Northern Ireland child marriage reform: 18 is the right age
Northern Ireland child marriage reform matters because it would raise the legal age of marriage and civil partnership from 16 to 18 and strengthen protection for children and young people. Freedom Charity welcomes the Bill and says 18 is the right age. According to the Northern Ireland Department of Finance, the Bill would also criminalise arranging a marriage involving anyone under 18 and would place belief marriages on a permanent legal footing.
This is not a minor legal change. It is a child protection measure.
Finance Minister John O’Dowd said the legislation would help to better safeguard children and young people. He also warned that child marriage can increase the risk of forced marriage and take away education and other life opportunities. In addition, he said girls are especially at risk.
Why Northern Ireland child marriage reform matters
The figures show why this Bill matters now. According to the Department of Finance announcement, there were 183 marriages in Northern Ireland between 2020 and 2024 in which at least one party was under 18. Provisional figures for 2025 recorded a further 13.
So this is not an old loophole with no practical effect. It is a live safeguarding issue.
For Freedom Charity, the central question is simple. The issue is not whether a young person appears to agree. The real question is whether they could safely refuse.
The law must protect children before harm becomes embedded and harder to escape.
What the Northern Ireland Bill would change
The Bill would make three major changes.
First, it would raise the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership to 18.
Second, it would criminalise arranging a marriage involving anyone under 18.
Third, it would place belief marriages on a permanent legal footing, giving them the same legal recognition as religious marriages. The Bill as introduced at the Northern Ireland Assembly and the full text of the Bill set out those provisions.
Taken together, these changes matter. They create a clearer legal boundary. They also make it harder for adults to present child marriage as normal, private or acceptable.
Why Freedom Charity says 18 is the right age
Freedom Charity welcomes this reform because we have seen the risks for years.
In 2014, forced marriage became a criminal offence in England, Wales and Scotland under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. That was an important step. However, it did not remove the wider safeguarding risk created when marriage under 18 could still happen lawfully in parts of the UK.
Freedom Charity was part of the wider campaign that helped bring about the change in England and Wales. The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 raised the minimum age to 18, and the UK Government’s implementation statement confirmed the change took effect on 27 February 2023. Since then, the position there has been clear. Sixteen and seventeen-year-olds can no longer marry or enter a civil partnership in any circumstances.
Freedom Charity has reached more than 100,000 children, donated over 100,000 books, and trained thousands of professionals. Our view is grounded in direct safeguarding experience, not theory.
Aneeta Prem MBE JP, Founder of Freedom Charity, said:
“Freedom Charity has seen enough to know that 18 is the right age. A child cannot meaningfully consent to marriage where pressure, fear or control may be present. Northern Ireland is moving in the right direction.”
Why marriage under 18 creates risk
For safeguarding charities, this issue is not abstract.
Early marriage can sit alongside school withdrawal, family control, social isolation, financial dependence and long-term abuse. Once a child is married, professionals may find it harder to step in. In turn, the child may feel more trapped, less visible and less able to ask for help.
That is why the law should not create grey areas where clear protection is needed.
A loving family does not need the option of child marriage. By contrast, abusive situations benefit from silence, confusion and delay.
Northern Ireland child marriage reform and the wider UK picture
Northern Ireland is now moving closer to the position already adopted in England and Wales. Scotland, however, still permits marriage and civil partnership from the age of 16 and is consulting on whether to raise the minimum age to 18. The Scottish Government consultation and the consultation page set that out clearly.
The wider direction of travel is clear. England and Wales have acted. Northern Ireland is now acting. Scotland should not remain the UK outlier.
Freedom Charity has already argued in its article on Scotland’s child marriage law that 16 is not protection. This new Bill strengthens the wider UK safeguarding case.
What should happen next?
Freedom Charity believes the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership should be 18 across the whole United Kingdom, with no loopholes and no exceptions.
However, legal reform on its own is not enough.
The law must be backed by proper safeguarding guidance, strong training for frontline professionals, and clear routes for action when a child is at risk. Registrars, teachers, social workers, police and health professionals all need to understand the warning signs and know what to do next.
Aneeta Prem added:
“A loving family does not need the option of child marriage. Abusive situations do. The law should protect children before harm becomes embedded, not after.”
Northern Ireland has now taken an important step. The rest of the UK should move in one clear direction too. Childhood and marriage should not overlap.
By Aneeta Prem, 21 March 2026, London
Northern Ireland Department of Finance announcement (Bill details)
https://www.finance-ni.gov.uk/news/raising-marriage-age-better-protects-our-children-and-young-people-odowd
Legislation source (strong authority)
Marriage and Civil Partnership Bill (Northern Ireland Assembly)
https://www.niassembly.gov.uk/globalassets/documents/legislation/bills/executive-bills/mandate-2022-2027/marriage-and-civil-partnership-bill/marriage-and-civil-partnership-bill—as-introduced—fpv.pdf
Use this for:
- legal credibility
- confirmation of provisions
English and Welsh law (comparison)
Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2022/28/contents
UK Government announcement (law change explained)
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/implementation-of-the-marriage-and-civil-partnership-minimum-age-act-2022
Scottish Government consultation on raising marriage age
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-consultation-family-law/pages/3/
Forced marriage law
Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (forced marriage offence)
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/12/contents
