How are we just raising marriage age to 18?

[Whattodonut]

Just that. Amazing its taken so long!

They do, but they are less and less relevant. What percentage of the UK population self-identifies as Christian, let alone actually regularly attends church? It's something like 5%.

When I did mine there were couples there who didn’t regularly attend church. They just wanted to get married in one.

I meant NI, where it's 16 with consent. Always forget that the South has different laws than us Nordies!

Travellers and Gypsies aren't marrying as young now, mostly. It still happens, but it's becoming increasingly less common.

But generally speaking, the majority of teen brides and grooms from the community are within a couple of years age difference of each other. Very few Traveller parents would let their 16 year old daughter marry a much older man.

The age limit isn't arbitrary - why do you think that?

That would have been me fucked then. I was 18 and he was 22.

Alldaybreafast92 I just feel that lots of young girls may be pressured into sex before they are ready that's all. Like you say sex if both people take responsibility is fine.however many teenage guys can be irresponsible.

I'm glad it's gone up to 18, I think that's a better age. I find it abhorrent that the US still has many states that have no or very low age limits for marriage, it's used as a way to legally bind a young girl to a much older man and it's abuse.

There are currently 43 States in the US that allow child marriage (under 18s), 9 of those have no legal minimum so with parents consent a child aged 1 could be married.

"At least 60,000 child marriages in the U.S. between 2000 and 2018 occurred at an age or with a spousal age difference that should have been considered a sex crime."

A step in the right direction but personally I think that it should be 21. Let us not forget that it is acceptable to get married so young in traveling communities as well as some Asian communities.

Hear hear @bellac11!

I think 18 is a good age limit and appropriate for the times we live in.

16 was probably appropriate in say, My Nana's generation (she would be 90 this year) as people left school around 14 and in those days, cohabiting without being married/sex before marriage/having children out of wedlock were very frowned upon.

I think if anything, people are marrying later now. I am 36 and married my husband at 25. While still fairly young, if I compare to my mum and her sister (now early 60s and early 70s respectively), they both married at 18/19, so much younger than I was.

Looking back at my 18 year old self, marriage was the last thing on my mind. I was focused on A-levels, going to uni and starting a career but it was different times.

And the law has to be written to protect the lowest common denominator - a 16 year old who has led a sheltered upbringing, been taught that marriage to a much older cousin is normal, and is too naive to realise what men are capable of.

And they need parental consent to join, whereas a couple of sixth formers can just book in to a registry office in Scotland without even telling their parents.

And they used to be able to get married and buy cigarettes. Times change.

Sixteen is a ridiculous age to get marriee. I wouldn't object if it was raised to 21.

The ages in Scotland are ridiculous.

At 16 can marry, vote and have a baby
However you are not old enough to toast the bridesmaids, watch explicit films or take the baby to softplay or swimming 🤔

Seems to be noises about raising the age to buy fags to 18. To match alcohol and tattoos
But your old enough at 16 to vote and become trans including life changing surgery and drugs.

WTAF!
Logically everything should be 18, including driving.

My dad was 16 years old when he married. It did not last long.

So you're responsible enough to start a family legally but not to get married? I know which is more serious and has a longer effect on your life.

I know it's about forced marriages but I don't see why others should have their rights taken away.

Oh don't be so melodramatic. Madly in love teens will only have to wait two more years - if their relationship isn't strong enough for that they shouldn't be getting married.

As @FatAgainItsLettuceTime says,

in the USA they can marry before they are 18 - but they are not allowed to buy alcohol until they are 21.

In 43 states, that is.

Having children within marriage might not be important to you but for many people it is. Don't belittle people because they have different beliefs to you.

But the bit that really get me is children's activities that need supervision by someone over 18, Inc swimming and softplay. I think it might be an insurance issue for so many places to have the same policies.

Can a 16yo claim child benefit? 🤔
I know they can't claim other benefits.

This. Not to mention many people have their teens on birth control at 16.

But also, historically most people were living at adults at 16. Working, supporting themselves and their families. Birth control wasn't really a thing.

But they could be raising a child together. Surely that's a much more significant commitment and tie? If they are living together they are already involved in the content of what that marriage would be. And in part the legal structures of marriage are there to protect the mothers in these scenarios.

The UN told the UK that these 16 and 17 year olds were child soldiers and should not be in the military at all.

Having spoken to someone who joined the army when he was 16, it's basically somewhere for young men in bad home and bad life circumstances to go to avoid them becoming worse.

Oh and this guy was forced out a few years later as those in charge of him wanted him to go to university as they said he was far too clever. He did go to university. He got a first and then a PhD. Then went to work back in the military.