Evidence from Latin America and the Caribbean on the Impact of Laws on CEFMU

Most of the countries in the LAC region have taken steps to reform their laws and have set 18 as the legal age of marriage; however, with few exceptions, meaningful government commitment and action stop there. This brief serves as a primer on the impact of CEFMU laws and sexual consent laws on prevalence and the human rights and agency of girls, adolescents and young women in the LAC region. It pieces together findings from the very limited published literature on these topics and the perspectives of Girls Not Brides member organisations in the LAC region, to provide a preliminary picture of where we are now.

Key Takeaways

1. Most countries in the LAC region set the minimum age of marriage as 18, and many maintain legal exceptions that allow for marriage at a younger age with parental or judicial consent. Regardless of legal reform, CEFMU prevalence has remained static in the LAC region for decades - a sign that, in isolation, laws are ill-equipped to address the social norms and realities that underpin CEFMU.
2. The age of sexual consent in countries in the LAC region varies from 13 to 18. In several countries, the legal age of marriage is the same or lower than the age of sexual consent; several more countries are contemplating raising the age of sexual consent to align with the age of marriage. This alignment is out-of-step with the reality that most adolescents engage in sexual activity under the age of 18 and goes against the sexual autonomy of adolescents.
3. Informal unions are very common amongst adolescents in the LAC region, and in most countries, the law does not address them. Unions are framed as a private issue, not a social one linked with structural inequalities.
4. Increasingly, countries have criminalised CEFMU and adolescent sexuality, leading to adverse impacts, including girls’ and adolescents’ lack of access to SRH services.
5. Across the region, laws fail to recognise adolescents’ evolving capacities, leading to a lack of bodily autonomy and agency.