Calay News
José Luis Balcázar, a Peruvian congressman, has generated controversy by abstaining from voting on a bill approved by the Justice and Human Rights Commission of the Congress that seeks to prohibit underage marriages in the country.
During his intervention, Balcázar, a member of the Peru Bicentenario Party, argued that sexual relations in childhood and adolescence are beneficial for the psychological future of women.
The Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations expressed its strong rejection of the congressman’s statements, considering that the existing evidence contradicts his position.
As for the bill, it proposes to amend several provisions of the Civil Code and the Code of Children and Adolescents to prohibit the marriage of persons under 18 years of age, including those with disabilities, ensuring that only persons over 18 years of age can exercise legal actions without exclusion.
In Peru, between 2013 and 2022, 4,357 child marriages were legalized, 98.4% of them between girls and adolescents aged 11 to 17 with adult men. According to Véronique Henry, director of the organization Plan International in Peru, many girls and adolescents are pressured to marry due to pregnancy or economic reasons, losing their decision-making capacity and assuming the union with feelings of fear, confusion, and resignation, especially when there are dynamics of violence.
The United Nations Group for Sustainable Development warns that there are 58 million married girls in Latin America, representing 9% of all child marriages worldwide, and that the region is on track to have the second highest regional level of child marriage by 2030, after sub-Saharan Africa.
