CHILD MARRIAGE

UNCLAS CARACAS 000786 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV SCUL SOCI KWMN VE SUBJECT: CHILD MARRIAGE REF: STATE 36341 -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (U) Underage marriage in Venezuela poses significant problems to minors and tends to perpetuate poverty, abandonment and mistreatment. Needed programs are lacking, and no U.S. institutional support currently exists. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) The following responses are keyed to reftel questions: A: Age of Majority: 18 years old. Legal age of marriage with consent: - Boys: 16 years old. - Girls: 14 years old. Required for consent: - Approval of Judge on Minors (no appeal allowed),plus approval from: - Both parents, or in their absence, - Two grandparents, or in their absence, - The legal guardian. Source -- Venezuelan Civil Code (1982). The Organic Law for the Protection of the Children and Adolescent LOPNA (2000) contains no provisions regarding underage marriage. B: Marriage by minors in 2003: - 643 girls under 15 years of age - 22 boys under 15 - 12,584 girls between 15 and 19 - 3,896 boys between 15 and 19 Legal Reference: Venezuelan Statistics National Institute Avelina Isabel Mejias, Protection Manager, Federation of Private Institutions to Attend Children, Adolescent and Family Matters (FIPAN),says underage marriage poses a significant problem in the general population, as well as within minority groups. Underage individuals are unprepared to face the responsibility of marriage, she said, leading to a high number of divorces. Jackelyn Guijarro, Dynamics Clinical Psychologist at Venezuela's Central University (UCV),asserts that underage marriage is not positive because minors have not reached biological, psychological and social maturity. Pregnancy exacerbates the problem, she said, perpetuating the ring of poverty by isolating the adolescent mother from the educational system. In her experience, pregnancies more commonly result in informal relationships rather than marriages. In rural areas, underage marriage is considered a normal practice, she said. C: Currently no US institution is known to be addressing this issue in Venezuela. Guijarro recommends prevention programs and programs focusing on encouraging underage couples (formally or informally together) to continue their formal education. In addition, programs offering parenting skills to underage parents could reduce abandonment and mistreatment of their children. BROWNFIELD