EXPERT CONSULTATION ON LEGAL ADVOCACY ON ENDING CHILD MARRIAGE

A one day expert’s consultation on Legal Advocacy on Ending Child Marriage was organized on 8th September 2018 in New Delhi by WPC with support from Girls Not Brides.  The conference centred around the issue of whether child marriages should be made void ab initio or not?
As per the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, child marriages are voidable at the option of either contracting party under the PCMA. However, certain types of marriages are void ab initio as per section 12 of the PCMA.  Hence, child marriages are not void per se in India, but by and large voidable, with considerable legal procedural requirements for annulling such a marriage.
While child marriages are in violation of the rights of the child and in particular, the girl child; equally, the PCMA is being used largely by parents to annul self-arranged marriages between consenting young adult.   Further, as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 prohibits all forms of sexual relations for minors and created a mandatory reporting clause, NGOs find it difficult to assist minors who need help with sexual and reproductive issues, such as birth control.  Marriage between minors can no longer be used as a means to legitimize such sexual relations following the judgment of the Supreme Court in Independent Thought vs Union of India (2017). 
While no consensus was reached at the end of the consultation about making child marriages void ab initio or not, participants agreed that the age of marriage should not be linked to the age of consent.