South Africa

4% of girls in South Africa are married before the age of 18 and 1% of both girls and boys are married before their 15th birthday.

More recently, according to a 2016 Community Survey released by Statistics South Africa more than 91,000 girls in South Africa between the ages of 12 and 17 were married – in either customary or civil marriages – or divorced, separated, widowed or living with a partner.

Rates may be higher as customary marriages are rarely officially registered.

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 South Africa, but evidence suggest that it may be driven by:

Harmful practices: In recent years the practice of ukuthwala has been invoked to justify the abduction of girls as young as 12 to be married off to older men. Although it is prohibited, it still reportedly occurs in Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. In many cases, some money or gifts are given to parents in a distortion of traditional ilobolo(dowry) practices.

South Africa has committed to eliminate child, early and forced marriage by 2030 in line with target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals. During its Voluntary National Review at the 2019 High Level Political Forum, the government of South Africa reported progress on this target and recognised that the exceptions for marriage under the age of 18 was one of the shortcomings that remain in the legal framework. The government has not submitted a Voluntary National Review in any High Level Political Forum since 2019.

South Africa co-sponsor the 2019 Human Rights Council resolution on the consequences of child marriage. South Africa signed a joint statement at the 2014 Human Rights Council calling for a resolution on child marriage. South Africa also co-sponsored the 2018 UN General Assembly resolutions on child, early and forced marriage.

South Africa ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1995, which sets a minimum age of marriage of 18, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1995, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.

In the 2021 list of issues prior to submission for the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Committee ask South Africa to ensure that the minimum age of marriage be established at 18 for both boys and girls. The Committee also asked for more information on practical steps taken to prohibit and eradicate the harmful practice of ukuthwala, virginity-testing, FGM/C, polygamy and child marriage.

During its 2021 review, the CEDAW Committee expressed concern at the persistent patriarchal attitudes and stereotypes towards women, the persistence of harmful practices such as ukuthwala, virginity-testing and FGM/C. The Committee recommended that South Africa adopt a comprehensive strategy to eliminate harmful practices and provide victims with adequate support services.

During its 2016 review, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed deep concerns about the persistence of child marriage, virginity testing and ukuthwala. It also raised concerns that the Children’s Act of 2005 sets the minimum age of marriage at 12 for girls, and that the Marriage Act of 1961 and the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act of 1998, set different conditions for marriages of girls under the age of 18. The Committee urged the South African government to harmonise legislation in order to ensure the minimum age of marriage is 18 for both girls and boys.

During its 2017 Universal Periodic Review, South Africa agreed to review recommendations to harmonize legislation to ensure that the minimum age for marriage is established at 18 years for both boys and girls and develop specific measures to educate society on customary practices leading to forced and child marriage.

In 2000 South Africa ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, including Article 21 regarding the prohibition of child marriage. In 2004 South Africa ratified the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, including Article 6 which sets the minimum age for marriage as 18.

South Africa is one of 20 countries which has committed to ending child marriage by the end of 2020 under the Ministerial Commitment on comprehensive sexuality education and sexual and reproductive health services for adolescents and young people in Eastern and Southern Africa.

South Africa is a pathfinder country for the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children and one of the countries where the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)/DREAMS Initiative is working to reduce rates of HIV among adolescent girls and young women.

In 2019, the government of South Africa reported that they are developing a Draft Prohibition of Forced Marriages and Child Marriages Bill, which will provide greater protection from these harmful practices.

Under the Children’s Act 2005 the minimum legal age of marriage is 18 years for girls and boys.

However inconsistencies and loopholes exist throughout the legislation. The Marriage Act allows girls to be married at the age of 15 with parental consent but maintains the minimum age of 18 for boys. The Recognition of Customary Marriages Act further allows minors to enter into customary marriages with parental consent, without specifying a minimum age limit for boys or girls.

In 2015 the President, Jacob Zuma, promulgated the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Bill that prohibits non-consensual ukuthwala and classifies it as a trafficking offence.