Minors marriage is not a thing of the past
30 October 2024
Child marriage, defined as marriage under 18, is still a reality in Europe and persists usually due to political non-action. In Austria, the marriage law of the country of origin applies, so marriages concluded abroad are valid unless one of the partners is younger than 14. For Austrians, the current age limit is 16, which the government promised to raise to 18 by 1 November, in line with Germany, Switzerland, and Scandinavian countries. However, with missed deadlines and a newly elected government, the decision was swept under the table.
While no official data exist, NGOs believe the number of affected children could be up to 5,000. Studies show that child (and often forced) marriages have many long-term consequences, such as lack of access to education and career options.
 | Claudia Tschabuschnig In Eastern Europe, in particular, it is legal to marry at 16. In general, underaged girls tend to be married off to older men more often in poorer countries. The European Parliament has pushed for an EU-wide approach to prohibit child marriage entirely by setting a standard minimum age across all member states. However, those proposals have not been uniformly adopted, mostly due to differing national laws and cultural considerations. |
〉https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/04/16/european-parliament-committee-urges-end-child-marriage">European Parliament committee urges end to child marriage
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