LA PAZ: Bolivia’s parliament has passed legislation to ban marriages and civil unions with minors, bringing the country closer to the 13 Latin American nations that have already outlawed the practice.
A 2014 law restricted marriages to adults, but allowed an exception for people aged 16 and 17 if they had authorization from parents or guardians.
Just over 4,800 such underage unions were registered between 2014 and 2023, according to the Ombudsman’s Office of Bolivia.
The Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday passed an amendment to close the loophole.
The bill had been greenlit by the senate in April and will now be sent to the president for promulgation.
“This is not just a law, it is a promise that our teenage girls will no longer be forced to marry, leave school or take on responsibilities that do not belong to them,” said ruling party senator and bill author Virginia Velasco in a press release.
Officials who register marriages involving minors may be prosecuted and jailed for up to four years, Velasco added.
Advocacy group Save the Children cited data saying 32,300 girls in Bolivia were married before the age of 15 in 2014, the most recent data available.
Child marriages are prohibited in 13 Latin American countries, including Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and El Salvador, according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).