Editor’s Note: Neermala Persaud is a young expert in the Global Governance Innovation Network. This commentary is part of the GGIN’s Next Generation Experts series in an effort to elevate youth research and writing. Neermala’s interest in child marriage is not just a research interest but a lived reality in her family and community. Her work is driven by a commitment to amplify the voices of women/girls silenced by the practice of child marriage. Hailing from the Latin American and Caribbean region, she sees how this practice continues without adequate intervention, leaving many girls vulnerable to child marriage and the repercussions that come with it. This motivated her to further pursue the topic through a Master’s at American University.
By Nudhara Yusuf, Executive Coordinator, Global Governance Innovation Network
The 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) concluded in March 2025 with a renewed global commitment to gender equality, marking the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Among the many pressing issues discussed, one side event brought the persistent crisis of child marriage into focus. Despite decades of advocacy and legal reform, the discussions underscored that child marriage continues to rob millions of girls each year of their childhood, freedom, and future.
While Asia and Africa have recorded substantial declines in child marriage over the past two decades, rates in Latin America and the Caribbean have remained stagnant. For the past 25 years, nearly one in four girls in the region has been married or in union before the age of 18. This is not due to a lack of awareness or international attention. It is a shortfall in governance, enforcement, and political will. Despite global pledges to eliminate child marriage by 2030 under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 5.3), many countries in the region have passed legislation setting the minimum marriage age at 18, allowing exceptions through parental or judicial consent. These loopholes, often rooted in colonial-era civil codes, create blurred lines when it comes to enforcement, making it easier for underage marriages to persist despite the formal age restrictions.
The historic record underscores how child marriage has served as a mechanism of social and economic control, particularly over girls. In many parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, it has been closely linked to ideas of family honor, financial security, and reproductive duty. Even today, the legacy of these social norms persists. In countries such as the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Nicaragua, it is not uncommon for girls as young as 14 to be married to significantly older men, often in informal or religious ceremonies that bypass civil regulations altogether. The consequences are profound. Child marriage is a gateway to a lifetime of gender inequality. It prevents girls from pursuing their education, increases the risk of early and high-risk pregnancies, and exposes them to a greater risk of intimate partner violence. Alarmingly, around 24 percent of adolescent girls experience such violence–a direct and devastating outcome of early marriage.
Yet, the issue is too often dismissed as a matter of tradition or culture. Poverty, gender inequality, lack of access to education, and weak legal enforcement are the structural realities that drive the practice. National governments have taken some steps to address the issue, but most reforms have proven insufficient. For example, the Dominican Republic passed Law 1-21 in 2021 banning anyone under 18 years from getting married. However, with the absence of strong enforcement and community interventions, informal unions involving minors remained high. Especially in rural areas, these unions are typically unregistered and rarely challenged by authorities.
Still, policy progress on this issue is possible, and there are success stories to draw from. Sierra Leone reduced its child marriage rate from 48 percent in 2008 to 30 percent in 2019 through legal reform, public education campaigns, and economic interventions. A notable initiative was the “Hands Off Our Girls” campaign, launched by First Lady Fatima Bio, which focused on raising awareness about the harms of child marriage and advocating for girls’ rights. Additionally, the government implemented the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage, which provided safe spaces for dialogues on gender equality and sessions with religious leaders on consensus-building to end child marriage. In Colombia, the recent enactment of Law 2447 of 2025 bans any union involving either both or one of the parties being under the age of 18 without exception. This legislation sets a precedent for steps being made to eradicate child marriage in Latin America. However, without continuous investment in structural interventions, like targeted cash transfers, social protection systems, or even access to secondary education, the legal advancements risk just being symbolic. Many families often turn to child marriage as an economic incentive in the absence of viable alternatives, therefore, confronting the underlying drivers requires the same urgency as legal reform.
Grassroots organizations are working hard to fill the gap. The Girls Not Brides Latin America and Caribbean Partnership, for instance, is leading advocacy efforts to close legal loopholes, strengthen enforcement mechanisms, and shift community norms through education and youth engagement. Their work is supported by survivor-led advocacy and local leaders who recognize that the path to ending child marriage must be rooted in the lived experiences of the girls affected. CSW69 also spotlighted the need for global accountability. Advocates called for stronger data collection, transparent reporting mechanisms, and funding conditionality tied to concrete progress. International agencies like UNICEF and UNFPA must play a more active role in monitoring compliance and exposing state inaction. At the local level, religious and community leaders must be engaged as agents of change through targeted training that align cultural influence with legal frameworks protecting girls.
Notably, the conversation must include countries often seen as beyond reproach. In Australia, for example, girls as young as 16 can still marry with parental and judicial consent. In the United States, child marriage remains legal in several states. In California, girls under 18 can marry with parental permission, a reality that particularly affects marginalized communities in rural areas. These legal inconsistencies undermine global efforts and perpetuate the idea that child marriage is acceptable under certain conditions. Indigenous girls and communities also face disproportionate risks. Yet, they are often excluded from policy discussions and national strategies. Any serious attempt to eradicate child marriage must ensure that Indigenous voices are not only heard but given leadership roles in designing and implementing solutions. Exclusionary policymaking perpetuates colonial dynamics and misses the opportunity to harness community-specific knowledge and strength.
The path forward must be comprehensive. Legal reform is critical, but it must be accompanied by the enforcement of non-negotiable laws, public education, economic support, and data-driven monitoring. National strategies for adolescent pregnancy, such as the UNFPA’s Start with Her: UNFPA Strategy for Reproductive, Maternal and Newborn Health and Well-Being 2025–2030, must directly confront the intersection of early child marriage and limited access to reproductive health services. Effective programs should go beyond legislation to include school reintegration pathways for child brides, psychosocial support, and survivor-centered legal aid. As Sarah Hendriks, Director of Policy and Programmes at UN Women, aptly stated, “Child marriage is not just a human rights violation, it is a barrier to achieving gender equality.” Without bold, coordinated action, millions of girls in Latin America and the Caribbean will remain trapped in cycles of violence, poverty, and disempowerment. The region’s collective future depends on the political will to break past outdated norms and enable every girl to determine her own path.
Girls Left Behind: How Legal Gaps and Social Norms Sustain Child Marriage
By Neermala Persaud
International & Regional Organizations
Editor’s Note: Neermala Persaud is a young expert in the Global Governance Innovation Network. This commentary is part of the GGIN’s Next Generation Experts series in an effort to elevate youth research and writing. Neermala’s interest in child marriage is not just a research interest but a lived reality in her family and community. Her work is driven by a commitment to amplify the voices of women/girls silenced by the practice of child marriage. Hailing from the Latin American and Caribbean region, she sees how this practice continues without adequate intervention, leaving many girls vulnerable to child marriage and the repercussions that come with it. This motivated her to further pursue the topic through a Master’s at American University.
By Nudhara Yusuf, Executive Coordinator, Global Governance Innovation Network
The 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) concluded in March 2025 with a renewed global commitment to gender equality, marking the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Among the many pressing issues discussed, one side event brought the persistent crisis of child marriage into focus. Despite decades of advocacy and legal reform, the discussions underscored that child marriage continues to rob millions of girls each year of their childhood, freedom, and future.
While Asia and Africa have recorded substantial declines in child marriage over the past two decades, rates in Latin America and the Caribbean have remained stagnant. For the past 25 years, nearly one in four girls in the region has been married or in union before the age of 18. This is not due to a lack of awareness or international attention. It is a shortfall in governance, enforcement, and political will. Despite global pledges to eliminate child marriage by 2030 under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 5.3), many countries in the region have passed legislation setting the minimum marriage age at 18, allowing exceptions through parental or judicial consent. These loopholes, often rooted in colonial-era civil codes, create blurred lines when it comes to enforcement, making it easier for underage marriages to persist despite the formal age restrictions.
The historic record underscores how child marriage has served as a mechanism of social and economic control, particularly over girls. In many parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, it has been closely linked to ideas of family honor, financial security, and reproductive duty. Even today, the legacy of these social norms persists. In countries such as the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Nicaragua, it is not uncommon for girls as young as 14 to be married to significantly older men, often in informal or religious ceremonies that bypass civil regulations altogether. The consequences are profound. Child marriage is a gateway to a lifetime of gender inequality. It prevents girls from pursuing their education, increases the risk of early and high-risk pregnancies, and exposes them to a greater risk of intimate partner violence. Alarmingly, around 24 percent of adolescent girls experience such violence–a direct and devastating outcome of early marriage.
Yet, the issue is too often dismissed as a matter of tradition or culture. Poverty, gender inequality, lack of access to education, and weak legal enforcement are the structural realities that drive the practice. National governments have taken some steps to address the issue, but most reforms have proven insufficient. For example, the Dominican Republic passed Law 1-21 in 2021 banning anyone under 18 years from getting married. However, with the absence of strong enforcement and community interventions, informal unions involving minors remained high. Especially in rural areas, these unions are typically unregistered and rarely challenged by authorities.
Still, policy progress on this issue is possible, and there are success stories to draw from. Sierra Leone reduced its child marriage rate from 48 percent in 2008 to 30 percent in 2019 through legal reform, public education campaigns, and economic interventions. A notable initiative was the “Hands Off Our Girls” campaign, launched by First Lady Fatima Bio, which focused on raising awareness about the harms of child marriage and advocating for girls’ rights. Additionally, the government implemented the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage, which provided safe spaces for dialogues on gender equality and sessions with religious leaders on consensus-building to end child marriage. In Colombia, the recent enactment of Law 2447 of 2025 bans any union involving either both or one of the parties being under the age of 18 without exception. This legislation sets a precedent for steps being made to eradicate child marriage in Latin America. However, without continuous investment in structural interventions, like targeted cash transfers, social protection systems, or even access to secondary education, the legal advancements risk just being symbolic. Many families often turn to child marriage as an economic incentive in the absence of viable alternatives, therefore, confronting the underlying drivers requires the same urgency as legal reform.
Grassroots organizations are working hard to fill the gap. The Girls Not Brides Latin America and Caribbean Partnership, for instance, is leading advocacy efforts to close legal loopholes, strengthen enforcement mechanisms, and shift community norms through education and youth engagement. Their work is supported by survivor-led advocacy and local leaders who recognize that the path to ending child marriage must be rooted in the lived experiences of the girls affected. CSW69 also spotlighted the need for global accountability. Advocates called for stronger data collection, transparent reporting mechanisms, and funding conditionality tied to concrete progress. International agencies like UNICEF and UNFPA must play a more active role in monitoring compliance and exposing state inaction. At the local level, religious and community leaders must be engaged as agents of change through targeted training that align cultural influence with legal frameworks protecting girls.
Notably, the conversation must include countries often seen as beyond reproach. In Australia, for example, girls as young as 16 can still marry with parental and judicial consent. In the United States, child marriage remains legal in several states. In California, girls under 18 can marry with parental permission, a reality that particularly affects marginalized communities in rural areas. These legal inconsistencies undermine global efforts and perpetuate the idea that child marriage is acceptable under certain conditions. Indigenous girls and communities also face disproportionate risks. Yet, they are often excluded from policy discussions and national strategies. Any serious attempt to eradicate child marriage must ensure that Indigenous voices are not only heard but given leadership roles in designing and implementing solutions. Exclusionary policymaking perpetuates colonial dynamics and misses the opportunity to harness community-specific knowledge and strength.
The path forward must be comprehensive. Legal reform is critical, but it must be accompanied by the enforcement of non-negotiable laws, public education, economic support, and data-driven monitoring. National strategies for adolescent pregnancy, such as the UNFPA’s Start with Her: UNFPA Strategy for Reproductive, Maternal and Newborn Health and Well-Being 2025–2030, must directly confront the intersection of early child marriage and limited access to reproductive health services. Effective programs should go beyond legislation to include school reintegration pathways for child brides, psychosocial support, and survivor-centered legal aid. As Sarah Hendriks, Director of Policy and Programmes at UN Women, aptly stated, “Child marriage is not just a human rights violation, it is a barrier to achieving gender equality.” Without bold, coordinated action, millions of girls in Latin America and the Caribbean will remain trapped in cycles of violence, poverty, and disempowerment. The region’s collective future depends on the political will to break past outdated norms and enable every girl to determine her own path.
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