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Summary
Columbia has voted to change a law that allows men to marry minors with parental consent.
The Congress of Colombia has voted to oppose a law that allows men to marry girls with parental consent, marking a major step after 17 years of campaigning by advocacy groups and eight failed legislative attempts.
The reform, which sets 18 as the minimum age for marriage to protect minors’ rights and development opportunities, now awaits final approval from President Gustavo Petro. It will also see the introduction of a nationwide program focused on preventing child marriage.
Child marriage has been a significant issue in Colombia that is particularly prevalent in rural areas and is often driven by poverty, gender inequality, and lack of access to education. UNICEF reports that men have married 4.5 million Colombian girls before they turned 18 — about one in four. Majority of the men married about a million girls before the minors turned 15. Also, 23% of women aged 20 to 24 were married by men while they were children, compared to the global average of 20%.
Under the current civil code, men can marry children as young as 14 with parental consent. The reform was initially proposed in 2023 under the slogan, “They’re girls, not wives.”
The slogan has been widely embraced by advocacy groups and organisations to campaign against men marrying children. Its primary goal is to protect young girls from predatory men by making legislative laws against child marriage. This allows children to enjoy their childhood without the burden of adult responsibilities. The campaign also aims to shield girls from various forms of male violence and to ensure they have access to education and opportunities for personal development, which are disrupted by early marriage.
The decision closes a 137-year-old loophole in Colombia’s civil code that allows men to marry minors with parental consent. It also addressed informal marital unions where minors were considered married after cohabitation for two years.
With this reform, Colombia became one of 12 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to ban marriage under 18, joining nations like Honduras, Puerto Rico, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic. Before then, it was recorded that Columbia ranks 20th worldwide for the culture of men marrying girls before the age of 15, while countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) rank Colombia 11th.
Colombian lawmakers have been celebrating the ban as people note that child marriage should never have been legal in the first place.
“Way to go, Colombia! This monumental step protects young lives and promotes equality,” X user @VoiceofValr commented.
