The president of the Committee for Gender Equality of the Chamber of Deputies, Magda Rodríguez, said on Wednesday, 17 July 2019, that Dominican society is aware that “marriage is not a fit for children.” The committee backs the drive by local and international organizations that seek to exclude child marriage from the Civil Code. On behalf of the Dominican government, the National Council for Children and Teenagers (Conani) has described child marriage as a harmful practice that condemns children to live in poverty.
UNICEF, Plan International, Save the Children and other nongovernmental organizations have been lobbying to change the age for marriage under the Civil Code to the voting and drinking age of 18 years. The Dominican Civil Code allows girls and teenagers to marry after the age of 15. For children to get married before the age of 16 for boys and 15 for girls, the authorization of their parents or a judge is enough for the marriage to be legal. Otherwise, having sex with a minor is criminally penalized.
PRM deputy Faride Raful says the state needs to guarantee development opportunities for girls, so they can study and get jobs. She also suggested that child marriage is likely to subject children to violence.
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Diario Libre
Save the Children
Plan International
18 July 2019