Moldova

12% of girls in Moldova marry before the age of 18.

1% of boys in Moldova marry before the age of 18.

Child marriage is most prevalent in the north of the country. Child marriage is common within the Roma communities living in Moldova.

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

In Moldova, child marriage is exacerbated by:

Level of education: Girls with higher education are much less likely to marry early than those with secondary education or lower.

Poverty: 25% of girls in Moldova’s poorest households marry before the age of 18, compared to only 8% in the richest households. In 2019, children represented 22% of the poor population and 24% of the extremely poor population.

Harmful practices: Child marriage is most common among Moldova’s Roma communities, where it is reportedly “welcome” to marry girls between the ages of 12 and 14. This either takes the form of a forced marriage, whereby a girl is married to an adult man against her will, or an arranged marriage, whereby families or “matchmakers” arrange for two children to be married in the future. In both cases, this takes place without official documentation or registration. After marriage, it is common for girls to drop out of school and take on household duties. This is strongly connected with the high value placed on Romani girls’ virginity at marriage.

Moldova has committed to ending child, early and forced marriage by 2030 in line with target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The government submitted a 2020 Voluntary National Review at the High Level Political Forum, but there was no mention of child marriage. The government has not submitted a Voluntary National Review in any High Level Political Forum since 2020.

Moldova co-sponsored the 2013 Human Rights Council resolution on child, early and forced marriage, the 2015 Human Rights Council resolution to end child, early and forced marriage, recognising that it is a violation of human rights, 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, Moldova signed a joint statement at the Human Rights Council calling for a resolution on child marriage.

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

Moldova acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1993, 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 1994, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.

In 2020, the CEDAW Committee expressed concerns about reports of child marriages in Roma communities and that Article 14 of the Family Code allows exceptions to the minimum legal age of marriage. The Committee recommended Moldova to remove all exceptions to the legal minimum age of marriage of 18 years.

In 2017 the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that the government remove exceptions in legislation that allow marriage under the age of 18, and adopt a national strategy on child marriage, with a particular focus on raising awareness among Roma communities.

During its 2016 Universal Periodic Review, Moldova agreed to examine a recommendation to implement legislation to abolish and effectively combat early and child marriage. Concerns were raised regarding the impact that poor school attendance and financial capability has on child marriage among Roma children.

Moldova is a partner country of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).

The promotion of gender equality is a top priority for the government. This is evident through various policy documents:

Strategy for Ensuring Equality between Women and Men for 2017-2021

National Strategy on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence 2018-2023

National Strategy for Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings 2018-2023

UNFPA works with the government and local authorities to develop comprehensive sexuality education courses, and is also implementing peer-to-peer information sessions and out-of-school educational activities, including life skills education, with a view to reducing child marriage and early pregnancy. In 2018, UNFPA reached more than 17,000 young people in Moldova with these programmes.

Under Article 13 of the Family Code the minimum legal age of marriage is 18 years.

However, under Article 14(1) with good reason, discretion is given to individuals up to two years below the minimum legal age. This is at the discretion of the local public administration or parental/guardian consent. Article 42 of the Family Code nullifies marriages that are concluded with a minor if they have not reached the legal minimum age.

The Penal Code does not criminalise the act of child marriage but under Article 174 criminalises statutory rape, coercion, violence, and cohabitation with a minor.