The Belize Senate has passed a significant amendment to the Marriage Act, raising the legal age for marriage to 18 years and removing the provision that allowed parents or guardians to consent to the marriage of minors. This change was driven by advocacy from a group of young people who presented the issue to the House of Representatives.
The legislation received broad bipartisan support, with both the Leader of Government Business, Eamon Courtenay, and Opposition Leader Mike Peyrefitte offering their endorsements. The amendment reflects a strong commitment to protecting minors and ensuring that individuals can make the decision to marry only when they are legally considered adults. “Madam President without any contradiction or condition, it is the position of the members of the Senate and indeed the government of Belize that this Bill is important,” Courtenay said.
“It is transformative, it is in the Belizean people’s interest, and we seek the support of the entire Senate for this modernizing piece of social legislation. Madam President, we are debating a matter of constitutional importance. This is a human rights issue. I put it as high as that because for too long, we have allowed in our country infants to be married and infants to be married with the consent of their parents.”
Peyrefitte addressed the issue of child marriage, noting instances of children being pressured into marriages. “Madam President, what I know for sure, in the criminal courts in particular, you would have these men who would commit the crime of unlawful carnal knowledge, who would be engaged in sexual acts that young girls under 16, to protect from prosecution, they would go and bribe the parents or bribe the people to have these children marry them so that they can’t under the law, as their wife, testify against them in a court of law, which gets them scot-free from that very egregious crime.”
He described the amendment as “a very good piece of legislation,” adding, “I think that marriage is such a serious act and a serious responsibility that you can only be engaged in that act on your own free will.”
