Bolivia is set to ban child marriage and civil unions with minors after the country’s legislature approved the bill already greenlighted by the Senate. If the president of Bolivia signs the bill into law, it will bring the country into line with 13 other Latin American states.
Bolivia has closed the loophole allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to marry with parental consent, after over 4,800 child marriages occurred between 2014 and 2023. A press release from ruling party senator and bill author Virginia Velasco stated
This is not just a law, it is a promise that our teenage girls will no longer be forced to marry, leave school or take on responsibilities that do not belong to them.
Officials registering underage marriages in Bolivia will now face up to four years in prison.
The move follows a shift away from years of left-wing government in Bolivia.
