>Scots can currently get hitched at the age of 16 without the approval of their parents or legal guardians, unlike in England and Wales where the legal age was raised to 18 in 2023.
>Official figures show that from 2016-21 there were an average of 17 marriages where one person was over 18 and the other aged from 16-17, and three marriages where both parties were under-18.
>The SNP Government confirmed today in a written answer to Alba MSP Ash Regan that it would consult on raising the age of consent to 18.
>Ministers will also consult on whether to legislate to extend the existing forced marriage or forced civil partnership offence so that any conduct with the intention of causing a person under 18 to marry or enter a civil partnership would be a criminal offence.
…
>Legal experts have previously warned that raising the legal age at which Scots can get married could be more difficult than in England as 16 and 17-year-olds north of the Border are not considered children in the eyes of the law.
Yeah it is very difficult to think of a legitimate example of a good reason for a 16 year old getting married.
I can’t think of any situations where such a person wouldn’t be better waiting until 18.
It mattered when there were legal and severe social repercussions to having children outside of marriage.
In that context it served an important purpose in providing a socially acceptable way to deal with the inevitable teen pregnancies, but that time is long past.
They should ban cousin marriages while they are at it.
I don’t think it makes any sense to have the age of consent different from the age you can get married at.
Both things should be age-bracketed.
16 year old wants to shag another 16 year old? Sure.
16 year old wants to marry another 16 year old? Lol, go for it. Have fun with the divorce in a year. There aren’t going to be many financial considerations, are there?
16 year old shagging/marrying a 50 year old? Absolutely fucking not. We all know what’s going on there.
Hash out the details further but e.g. 16 with up to an 18 year old fine, 18 with up to 24 fine. Do whatever you want from 21 onwards.
I understand the legal point at the end there – 16 year olds are adults in Scotland and that’s been so since we inherited much of our law from Justinian’s Digest and civil codes on the continent.
However I don’t see it being a legal issue when primary legislation already exists which restrict things to a given age, ie buying alcohol. I can’t see why an Act couldn’t achieve this nicely in one line – the age for marriage to be validly recognised is 18?
Stupid headline, that is not child marriage.
I’ll be honest I thought it already was, it is England and Wales.
When it comes to historical ideas about childhood, rights and education, I sometimes point out to my 18yr old University students that, by their age, St Francis of Assisi had already become a mercenary (a child soldier by today’s definition), fought in a war, been captured, been ransomed, come home, had a religious conversion, and founded what would become the Franciscan Order!
7 comments
>Scots can currently get hitched at the age of 16 without the approval of their parents or legal guardians, unlike in England and Wales where the legal age was raised to 18 in 2023.
>Official figures show that from 2016-21 there were an average of 17 marriages where one person was over 18 and the other aged from 16-17, and three marriages where both parties were under-18.
>The SNP Government confirmed today in a written answer to Alba MSP Ash Regan that it would consult on raising the age of consent to 18.
>Ministers will also consult on whether to legislate to extend the existing forced marriage or forced civil partnership offence so that any conduct with the intention of causing a person under 18 to marry or enter a civil partnership would be a criminal offence.
…
>Legal experts have previously warned that raising the legal age at which Scots can get married could be more difficult than in England as 16 and 17-year-olds north of the Border are not considered children in the eyes of the law.
Yeah it is very difficult to think of a legitimate example of a good reason for a 16 year old getting married.
I can’t think of any situations where such a person wouldn’t be better waiting until 18.
It mattered when there were legal and severe social repercussions to having children outside of marriage.
In that context it served an important purpose in providing a socially acceptable way to deal with the inevitable teen pregnancies, but that time is long past.
They should ban cousin marriages while they are at it.
I don’t think it makes any sense to have the age of consent different from the age you can get married at.
Both things should be age-bracketed.
16 year old wants to shag another 16 year old? Sure.
16 year old wants to marry another 16 year old? Lol, go for it. Have fun with the divorce in a year. There aren’t going to be many financial considerations, are there?
16 year old shagging/marrying a 50 year old? Absolutely fucking not. We all know what’s going on there.
Hash out the details further but e.g. 16 with up to an 18 year old fine, 18 with up to 24 fine. Do whatever you want from 21 onwards.
I understand the legal point at the end there – 16 year olds are adults in Scotland and that’s been so since we inherited much of our law from Justinian’s Digest and civil codes on the continent.
However I don’t see it being a legal issue when primary legislation already exists which restrict things to a given age, ie buying alcohol. I can’t see why an Act couldn’t achieve this nicely in one line – the age for marriage to be validly recognised is 18?
Stupid headline, that is not child marriage.
I’ll be honest I thought it already was, it is England and Wales.
When it comes to historical ideas about childhood, rights and education, I sometimes point out to my 18yr old University students that, by their age, St Francis of Assisi had already become a mercenary (a child soldier by today’s definition), fought in a war, been captured, been ransomed, come home, had a religious conversion, and founded what would become the Franciscan Order!
Times change.
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