Concerns about low marriage age in Jamaica

THE fact that a 16-year-old can get married in Jamaica despite the law defining a child as someone 18 and under is a source of concern for the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which has recommended that the country amend its marriage laws without delay.

The issue was just one of many that was raised by CEDAW during its most recent session with a delegation from Jamaica at the UN headquarters in New York. The committee pointed out that this recommendation was already made in the past, but was not followed through. They demanded to know why, despite previous discussions on the issue, the country has refused to raise without delay, the minimum age of marriage to 18 years for both boys and girls.

For their part, the Jamaican delegation to the committee, which was headed by Information Minister Sandrea Falconer, said no decision has been taken by the Government of Jamaica to raise the minimum age of marriage.

According to the Marriage Act, “where a person under 18 years of age, not being a widower or a widow intends to marry, the father, or if the father is dead, the lawful guardian or guardians, or if there is no such guardian, the mother, if unmarried, of such person shall have authority to consent to the marriage of such person, and such consent is hereby required unless there is no person authorised to give it…”

If the parents or guardians cannot give consent or unreasonably withhold consent, either party to the intended marriage could refer the situation to a judge in the Supreme Court who would decide upon the matter.

The fact that the legal age of consent for sexual activity in Jamaica is 16-years-old prevents those under this age from being married with or without consent. However, it means that a person over this age, but less that 18-years-old, could tie the knot once consent is given.

However, there are some who feel that the laws are inconsistent seeing that the Child Care and Protection Act and other acts relating to children recognise them as being 18 years and under. The fact that the state would allow a 16-year-old to get married is viewed by some as the government’s way of sanctioning child marriage, even if it doesn’t happen in practice.

“When you have something on the books as law, you have to be careful with it, because anybody can use it. Even though they don’t do it ordinarily, but it is still there,” said attorney-at-law and president of Woman Inc, Dundeen Ferguson.

She said that while some persons argue for the law to remain given the fact that a girl or boy can legally engage in sex at 16-years-old, there are others who feel differently.

“You have people of the view that you should raise the age (of consent) to 21, because they should not even be having sex at 16, because they are children,” she said. She was quick to point out that only a few persons felt this way, while most tried to be more realistic.

“From the [Woman Inc] perspective, in terms of that being an act of discrimination, you don’t want to expose young girls to that; that they can get married at age 16 because you have to think about maturity and so forth,” she said.

The attorney feels there needs to be more discussion on the issue to find out how Jamaica can go about balancing the various acts, so they are consistent.

“We have not seriously dealt with this issue, but they [CEDAW] are asking us to look at it, in light that you have it on legislation. I think they are probably saying to have something like that on legislation is not appropriate, it’s a form of discrimination exposing a child to marriage at that age,” she said.

But executive director of the Bureau of Women’s Affairs, Faith Webster, said it is something that has been discussed, but persons have not been able to come to a consensus on the issue. Some, she said, feel the law should remain, given the fact that the age of consent is 16 years old.

“The discussion taking place is that we need to regularise the law and come up with one thing. If it is 18, then it should be 18 across the board,” she said.