Romania

7% of girls in Romania marry before age of 18 and 1% marry before the age 15.

Data refers to formal marriages only from Population and Housing Census 2021 and misses the month at the first marriage in the calculation, which might lead to some bias

A 2005 study reports that child marriage is most common in Kalderash Romani communities, but seldom practised by Cashtale Roma.

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 Romania, but available studies show that, among Romani communities, it is driven by:

Kidnapping: Some girls are reportedly kidnapped and assaulted by future grooms in the hope that their parents will allow them to marry following the loss of their virginity.

Pre-marital sex: If Romani girls start to socialise with boys, or if their body has developed quickly, parents may decide to marry them off. This decision is also influenced by a lack of educational and employment opportunities as well as a desire to control their sexuality and preserve their honour. In 2020, analysis by Save the Children Romania stated that despite Romania’s high rates of adolescent pregnancies, very few mothers were married. A survey of adolescent mothers in rural areas showed that less than 2% were married.

Poverty: Many Romani girls experience exclusion in schools and in society, and a lack of access to equal opportunities drives some into marriage as it seems like the most “sensible” option.

Romania 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.

Romania 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, Romania also signed a joint statement at the Human Rights Council calling for a resolution on child marriage.

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

Romania 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 the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1982, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.

During its 2017 review, the CEDAW Committee raised concerns about the lack of measures taken to prevent child marriage. It recommended that the government raise awareness about the harmful impact it has on girls.

In 2017 the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that Romania particularly raise awareness on the negative consequences of child marriage in rural areas of the country.

During its 2023 Universal Periodic Review, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Council for Combatting Discrimination, and the Practical Guide for Police Services partnered with the E-romnja Association, in order to launch training sessions for police officers on the prevention of violence against Roma girls and women and to promote gender equality. In the “Violence has no colour” project, police officers designed content on the topic of prevention of discrimination, including domestic violence and child and forced marriage.

During its 2018 Universal Periodic Review, Romania agreed to review recommendations to strengthen legislative efforts to end child, early and forced marriage.

In 2020, following a visit to Romania, the UN Working Group on discrimination against women and girls expressed concerns about the high rates of early and forced marriage, and noted that the government should take all the necessary measures to prevent forced and early marriage.

Romania has ratified the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating 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.

Romania is a pathfinder country for the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children.

Through the “Violence has no colour” project, 2,695 preventative and education activities were carried out, and 1,650 training sessions were organized with 37,750 police officers.

According to various sources, child marriage is almost absent from the policy framework in Romania, include those related to Roma communities in the country.

Under Article 272 (1) of the Civil Code 2009 the minimum legal age of marriage is 18 years.

However, under Article 272 (2) an individual can marry at 16 years with parental consent, based on a medical certificate or with authorisation from the tutelary authority.