On 5 November 2015, the minimum age of marriage for children in Guatemala was raised to eighteen. KarlaMorales de Paz Joven Guatemala concludes that it is necessary to offer a means of care to ensure the well-being of girls and adolescents. It points out that when a case of child marriage is known, the courts and the Attorney General`s Office (PGN) only propose the institutionalization of minors in shelters. She told the organization that the man`s parents and his family agreed without his consent. They justified to the community that the couple loved each other and that they had therefore joined, but they did not register her in the Renap because she was a minor. El Osar documented the case of a 17-year-old girl from Cobán in Alta Verapaz. In 2018, after learning she was pregnant with her boyfriend of the same age, her parents forced her to join another 28-year-old man. These legislative changes are intended to avoid the alarming number of pregnancies among minors and other risk factors for girls. Congressman Leonel Lira said the bill would treat sex with underage teenagers as a form of rape. Rocío Rosero Garcés, a feminist sociologist with a background in anthropology, human rights and gender, shares: „Ancestral cultural practices are a major obstacle in this regard. The naturalization of violence, the possession of the bodies of girls and adolescents from an early age in different communities and cities, is a socially justified issue, which is not questioned,“ Rosero explains. Previous amendments provided in article 82 that „exceptionally and for justified reasons, the marriage of minors aged sixteen (16) years may be permitted in accordance with the provisions of this Code“.
„This is a vacuum for us and it means that the obligation that all institutions have to ensure that the institution is respected is not taken seriously and with sufficient responsibility,“ Gómez said. The United Nations in Guatemala recognizes the efforts of civil society, the member institutions of the Presidium on behalf of girls and young people, and particularly welcomes the efforts of the same girls, young people and young people who have been working for many years to achieve these minimum standards of dignity and rights. The Congress of the Republic on Thursday adopted Decree 13-2017 aimed at strengthening the prohibition on minors contracting marriage or common-law union. Decree 8-2015 is a step forward in aligning the age of marriage for girls and boys, eliminating the permission of parents and guardians (which in many cases has become an obligation for adults to force minors – mainly girls – to marry without their consent), and forcing judges to listen to the minor. It also de facto bans trade unions among miners, without depriving them of responsible paternity or recognition of rights after reaching the age of majority. UNICEF expert Juan Quiñónez says there have been about 4,000 marriages a year in Guatemala involving girls between the ages of fifteen and nineteen. He says 4,700 girls between the ages of ten and fourteen get pregnant every year. Ana Lucía Ramazzini recalls that a legal framework prohibiting child marriage is a „big and precious step“, but it is not enough“.
Although there is a law that regulates this, the changes in society are not immediate. This shows that this is a complex problem and that this complexity must also be addressed. It takes an approach of different spaces and levels: community, family, education and personal. Several sectors and some users of social networks welcome the provision of the Congress; However, there are those who believe that the minimum age for marriage should be 21. Others say that it is not enough to regulate age, but that young people should receive a better education. However, the rules allow the exception from the age of 16, for both boys and girls, by court order and without determining what circumstances would justify such a decision, leaving it to the discretion of the judges to decide whether or not to approve the marriage; in violation of international human rights conventions. It is extremely important to legally develop and precisely define the causes/situations in which the exception applies, without being influenced by culture and tradition. Decree 13-2017, adopted by 93 votes in favour, deletes this article and reform 83, which reads as follows: „Prohibition of marriage. The marriage of minors under the age of eighteen (18) is in no way contracted or authorized. Montenegro says it has monitored in the Osar whether the ban is being respected or not and has found that there are communities where people under the age of 18 continue to congregate without signing documents or waiting for adolescent girls to reach the age of majority to register marriage.
Article 134.- (Minor husband).- If the husband is under eighteen years of age, he is assisted in the management of his property and matrimonial property by the person exercising parental authority or guardianship over him, but if the wife is of age, she exercises the management of the property until the husband reaches the age of majority. „transform=“gsi.gn3quote.SCD_Agenda_2017“ /] MP Alejandra Carrillo said that in most cases the minor is the woman, as in the case of a 16-year-old girl in Petén who was forced to marry a 55-year-old man. Karla María Morales Diva is coordinator of the Paz Joven Guatemala project. It ensures that the fact that child marriages continue to be registered reflects a lack of knowledge about both the authorities and society and confirms that the practice continues. [Read the interview here: Mirna Montenegro: „Society makes them believe that the price of sexual violence is pregnancy“] In 2015, MPs set the age of majority to be able to marry, but they left behind some exceptions that will be eliminated with these new reforms of the Civil Code. In September 2017, Guatemala`s Civil Code was reformed by Decree 13-2017. Article 83 of the new Civil Code describes the prohibition: „The marriage of persons under the age of 18 may not be concluded or authorized in any way.“ This prohibition also applies to legal relations between minors, adolescents and adults.
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