The youngest deputy in the Chamber of Deputies, Jose Horacio Rodriguez (AlPais-National District) announced he submitted a bill in the Chamber of Deputies to ban child marriage. This is Rodríguez’s first bill. The bill would prohibit the marriage of persons under 18 years of age. The bill calls for amending Art. 144 of the present Civil Code that legalizes child marriage in the Dominican Republic when authorized by a judge.
“This is a tragic social reality that must urgently be reversed,” said Rodríguez. He joined those who have rallied for a stop to child marriage on the grounds that it violates human rights.
The legislator said that it has been proven that these situations not only put girls at physical and emotional risk from an early age, but also increase social inequality and worsen the conditions of poverty for future generations.
At present, the Civil Code allows men to marry from 18 years old and women from 15 years old. The amendment would make the age for men and women the same, raising women’s age to 18 years.
For months, large sectors of Dominican society have been backing efforts to change the Civil Code to impede child marriage.
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Hoy
6 September 2020