Antigua Senate backs amendment to increase marriage age from 15 to 18

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – The Senate in Antigua has given its support to legislative amendment that increases the age of marriage from 15 to 18 years.

Leader of Government Business, Marie Claire Hurst, in supporting the Marriage Amendment Bill 2019, said that age 15 children should be concentrating on their education and not marriage.

Under the previous legislation, persons between 15 and 18 could get married but must have the consent of their parents.

But the amended legislation increases the age of marriage to 18 years and Hurst said under existing laws, persons cannot be legally employed until the age of 16, yet were able to get married at 15.

“You cannot give sexual consent but you could get married at 15. There is something about it that we needed to address and this is the situation in Antigua and Barbuda,” she said.

Another legislator Shenella Govia said Antigua needed to safeguard the rights of children, given the fact that a number of people from other Caribbean countries where marriages at an early age are accepted reside on the island.

“You have to remember, especially in countries like Guyana, not singling them out but because we have many of them in Antigua, and Trinidad, where it is okay, when they migrate to Antigua the practice that they think that they could take there, it will be okay when they come here,” she said.

She said it was also important for Antigua and Barbuda to harmonise its legislation regarding marriage and sexual consent.

“You can’t tell me it is okay for me to have sex at 16 and I am sexually active and I want to go to Church or wherever I want to go to get married and then you are telling me I have to wait until I am 18,” she said, noting also that persons could vote in a general election at 18, but “I can have sex at 16”.

“I think everything should be harmonised and have just one general age of majority, consent or whatever you may want to call it,” she added.

Senate Minority Leader Richard Lewis said further consultation is needed on the Sexual Offences Act.

We want to hear from you! Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169, email us at editors@gleanerjm.com or onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com.