Malta

There is no publicly available government data on child marriage in Malta.

According to figures obtained from the National Statistics Office, 21 marriages involving 16- and 17-year old girls were registered in Malta between 2008 and 2017.

In 2019, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child warned that child marriage is prevalent among migrant communities but remains underreported in Malta.

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 Malta, but available reports suggest that is exacerbated by:

Migration: Malta has received a great influx of migrants in recent years. As a result, there are reports of forced and child marriage being practiced in country. According to a 2017 report from the Women’s Rights Foundation, a 13-year-old Syrian girl was promised in marriage to her 23 year old uncle in Malta. Authorities were unable to act due to the present law which does not recognise traditional marriages. More recently, in 2019 the government reported cases of pregnant girls aged 17 and below, from Syria, Russia and Somalia, being married.

Malta 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 since 2018.

Malta co-sponsored the 2013 Human Rights Council resolution on child, early and forced marriage, the 2019 Human Rights Council resolution on the consequences of child marriage, the 2021 resolution on child, early and forced marriage in times of crisis, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2023 resolution on ending and preventing forced marriage. In 2014, Malta also signed a joint statement at the Human Rights Council calling for a resolution on child marriage.

Malta co-sponsored the 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022 UN General Assembly resolutions on child, early and forced marriage.

Malta ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, which the Committee on the Rights of the Child has interpreted to recommend the establishment of a minimum age of marriage of 18, and acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1991, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.

During its 2013 Universal Periodic Review, Malta agreed to examine three recommendations to raise the minimum legal age of marriage to 18. In the same year, the UN Child Rights Committee expressed concern that the minimum age for marriage is 16 years and urged the government to increase this to 18.

In 2019, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concerns that child marriage is prevalent among migrant communities and remains underreported. The Committee urged the country to:

Remove all exceptions allowing marriage and entering into a civil union under the age of 18 years.

Strengthen its awareness-raising programmes on the harmful effects of child marriage.

Provide systematic training for professionals on the identification and referral of potential victims of child marriage.

Strengthen protection schemes and care programmes for actual and potential victims of child marriage.

Malta has ratified the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence (known as the Istanbul Convention), which considers forced marriage a serious form of violence against women and girls, and legally binds state parties to criminalise the intentional conduct of forcing an adult or child into a marriage.

At the London Girl Summit in July 2014, the government signed a charter committing to end child marriage by 2020.

There are no government initiatives that explicitly target child marriage in Malta.

In 2019, following the review session with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, a spokeswoman for the Ministry for the Family, Children’s Rights and Social Solidarity stated that the government was reviewing the Committee’s recommendations.

At the first Commonwealth Women’s Forum, as a member of the Commonwealth, Malta committed to raising awareness on women’s issues including the effects of child marriage as well as the prevention and elimination of child marriage.

Under Section 3(1) of the Marriage Act 1975 the minimum legal age of marriage is 16 years. Under Section 11, a marriage may be concluded through a civil or religious ceremony in accordance with the traditions of that religion. Section 12 does not require the registration of a marriage for the marriage to be valid if the requirements outlined in the Marriage Act are respected.

Bride kidnapping is criminalised under Article 199(1) of the Criminal Code. Perpetrators can be sentenced to 9 to 18 months’ imprisonment.