Poland

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

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 Poland, but available studies suggest that is also linked to:

Ethnicity: A 2014 study by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights shows that around 2% of Roma girls aged 10-15 are traditionally married or cohabiting with a partner across 11 European Union member states, including Poland. 16% of Roma boys and girls aged 16-17 are legally or traditionally married or cohabiting across the 11 states.

Poland 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 Voluntary National Review at the 2023 High Level Political Forum; however, there was no mention of child marriage.

Poland co-sponsored the following Human Rights Council resolutions: the 2013 procedural resolution on child, early and forced marriage, the 2015 resolution on child, early and forced marriage, the 2017 resolution on recognising the need to address child, early and forced marriage in humanitarian contexts, the 2019 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, Poland also signed a joint statement at the Human Rights Council calling for a resolution on child marriage.

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

Poland ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991, 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 1980, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.

During its 2015 review, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child raised concerns about child marriage among migrants, refugees and asylum seeking girls in Poland. It urged the government to establish a tracking system to identify child marriages, bring perpetrators to justice and provide girls with rehabilitation and counselling. As part of the current reporting cycle, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has requested Poland to provide information about the number of girls and boys under 18 who are married.

Poland 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.

Under Article 10 of the Family and Guardianship Code 2011, the minimum legal age of marriage is 18 years for girls and boys. However, a girl who is 16 years and over may marry with the permission of the court.