can end child marriage. However, it’s also important to understand that there are other factors within and across country borders that can also drive child marriage - read more here.
