Minors will no longer be able to get married in Serbia: Goal is to suppress child marriages

Amendments to the Family Law will make this possible

Serbia will ban marriages between minors, and this will be made possible by amending the Family Law, daily Politika has learned from the Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs.

In February this year, the National Coalition for Suppression of Child Marriages was formed, aimed at ending such practices, especially among the Romani population.

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Data from Serbia's Statistical Office for 2018 mention 204 grooms and 1,215 brides between the ages of 16 and 19 - while a UNICEF survey shows that nearly half of Romani girls marry before they reach adulthood, while a fifth marry before the age of 15.

Nearly 40 percent of Romani girls give birth when they are between 15 and 18 years old, while 4 percent become mothers before the age of 15.

(Telegraf.rs/Politika)