Peer-reviewed article
Combating child marriage and the intergenerational sexual abuse of girls in South Africa
Admark Moyo, Bridget Joyce Machaka ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5This article examines how South Africa's marriage laws fail to protect girls from child marriage and sexual abuse. It shows that girls as young as 15 can marry without official consent, while boys need approval until age 18, creating unequal legal protection. The paper also looks at customary practices like lobolo and ukuthwala that can legitimise child marriage of girls. It calls for legal and policy reforms to remove gender-discriminatory provisions and better protect girls' rights.
Key points
- Girls aged 15 or older may marry in South Africa without ministerial or judicial consent, unlike boys under 18 who require approval.
- Legal frameworks often presume gender neutrality but in practice disproportionately harm girls through child marriage.
- Customary practices such as lobolo and ukuthwala intersect with discriminatory laws to increase girls' vulnerability to abuse.
- International, African regional, and sub-regional child rights instruments are examined for their gender sensitivity in protecting children from early marriage.
- The article calls for removal of gender-discriminatory legal provisions and implementation of substantive equality measures.
Limitations
The article is a legal and policy analysis rather than an empirical study, so it does not provide primary data on prevalence or measured outcomes of interventions.
Abstract
The legal and policy frameworks governing marriage in many African countries often presume gender neutrality, thereby failing to address the deeply gendered nature of child marriage and sexual exploitation and abuse. Data from UNICEF and other sources consistently show that child marriage disproportionately affects girls, with significantly fewer boys involved in the practice. Far from ensuring equal protection and benefit of the law, many existing legal provisions reinforce gender inequality by allowing exceptions to the minimum age of marriage or by setting a lower marriageable age for girls, thereby legitimising harmful practices against girls by virtue of these legal loopholes. Focusing on South Africa, the paper illustrates how current marriage laws violate girls’ rights to equal protection and freedom from sexual exploitation. For example, girls aged 15 or older may marry without ministerial or judicial consent, whereas all boys under 18 require such approval. This legal disparity leaves girls uniquely exposed and under-protected compared to their male peers, reinforcing patriarchal norms through discrimination entrenched in legislation. Adopting a feminist and intersectional lens, the article also explores how customary practices such as lobolo and ukuthwala continue to legitimise child marriage. These practices, when intersecting with gender-discriminatory laws, intensify the vulnerability of girls and exacerbate systemic abuse. The article critically examines international, African regional, and sub-regional child rights instruments to assess their gender sensitivity and responsiveness in protecting children, especially girls, from early and forced marriage. Finally, the article calls for urgent legal and policy reforms, including the removal of gender-discriminatory provisions and the implementation of substantive equality measures, alongside efforts to empower girls through legal, educational, and social interventions. These reforms must be accompanied by the dismantling of patriarchal structures and an acknowledgment of the diverse lived realities of girlhood, both essential to ending the systemic legitimisation of child marriage and achieving equal protection for all children.