IACHR: States must put an end to child, early, and forced marriages and unions of girls and adolescents

October 10, 2025

Washington, DC—On International Day of the Girl, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) calls on States to adopt concrete measures to end child, early, and forced marriages and unions, as well as to address the structural factors that perpetuate this harmful practice and its negative consequences for girls and adolescents. These actions should be complemented by preventive and effective response measures in the areas of education and health, aimed at safeguarding the right of girls and adolescents to a life free of violence, especially sexual violence, and to the enjoyment of the rights needed to realise their life project.

In recent years, several countries in the region have adopted measures to prevent and eliminate child marriage and early unions by implementing public policies and reforming their legislation. The IACHR notes that, in recent years, countries such as the Dominican Republic, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia and Trinidad and Tobago have passed legislation to prohibit this practice. Despite these efforts, Latin America and the Caribbean remains the region with the third highest prevalence of child marriage and early unions, with 21% of girls and adolescents married or in a union before reaching the age of 18.

Persistent gender inequality and legal, economic, social, and cultural challenges combine as multiple and interdependent factors that sustain these practices. For example, legal loopholes allow the minimum age for marriage to be circumvented, while poverty further undermines the guarantee of basic rights, such as education, thus depriving girls and adolescents of the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions. At the same time, unequal power relations that maintain control over girls and adolescents, restrictive social norms - reinforced by entrenched gender stereotypes - restrict and coerce them to sexual and reproductive, caregiving, and domestic roles, eroding their autonomy and dismissing their aspirations.

As a result, girls and adolescents in these marriages and unions face greater risks of abuse and violence, particularly sexual violence. These relationships are often marked by significant age and power asymmetries, which diminish their ability to give free and informed consent to sexual activity. As a result, they are more vulnerable to school dropout, unwanted pregnancies, and maternal mortality, as well as other sexual and reproductive health-related harms.

The Belém do Pará Convention obliges States to adopt appropriate measures to prevent, punish, and eradicate all forms of violence and discrimination against girls and adolescents, such as child marriage and early and forced unions. It also establishes the duty to modify the sociocultural patterns that sustain this discriminatory practice and restrict their autonomy. In addition, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has emphasized the obligation of enhanced due diligence in the prevention of and protection against sexual violence against girls and adolescents, which includes ensuring comprehensive sexuality education and access to health services.

On International Day of the Girl Child, the IACHR urges States to repeal any legal provisions, transform social norms, and address the structural factors that allow child, early, and forced marriages and unions. It also urges them to fulfill their obligations to guarantee the protection of the right of girls and adolescents to a life free of violence, including sexual violence, provision of comprehensive sexuality education, access to sexual and reproductive health services free from any form of criminalization, as well as support for survivors.

Finally, it reminds States of their duty to promote a future in which the personal, educational, and professional development of girls and adolescents is free from the restrictions imposed by non-consensual unions and the weight of historical inequalities, particularly where multiple factors of vulnerability converge.

The IACHR is a principal and autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (OAS), whose mandate derives from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has the mandate to promote the observance and defense of human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The IACHR is composed of seven independent members who are elected by the OAS General Assembly in their personal capacity and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 205/25

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