Views

Ending Child Marriage in Scotland

Earlier this year, the Scottish Government consulted on whether they should raise the legal minimum age for marriage or civil partnership from 16 to 18. We believe they should. 

This article explains:

• What child marriage is
• Why child marriage is an important issue in Scotland
• How child marriage affects girls
• Why raising the minimum age is an important part of preventing men’s violence against women and girls (VAWG)

Key takeaways

• We support raising the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership in Scotland from 16 to 18
• Raising the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership to 18 will strengthen children’s rights, support gender equality, and remove the legal framework that allows child marriage to happen
• The United Nations (UN) defines child marriage as any marriage where at least one person is under 18
• Child marriage disproportionately affects girls and seriously impacts their education, economic independence, health, and safety
• International human rights bodies and governments across the world recognise child marriage as a harmful practice, a form of forced marriage, a form of men’s violence against women and girls, and a human rights violation
• Raising the minimum age to 18 without exceptions is the international best-practice approach to eliminating child marriage
• Scotland has international human rights and gender equality commitments which advocate for raising the minimum age

What is child marriage?

Child marriage is a practice rooted in gender inequality and disproportionately affects girls.

The UN defines child marriage as any marriage where at least one of the people getting married is under 18.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) describe child marriage as:

• A harmful practice
• A form of forced marriage
• A form of violence against women and girls
• A human rights violation

It is a practice that stems from structural inequality and strengthens unequal power dynamics.

Why is the Scottish Government considering changing the legal minimum age for marriage?

In Scotland, the law currently allows people to marry from the age of 16.

But internationally, childhood is understood to continue until the age of 18.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), a legally binding international treaty to ensure the rights and welfare of children, defines a child as every human being below the age of 18.

This means that a marriage in Scotland where at least one person is 16 or 17 is considered child marriage under international standards.

How is child marriage harmful?

Child marriage denies children, predominantly girls, their dignity and fundamental freedoms and can have significant and long-lasting consequences, such as…

• Increasing their vulnerability to domestic violence and abuse
• Disrupting their education
• Limiting their opportunities, e.g. employment
• Creating economic dependency
• Increasing their risk of unintended pregnancies and maternal mortality
• Isolating them from family and friends
• Significantly harming their mental health

Child marriage is a practice rooted in gender inequality. As well as harming individuals, it further exacerbates gender inequality by reinforcing social norms, gender roles, and beliefs that perpetuate male dominance.

Is child marriage a form of forced marriage?

Yes.

Under international definitions, a forced marriage is one where one or both people have not personally expressed their full and free consent, and/or where someone is not permitted to end or leave the marriage.

The UN considers child marriage to be a form of forced marriage because children under 18 are not considered physically and psychologically ready for adult life or able to make the conscious and informed decisions required to enter into or end a marriage.

How does child marriage affect young women and girls?

Child marriage can affect children of all genders, which is why raising the minimum age would protect children across Scotland.

However, child marriage is also a gendered form of harm. The UN explicitly recognises child marriage as a form of violence against women and girls.

Girls are disproportionately affected and experience some of the most severe and long-term consequences. These include:

• Reduced educational opportunities
• Economic dependence
• Increased risk of violence against women and girls and child abuse
• Higher maternal morbidity and mortality

Child marriage is closely linked to gender inequality and harmful gender norms that restrict girls’ autonomy and their opportunities in life.

Does child marriage happen in Scotland?

Yes. Statistics from the National Records of Scotland show that girls aged 16 and 17 are much more likely to marry than boys of the same age. These girls are also typically marrying older men.

When we look at who is most affected, we need to look at gender.

Young women and girls should not have fewer opportunities, less independence, or greater exposure to violence because they are young women and girls.

How do we end child marriage in Scotland?

The UN explicitly recognises child marriage and forced marriage as forms of violence against women and girls.

This matters because preventing men’s violence against women and girls means addressing the practices and inequalities that create the conditions for violence to happen.

At Zero Tolerance, we take a primary prevention approach.

Primary prevention means stopping harm before it starts by changing the structures, practices, and inequalities that enable it.

Raising the minimum age of marriage to 18 would do this by removing the legal framework that currently allows children to marry in Scotland.

Should Scotland raise the minimum age to 18?

Yes.

We believe the Scottish Government should raise the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership to 18.

Doing this would:

• Protect children of all genders from child marriage
• Prevent girls from experiencing two recognised forms of men’s violence against women and girls; child marriage and forced marriage
• Strengthen legal protections for women and children
• Bring Scotland closer to international best practice
• Support Scotland’s commitments to gender equality and preventing men’s violence against women and girls
• Bring Scotland’s law into line with international human rights standards

The international position is also clear.

The UN recommends that countries establish a minimum legal age of marriage of 18 without exception and without the possibility of parental or judicial consent. They identify this as the legislative approach needed to eliminate child marriage.

What are other countries doing?

Scotland would not be acting alone.

England and Wales have already raised the minimum age of marriage to 18.

Other European countries, including Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany, and Ireland, also set the minimum age of marriage at 18.

Raising the age would therefore bring Scotland closer to its international peers and recognised best practice.

What should the new law do?

We believe Scotland should strengthen its laws to make conduct intended to cause someone under 18 to marry or enter a civil partnership a criminal offence – even where there is no evidence of coercion.

England and Wales have already taken this approach.

The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 raised the minimum age to 18 and extended the forced marriage offence. Under the legislation, conduct intended to cause a child to marry before their 18th birthday can be an offence whether or not it involves violence, threats, coercion, or deception.

Is Scotland obligated to do this?

Yes, Scotland should raise the minimum age and follow through on its existing human rights commitments:

• Our United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 legally requires Scottish Ministers to consider relevant recommendations and other documents from the Committee on the Rights of the Child. This includes the recommendation that the UK prohibit all marriages of children under 18, without exception.
• Scotland is bound by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the UN convention focused on eliminating discrimination against women and advancing women’s equality. The CEDAW Committee and the CRC jointly make clear that states have responsibilities to respect, protect, and fulfil the rights of women and children, prevent violations of those rights, and take action to eliminate child marriage.
• In 2015, the Scottish Government committed to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, which include a commitment to eliminate child, early, and forced marriage; under Goal 5: achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls.

We cannot achieve gender equality while laws continue to allow practices that disproportionately restrict girls’ autonomy and life opportunities.

What should the Scottish Government do?

We believe the Scottish Government should:

• Raise the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership to 18
• Make this change without exception, including parental or judicial consent
• Extend the forced marriage offence to protect everyone under 18
• Ensure the legislation is properly implemented, monitored, and enforced, as recommended by the UN committees
• Treat the prevention of child marriage as part of the wider work to prevent violence against women and girls and advance gender equality

Conclusion

Children deserve to grow up with the freedom to shape their own lives.

Child marriage is internationally recognised as a harmful practice, a form of forced marriage, a form of men’s violence against women and girls, and a human rights violation.

Girls are disproportionately affected, and in Scotland girls aged 16 and 17 are much more likely than boys of the same age to marry, typically to older men.

We believe Scotland should respond to this evidence by changing the law.

Raising the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership to 18, without exception, would strengthen children’s rights, support gender equality, and remove the legal framework that allows child marriage to happen.

Every child deserves safety, dignity, equality, and the freedom to grow up without violence.

Scotland should raise the minimum age of marriage to 18.

Read our full consultation response.