Child Marriage

 This guest post is from Regent Law 2L and Family Law student Joy Lim:

 

This semester I had the opportunity to work with the Center for Global Justice’s project on child marriage. Child marriage is a forced marriage resulting from one or both parties not giving express consent to matrimony. At least 12 million girls are forced into child marriage, and in the least developed countries, almost half of the girls married before 18.  

There are multiple reasons for child marriage. Often, parents see children as an economic burden, so families marry off their daughters to get rid of debts, avoid paying for the child’s education, or avoid taking care of their children altogether. There are cultural reasons for child marriage as well. Child marriages occur in cultures where parents and elders choose spouses for their children, and as a result, girls get married early to maximize their childbearing potential. Although many countries have made it illegal to force children into marriage, child marriage still exists.

          God created marriage to be a lifelong commitment. Genesis 2:24 tells us that marriage is between a man and a woman. In the New Testament, a group of Pharisees came to Jesus with a question about divorce, and Jesus explained to them that Moses allowed them to divorce because their “hearts were hard,” and that marriage was originally intended for life. Genesis 19:3-12. Because marriage is a lifelong commitment, one must think carefully about getting married.

          It is very unfortunate to learn that many children are forced into marriage without being able to give their consent. Child marriage violates many human rights, such as education, freedom from violence, and reproductive rights. God did not create the institution of marriage to bear any adverse effect on children. Rather, matrimony was intended to be a perfect union between two consenting adults, a lifelong commitment. Children should not be forced into marriage because of adults’ selfish motives.

To learn more about the international law surrounding child marriage, see Section III of Lynne Marie Kohm's, A Brief Assessment of the 25-Year Effect of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 23 Cardozo J. Int’l. & Compar. L. 323 (2015).