PANAMA RESPONSE TO CHILD MARRIAGE TASKING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PANAMA 000614

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN
G/IWI LKHADIAGALA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ELAB PHUM PGOV SCUL SOCI KWMN PM LABOR HUMAN RIGHTSPOLMIL
SUBJECT: PANAMA RESPONSE TO CHILD MARRIAGE TASKING

REF: A. STATE 36341


B. PANAMA 608

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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) Despite laws that permit 14-year-old girls and
16-year-old-boys to marry with parental consent, legal child
marriage is uncommon in Panama. Nonetheless, Panama has
significant levels of early cohabitation, especially among
indigenous populations in rural areas. Panamanian experts
agree that child marriage among these populations perpetuates
a cycle of poverty that could be addressed through increasing
secondary and sexual education. In Panama, DOL-funded
initiatives to combat child labor, USAID HIV/AIDs training,
and Peace Corps youth programming address some of the causes
and effects of de facto child marriage. End Summary.

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Legal Age
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2. (U) Under Family Code Section 33, boys under 16 and girls
under 14 years old cannot marry. Children 18 years old and
under cannot marry without the consent of a parent or
guardian. Under Family Code Sections 53 and 54, a common law
marriage cannot be formed unless the pair consists of "young
adults." Penal Code Section 225 also exonerates cases of
statutory rape when the author contracts marriage with the
victim. Panamanian prosecutors claim that the "marriage
loophole" also applies to cases of commercial sexual
exploitation (reftel B).

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DE FACTO MARRIAGE
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3. (U) In Panama, legal marriage is relatively uncommon
among the general population and even rarer in some
indigenous groups. According to the 2000 census, in urban
Panama and latino Herrera provinces, 29-34% of people aged 15
and over were legally married, while in the indigenous
Ngobe-Bugle and Embera Wounan comarcas only 7-9% were legally
married. The 2000 Panamanian census does not give a clear
picture of marriage and cohabitation of minors because it
does not report statistics for children under 15. Among
15-19 year olds, less than 1% reported being legally married
nationwide, but 10.5% reported that they were cohabiting. In
the indigenous Ngobe-Bugle and Embera Wounanan comarcas,
about 29% and 37% of 15-19 year olds, respectively, reported
they were cohabiting:

15-19 Married Cohabit All

TOTAL 2,559 28,506 268,961
URBAN 1,417 13,205 166,795
RURAL 1,412 15,301 102,166
NGOBE 128 3,356 11,310
EMBERA 6 216 694



4. (U) A 2003 GOP statistical study of legal marriage
showed that girls disproportionately married at a younger age
than boys. More specifically, nationwide 12 girls under 14
were married and 620 girls and 124 boys aged 15-19 were
married.

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EFFECT ON CHILD
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5. (SBU) Experts in government and the NGO community report
that marriage and cohabitation among minors mean that
children are having children, increase the phenomenon of
child labor, and perpetuate the cycle of poverty. Indeed,
the Ngobe-Bugle and Embera Wounan comarcas are the poorest
areas in Panama. These experts also agree that programs that
combat child labor, help children continue their education,
teach sexual education, and impart self-esteem would most
effectively combat "de facto" marriage.


6. (SBU) Legal marriage with minors has been used to
undermine prosecutions of sex crimes against minor girls
(reftel B).

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US INITIATIVES
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7. (U) While there are no U.S.-funded initiatives in Panama
that specifically address the issue of child marriage,
U.S.-funded initiatives do address some of the causes and
effects of child marriage. For example, the Department of
Labor has funded the following programs that address the
issue of child labor:

- The $3 million Child Labor Education Initiative
(FY2004-2007) aims to increase access to education for
children working in agriculture and includes activities with
Ngobe-Bugle and Embera-Wounan children.

- The $1 million Country Program for Combating the Worst
Forms of Child Labor (FY2002-2006) strives to help Panama
identify the worst forms of child labor and to take direct
action against child labor in both urban and rural areas.

- The Regional Program to Eliminate the Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children (FY2002-2004) provided technical
assistance.


8. (U) USAID funds a project that includes HIV/AIDs
training. In addition, Peace Corps provides training in
HIV/AIDs and has a Junior Achievement Program that promotes
youth self-esteem and educates them about life choices.

WATT