Sociology and Criminology-Open Access
Open Access

Child Marriages

Child Marriage is the marriage of a girl or boy before the age of 18 and refers to both formal marriages and informal unions in which children under the age of 18 live with a partner as if married. Child marriage is against children's rights and places them at high risk of violence, exploitation, and abuse.

Although the age of majority (legal adulthood) and marriageable age are usually designated at age 18, both vary across countries and therefore the marriageable age may be older or younger in a given country.Even where the age is set at 18 years, cultural traditions may override legislation and many jurisdictions permit earlier marriage with parental consent or in special circumstances, such as teenage pregnancy.

Child marriage violates the rights of children and has widespread and long-term consequences for child brides and child grooms.For girls, in addition to mental health issues and a lack of access to education and career opportunities, this includes adverse health effects as a result of early pregnancy (including teenage pregnancy) and childbirth.There is little research on boys in child marriages, but effects on boys include being ill-prepared for certain responsibilities such as providing for the family, early fatherhood, and a lack of access to education and career opportunities Child marriage is related to child betrothal, and it includes civil cohabitation and court approved early marriages after teenage pregnancy.