The children married in Northern Ireland

Available for over a year

At least 116 children – including 91 teenage girls – have been married in Northern Ireland since legal reform to criminalise the arrangement of child marriages was announced over three years ago. On 1 July 2022, Stormont’s then Finance Minister Conor Murphy said that work would begin on new legislation following a public consultation which showed overwhelming support to raise the minimum age for marriage and civil partnership to 18. Currently, 16 and 17-year-olds can still marry in Northern Ireland if they have permission from a parent or a guardian. You cannot get legally married in England, Wales or Ireland under the age of 18. The Scottish Government confirmed in July that it is committed to consulting on raising its minimum marriage age from 16 to 18. Tara Mills and Declan Harvey speak to data journalist Kathryn Torney, who has been delving into the figures. Get in touch: [email protected]