Panama

26% of girls in Panama are married or in a union before the age of 18 and 7% are married or in a union before their 15th birthday.

There are high prevalence rates of Child, Early, and Forced Marriage and Unions (CEFMU) in the provinces of Darién (where 56% of girls were married or in a union before the age of 18), Bocas del Toro (52%) and in the comarcas indígenas of Ngaäbe Buglé (68%) and Emberá Wounaan (67%).

In Panama, CEFMU often takes the form of an informal union, rather than a formal marriage.

Child, Early, and Forced Marriage and Unions (CEFMU) are driven by gender inequality and the belief that women and girls are somehow inferior to men and boys.

There is limited information on CEFMU in Panama, but available data suggest that is exacerbated by:

Poverty: Almost half of girls living in the poorest households were married or in a union at 18, compared to 9% of those from the richest.

Level of education: 61% of girls with no education were married or in a union by age 18, compared to only 6% of girls with higher education.

Ethnicity: CEFMU is more common among indigenous and afro-descendant communities.

Adolescent pregnancy: Between 2015 to 2020, for girls between 15 – 19, the adolescent pregnancy rate in Panama was 74%. The increasing rate of adolescent pregnancy prevents girls from accessing education. This, coupled with increasing rates of cohabitation are likely contributors to child marriage and informal unions.

Gender-based violence: The UN country team reported increasing rates of gender-based violence, femicide and other forms of violence against women, particularly amongst indigenous and rural communities.

Sexual exploitation and trafficking: Panama is considered a source, destination and transit country for trafficking of children. Increasing levels of poverty are pushing children into child sex tourism.

Social norms: There exists a cultural acceptance of informal early unions which makes detection difficult since very few cases are reported.

Panama has committed to eliminate child, early and forced marriage by 2030 in line with target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals. The government submitted a Voluntary National Review at the 2022 High Level Political Forum but there was no mention of child marriage.

Panama co-sponsored the following Human Rights Council resolutions: the 2013 procedural resolution on child, early and forced marriage and the 2015 resolution on child, early and forced marriage.

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

Panama ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, which sets a minimum age of marriage of 18, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1981, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.

During its 2020 Universal Periodic Review, it was noted that the minimum legal age of marriage was raised to 18 but concerns were raised that no measures were taken to prevent informal unions with minors. It was also recommended that the government, adopt preventative measures to combat child sexual exploitation within the travel and tourism industry.

During its 2020 review, the CEDAW Committee recommended that the government adopt a comprehensive strategy that engages boys and men in creating an environment that enables and fosters empowerment of women and girls that aims to tackle harmful practices, social norms and sexual violence. The Committee noted that there were high illiteracy rates among women in comparison to men, specifically in indigenous and rural communities and there were increasing rates of school dropout among pregnant adolescents. It recommended that the government implement a strategy that eliminates the stigmatization of pregnant adolescents and programs that fund for school expenses such as child care; develop capacity building programmes that include women’s rights, gender equality, positive masculinity to prevent sexual and gender-based violence and harmful practices.

During its 2018 review, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child welcomed Panama’s establishment of a minimum age of marriage at 18, and the implementation of targeted initiatives to promote birth registration.

Previously, during its 2015 Universal Periodic Review, Panama did not support two recommendations to increase the minimum age of marriage and criminal responsibility in line with international standards.

Panama, as a member of the Organization of American States (OAS), is bound to the Inter American System of Human Rights, which recognises the right of men and women of marriageable age to marry and calls to governments to strengthen the respond to address gender-based violence and discrimination, including early, forced and child marriage and unions from a perspective that respected evolving capacities and progressive autonomy.

Panama ratified the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women (known as the Belém do Pará Convention) in 1995. In 2016, the Follow-up Mechanism to the Belém do Pará Convention (MESECVI) recommended State Parties to review and reform laws and practices to increase the minimum age for marriage to 18 years for women and men.

Panama, as a member of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), adopted the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development in 2013, which recognises the need to address the high levels of adolescent pregnancy in the region as usually associated with the forced marriage of girls. In 2016, the Montevideo Strategy for Implementation of the Regional Gender Agenda was also approved by the ECLAC countries. This Agenda encompasses commitments made by the governments on women’s rights and autonomy, and gender equality, during the last 40 years in the Regional Conferences of Women in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Agenda reaffirms the right to a life free of all forms of violence, including forced marriage and cohabitation for girls and adolescents.

The National Commission for the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation Crimes (CONAPREDES) adopted the National Plan for the Prevention and Elimination of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Boys, Girls and Adolescents 2008-2010. This plan was to be updated and revised for the period 2019-2025, however there are no updates on the progress. The four main components of the plan include:

Prevention

Attention to victims

Investigations

Sanctions for offenders and institutional strengthening

In 2019, CONAPREDES and the University of Panama, established the Observatory of Sexual Exploitation of Boys, Girls and Adolescents (OBESNNA). This observatory aims to conduct research on and analyse child sexual exploitation in Panama which will inform public policy in line with Sustainable Development Goals 2030. However, information on progress remains limited.

In 2018, the government adopted the National Strategy for the Prevention of Violence against Children and Adolescents 2018-2022. The strategy includes components that aim to provide strategic actions for the prevention of child sexual exploitation and amendments to the law which permits corporal punishment.

An amendment in 2015 to Articles 33 and 35 of the Family Code 1994 raised the legal age of marriage to 18 years for girls and boys with no exceptions.

Previously the legal age of marriage for girls and boys was 14 years.