Kiribati

18% of girls in Kiribati marry before the age of 18 and 2% of girls marry before the age of 15.

9% of boys in Kiribati marry before the age of 18.

15% of women aged 20-24 living in urban settings are married before the age of 18, compared to 24% in rural settings. 6% of men aged 20-24 living in urban settings and 12% in rural settings are married before the age of 18.

Child marriage is driven by gender inequality and the belief that women and girls are somehow inferior to men and boys.

There is limited information on child marriage in Kiribati, but available data shows that it is largely driven by:

Gender inequality: The position of girls and women in Kiribati society is largely defined by marital status, which incentivises some girls to marry young. Generally, the main purpose for girls and women is to marry, raise children, conduct household work and take responsibility for overall family welfare. Young women have little authority or independence and are expected to behave in an honourable way.

Pre-marital sex: Female chastity is highly valued in Kiribati and sexual activity is stigmatised among unmarried adolescents. If a girl loses her virginity or is raped, te kabara bure (reconciliation) is sought between the two families involved. This can result in an arranged marriage between the girl and the male perpetrator.

Level of education: Many girls living in the outer islands do not pursue secondary education because parents are reluctant to send their daughters off their home island. As a result, rural girls, with limited access to secondary schools, marry much earlier than those living in urban areas. Moreover, some schools in Kiribati do not accept girls as students if they become engaged, married or pregnant. This affects the self-worth of girls and limits the options available to them. 26% of women aged 20-24 who completed primary school were married before the age of 18. This compares to 47% who completed junior secondary and 13% who completed senior secondary.

Kiribati has committed to ending child, early and forced marriage by 2030 in line with target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals. The government has not submitted a Voluntary National Review in any High Level Political Forum to date.

Kiribati co-sponsored the 2013, 2018 and 2022 UN General Assembly resolutions on child, early and forced marriage.

Kiribati acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1995, which the Committee on the Rights of the Child has interpreted to recommend the establishment of a minimum age of marriage of 18, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 2004, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.

During its 2022 review, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern that customary marriages involving girls as young as 13 years old were prevalent. The Committee recommended that the government take all measures to eliminate child marriage practices and to raise awareness of the harmful effects of child marriage on the physical and mental well-being of girls.

The minimum legal age of marriage in Kiribati is 21 years for girls and boys in accordance with the Marriage (Amendment) Act 2002. However as per the Children, Young People and Family Welfare Act 2013 (No. 6 of 2013), a person aged 17-20 may marry with parental consent or with the consent of their guardian.

Marriage under age 17 is prohibited.

Customary law is reportedly applied more often when deciding questions relating to marriage and it has no age limit.