This Country Has Officially Banned Child Marriage

The Dominican Republic is the latest country to ban child marriage. As of 2021, the minimum age for girls to get married is 18, and no longer 15 years old.

“It is unacceptable that the Dominican Republic occupies the first place” in Latin America on this issue, says the Dominican president Luis Abinader to encourage other countries to follow suit.

Out of the 36% of girls who marry before the age of 18, 12% were younger than 15. Therefore, the law approved last November, has been enriched and made into a bill the following month to prevent such unions.

In case of violation of this law, the sentence includes imprisonment for two to five years, fines that can go from around $10,000 to $21,000, and the annulment of the union.