Child Marriage in Georgia (Overview)

Child Marriage in Georgia

(Overview)

For a girl, marriage can

mean the end of her

education, can set aside

her chances of a vocation

or career, and can steal

from her foundational life

choices.

—Dr. Babatunde

Osotimehin, Executive

Director, UNFPA

If I could, I would have changed everything except giving

birth to my first child. I would have given more time to my

career. I would have given more time to myself.

—Child spouse, Tbilisi

Child marriages

Early or child marriage is the union, whether official or not, of two

persons, at least one of whom is under 18 years of age.

By virtue

of being children, child spouses are considered to be incapable

of giving full consent, meaning that child marriages should be

considered a violation of human rights and the rights of the child.

Child marriage is not a rare occurrence in Georgia and is linked

to gender inequality, among other factors. In addition, the factors

that trigger child marriage are not homogenous and vary according

to religious, ethnic, and regional differences.

Child marriage is a gendered phenomenon that affects girls and boys

in different ways. Overall, the number of boys in child marriages

around the world is significantly lower than that of girls. Girl child

spouses are also vulnerable to domestic violence and sexual abuse

within relationships that are unequal, and if they become pregnant,

often experience complications during pregnancy and childbirth,

as their bodies are not ready for childbearing. Upon marrying, both

boys and girls often have to leave education to enter the workforce

and/or take up domestic responsibilities at home.

Various international treaties, conventions, and programmes for

action address child marriage. These include: the 1962 Convention

on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage, and

Registration of Marriages; the Convention on the Elimination of All

Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979); the Convention

on the Rights of the Child (1989); and the 1995 Beijing Platform

for Action (which followed the UN Fourth World Conference on

Women). These international instruments cover the abolishment

of harmful customs and traditions, violence against the girl child,

marriage consent, marriageable age, registration of marriage, and

the freedom to choose a spouse.

This fact sheet provides information about child marriage in

Georgia and offers recommendations aimed at addressing the

issue. It includes a review of national legislation and the country’s

ratification of the various international standards relevant to the

issue, analysis of current practices and attitudes towards child

marriage, and statistical information about the prevalence of the

practice. The methodology for this study involved a review of the

existing legal framework and literature related to child marriage

in Georgia, and interviews and focus groups with child spouses,

community members, and experts.

Child Marriage in Georgia (Overview)

Recommendations

• Set 18 as the minimum legal age for marriage.

Exceptions should only be permitted in cases of

pregnancy, and only if the would-be spouse has

reached the age of 16.

• Conduct a comprehensive quantitative and

qualitative research study into the issue of child

marriage and its consequences. Information that

is representative of the country as a whole is

indispensable for the development of policy and

intervention strategies.

• Integrate the issue of early marriage into the

national policies and action plans related to

gender equality and youth development, to

ensure the implementation of international and

national instruments related to children’s and

women’s rights in Georgia.

• Organise a nationwide campaign to raise

awareness about the issue of child marriage and

its adverse manifestations. In particular, such

a campaign should focus on the most affected

areas of the country where there are higher

rates of child marriage, and abortion, among

girls under the age of 18. Partner with UNFPA

offices in neighbouring countries to conduct

such campaigns among the ethnic minority

groups, using materials in local languages that

are culturally and socially appropriate.

• The Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia

should develop comprehensive ‘reproductive

health and rights’ education lessons appropriate

to the cultural context and the students’ ages, and

introduce these into the school curriculum. In

addition, special training programmes should be

provided for teachers. The training programmes

should include modules on gender equality and

girls’ rights to education and family planning.

• Provide training on girls’ rights and gender

equality to primary healthcare and reproductive

healthcare providers to enable them to provide

counselling to mothers of adolescent girls, and

introduce youth-friendly reproductive health

services at the primary healthcare level.

• Adopt effective initiatives to integrate ethnic

minority communities into the wider society.

Legal and national context

Georgia ratified the UN Convention on the

Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against

Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the

Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1994. In theory,

these international initiatives, along with national

legislation – namely, the Civil Code, Criminal Code,

and the Law on Elimination of Domestic Violence,

Protection, and Assistance of Domestic Violence

Victims (2006) – should ensure the protection of

children’s rights. In practice, as the interviews carried

out for this study revealed, the lack of implementation

mechanisms, strategies, and monitoring mean that

these instruments do not function effectively.

In addition, there are exceptions and inconsistencies

in the legislation that make it problematic and

ineffective. For instance, according to the Civil

Code, an individual is legally considered a child until

the age of 18. However, there are two exceptions

by which someone ceases, legally, to be a child and

becomes an adult: if she or he gets married at the age

of 16, or has to lead a specific enterprise.

Experts and research participants interviewed for this

study noted that the issue of early marriage is not

taken seriously at either the state or the societal level.

In addition, child marriage is not currently a priority

for either child rights or women’s rights organizations.

Child marriage is addressed by a few organisations only

as it relates to other issues. For example, experts noted

that women’s organisations working on domestic

violence may address early marriage indirectly while

working with domestic violence victims.

Georgia has ratified the CRC. This

makes the government responsible. Even if

the national legislation was not adequate,

the CRC is more important, and we should

refer to it. In the national legislation, the

minimum age for marriage is 18, but there

are exceptions when 16 is the age one can

marry. This is inadequate because a 16-year-

old child becomes ‘emancipated’. This

implies that the child acquires the rights and

responsibilities of an adult.

(Expert)

In the children’s welfare strategy, this

problem is not even … mentioned. Nobody

talks about this problem. They talk about

children’s poverty, street children, etc., but

from the age of 16, if a girl is married, she

is not considered a child.

(Expert)

United Nations Population Fund

The marriage exists only from when

it is registered. A marriage cannot be

registered if the couple is [under] the age of

16. If we mean the case when 12, 13, and

14-year-old individuals get married, it is

against the law. … To solve this problem,

the government’s only mechanism is the

authority regulating parental care, which

can say that parents are not taking basic

care of their children and can restrict their

parental rights.

(Expert)

If there were a law prohibiting

marriage before the age of 18, people would

obey the law. There would be only a few

exceptions.

(Expert)

Medical assistance without parental

consent is legal from the age of 16. Sixteen

is the age when emancipation happens. If a

girl gets married at the age of 16, she ceases

to be a child.

(Expert)

Who can contract a marriage?

Article 1108 of the Georgian Civil Code states that

the minimum legal age for marriage is 18; however,

the law allows exceptions, such as marriage with

parental consent from the age of 16. If the intended

child spouse is between the ages of 16 and 18 and

does not have parental consent, they can appeal to

the court to allow them to contract a marriage.

Experts noted that the court grants permission in

case of exceptional circumstances, such as pregnancy.

Article 140 of the Criminal Code stipulates that

cohabitation with a child under the age of consent,

which is 16, shall be punished by deprivation

of liberty for up to three years.

In cases of illegal

marriages involving girls under 16, the police should

take action against the culprit. However, a former

policeman interviewed for this study stated that

when it comes to such marriages, police are reluctant

to intervene and ‘break up anyone’s family’.

At present, there is no criminal legislation specifically

addressing forced marriage.

According to the Constitutional Treaty between the

Georgian state and the Georgian Orthodox Church,

the state should recognise marriages performed by

the Orthodox Church. However, in reality only

civil marriages registered in the office of the Civil

Registry of Georgia are legally recognised.

Research analysing the impact of minimum age

for marriage laws in 115 in low- and middle-

income countries between 1989 and 2007 reveals

that countries whose laws adhered strictly to the

international standards (by setting the minimum

age for marriage at 18) were the most effective at

reducing rates of adolescent fertility. However,

countries that set the minimum age for marriage

at 18, but permit some exceptions such as marriage

with parental consent, were indistinguishable from

countries that had no such legal minimum age for

marriage.

This suggests the need to amend the

current legislation and to set the minimum age for

marriage at 18 without any exceptions, in order

to bring about real change in combating the grave

consequences of child marriage.

Family planning and reproductive rights

In Georgia, the Law on Health Protection and the

Law on the Rights of the Patient guarantee the right

of all citizens to have access to medical services.

5,6

Article 41 (2) of the Law on the Rights of the Patient

states that ‘health services shall be provided to a

minor under 16 only [with the] consent of his/her

parents or legal representative’.

However, Article 40

(2) provides some exceptions for adolescents aged 14

to 18, who can consult healthcare providers for ‘the

treatment of sexually transmitted disease[s] or drug

abuse or for counselling about nonsurgical methods of

contraception or for abortion’.

In this case a patient has

an important right of informed consent and is allowed

to obtain reproductive health services confidentially.

In Georgia obstetricians, gynaecologists, and

‘reproductologists’ (trained physicians) can provide

services and counselling for family planning. This

research shows, though, that girls belonging to

ethnic minorities may face some additional barriers

in accessing medical facilities; for instance, language

barriers.

The law also permits termination of pregnancy

within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. It should be

performed by a doctor in a licensed medical facility

with the written consent of the woman. The law

imposes additional legal requirements for an abortion

after 12 weeks.

Data from the 2010 Reproductive

Child Marriage in Georgia (Overview)

Health Survey Georgia indicate a higher abortion rate

among ethnic minorities as well as a higher level of

fertility among Azeri women aged 15-19 (143 per

1,000) than among Georgian women aged 15-19 (30

per 1,000) — for example, 3.3 abortions per woman

belonging to the Azeri ethnic group compared to 1.5

abortions per ethnic Georgian woman.

According to the same Reproductive Health Survey,

awareness of any method of contraception is lowest

in the Kvemo Kartli region and highest in Tbilisi.

In addition, the survey shows that ethnic Georgian

women use modern methods more often and

traditional methods less often than do ethnic Azeri

and Armenian women.

The Reproductive Health Survey also found that

some 76.6 per cent of married women aged 15 to 19

years used no method of modern contraception.

The main reasons that women gave for not using

contraception were related to pregnancy, fertility,

or sexual activity.

Other reasons for this may be

found in the absence of exposure to contraceptive

counselling and family planning. The survey also

found that access to contraceptive counselling is

higher among Georgian women than among women

of other ethnic groups.

In Georgia, education on reproductive health

issues is not part of the school curriculum. Only

some elements of reproductive biology have been

incorporated into high school biology and anatomy

classes, which do not provide substantive knowledge

on this matter. The Reproductive Health Survey

Georgia found that only 3 per cent of young

women aged 15 to 24 stated that they had learned

about contraception at school before they reached

age 18. Moreover, the most important sources of

information about sexual matters among young

women aged 15 to 17 were friends (31 per cent) and

parents (26 per cent), according to the survey.

Very few of the child spouses who were interviewed

knew anything about reproductive health and

family planning when they married. Most of the

girls interviewed revealed that they became pregnant

immediately or soon after getting married. The

experience of child spouses shows that there is no

question of using contraception until they have given

birth, because they are under pressure to fulfil social

expectations to get pregnant as soon as possible.

Child marriages in Georgia

Until now no comprehensive research has been

conducted in Georgia regarding the scale, motives,

and consequences of child marriage. The reasons

behind this vary from the invisibility of the problem

until recent years, to the lack of complete statistical

data. The existing limited data is a side product of

research conducted into reproductive health and

human rights.

The existing data shows that up to 17 per cent of

Georgian women were married before the age of

18. Georgia has one of the highest rates of female

marriage under age 18 among European countries,

along with Moldova (19 per cent) and Turkey (14

per cent).

However, the data is not complete

because most child marriages are not officially

registered. Information about the number of

registered marriages by age group is not sufficient to

examine trends in child marriage, because marriages

of people up to age 16 cannot be officially registered.

The existing data for Georgia and the research

findings from this study indicate that the situation

with regard to child marriage is not homogenous,

but rather varies according to ethnic, religious, and

regional factors. It would appear that child marriages

occur more frequently among certain ethnic and

religious groups, namely, religious minorities in the

mountainous areas of Adjaria, and ethnic minorities

in Kvemo Kartli region. According to a recent

research report, in Kvemo Kartli region, 32 per cent

of married women among ethnic minorities were

married before the age of 18, while 5 per cent of

married women got married at the age of 13 or 14,

and 16 per cent at the age of 15 or 16.

If the girl does not conceive a baby

immediately after marriage, it is considered a

problem, and the in-laws start searching for

doctors to treat their daughter-in-law. That

she should conceive immediately after the

marriage is not even a question.

(Expert)

Girls [from ethnic minority groups]

can’t go alone to the doctor because they don’t

know Russian, they don’t speak Georgian, [or

know] how should they communicate with

the doctor. The elders know a little Russian

and a little Georgian.

(Child spouse, member of an ethnic minority)

United Nations Population Fund

Child marriage is associated with a number of grave

consequences for girls, such as social isolation, absence

of reproductive control, and dropping out of school.

While early school dropout may be linked to poverty,

a report by the Georgian Public Defender found a

strong relationship between girls leaving education

and child marriage. The report states that between

2011 and January 2013, 7,367 girls left school

early. A review of the few available reports suggests

that the school dropout rate is especially alarming

in the Kvemo Kartli region and in Tbilisi.

The

Centre for Children’s Rights of the Public Defender

of Georgia organised a campaign to raise awareness

about children’s rights in the Kvemo Kartli region

in 2013. During this project, several schoolteachers

were interviewed who revealed that girls had dropped

out of school because of child marriage. The report

showed that during the last five years, 341 students

dropped out of schools in Marneuli (a city in Kvemo

Kartli) in order to get married.

The findings of the interviews with experts, child

spouses, and community members carried out for

this study support the argument that there is a strong

link between school dropout and early marriage. In

some regions, there is little value attached to girls’

education, and to their role in society. Especially

in socially disadvantaged families, girls drop out

of school, and then the only option left for them

is marriage. Alternatively, they may drop out when

they become engaged, but before they actually

marry; only if the future husband ‘allows’ it can a

girl who is engaged continue her education.

Parents failing to send their children to school face

administrative penalties. Article 172 of the Georgian

Code of Administrative Offences states that parents

guilty of ‘non-fulfilment of the obligation of

upbringing and educating children’ should receive

a warning or be required to pay an administrative

fine.

However, in practice, these penalties are rarely

enforced. It is considered inappropriate to interfere

in the family even in cases of violation of the law. As

one respondent noted: ‘Parents say that “she is my

daughter and I will do whatever I want, nobody can

interfere.”’ Societal support for views such as this

has serious implications for girls, because it takes

for granted and reinforces inequalities and injustice

within the household.

Respondents in the region among ethnic and

religious minorities stated that teachers as well as the

local society in general are not aware of the negative

aspects of early marriages, and they are even involved

in the process of arranged marriages. That’s why the

constructive actions to be taken by the Ministry of

Education are important to prevent students from

dropping out of school.

The problem is that the government

may not know about early marriages,

because the marriages are unregistered,

especially in villages. If a woman is

called ‘married’, that’s enough for society,

and nobody bothers to deal with the

government. That’s why the government

hardly knows whether this type of early

union occurs.

(Expert)

Society still does not consider early

marriage a big problem. There are regions

heavily characterised by early marriages.

… Regions [in Georgia] populated with

Muslims often practice early marriage,

especially in the Kvemo Kartli and Adjaria

regions, because it’s [seen as] very natural

and ordinary.

(Expert)

When a girl is born, she is always

told that she will get married, she should

learn how to cook, how to clean and wash;

nobody tells her that she should read or

write.

(Child spouse, ethnic minority)

In one of the articles, the Ministry

of Education states that ‘if parents make

their children leave school, we cannot do

anything’. The convention [CRC] states that

parents may violate a child’s rights, but the

government should defend his or her rights.

The problem arises when the government’s

representative speaker says they cannot do

anything about this problem.

(Expert)

Child Marriage in Georgia (Overview)

This research only covered a small region of the

country; these limited findings indicate that early

marriages take place across Georgia, in both urban

and rural areas, but that the characteristics of the

practice, as well as the factors triggering it, vary. For

instance, early marriages arranged by parents seem

to be more widespread among ethnic and religious

minorities, especially in the regions.

First and foremost, both in the capital and in the

regions covered, this research found that early

marriage is associated with poverty and low social

status. Early marriage for daughters is a desirable

solution for families in economic hardship. In

addition, tensions and difficulties at home may

mean that girls see early marriage as a way out of a

precarious situation.

Secondly, this research found that in some regions, early

marriages outside of Tbilisi are justified by unwritten

traditions and norms, which support the practice.

According to community members participating

in this study, these traditions are actually relatively

new, and can be traced back to the dissolution of the

Soviet Union and the unemployment and social and

economic instability that accompanied it. Experts

interviewed also observed that there was a rise in

the number of early marriages in the 1990s after the

break-up of the Soviet Union, when unemployment

and socioeconomic hardships became common in the

country.

In the 1990s, early marriage across the country was

linked with bride kidnapping. Respondents stated

that in order to prevent their daughters from being

kidnapped, parents would marry them early to a

suitable groom. Bride kidnapping was also linked

to school dropout, as parents would remove their

daughters from school to protect them from the threat

of kidnapping. In the years since bride kidnapping

became regulated by criminal law, cases of abduction

have decreased tremendously and now rarely occur.

Experts interviewed for this study cited other reasons

for child marriage, including lack of integration

of some ethnic and religious minorities into the

wider society. Many girls and young women from

these communities don’t speak Georgian adequately,

which makes their isolation more profound and does

not provide them with many options in terms of a

career. This reinforces gender roles and triggers early

marriage as the only alternative and ‘unavoidable

destiny’ for girls.

Experts also noted that this problem has another

dimension with regard to ethnic and religious

minorities, when the state does not want to

interfere in matters of local customs, in the name of

‘respecting their traditions’.

The marriage is actually a big

responsibility and ‘burden’, which is very

difficult to carry. At that time I did not realise

this. Actually, I did not know at all what’s

happening with me. Now I also link this with

the tense environment in my family of origin.

I think I ran away from their problems. I

closed myself off in my new family and did not

want even to go out.

(Child spouse)

I think the Ministry of Education

must intervene in this issue. Education is

needed, and awareness must be raised. This

should not be aggressive but entertaining

and interesting for the local population.

There is no other way. I asked what the

girls liked and what hobbies they had. It

was very difficult to get answers from them.

They don’t know because they just watch

TV shows at night and don’t visit friends.

There are no events to go to. Above all,

they don’t speak Georgian, and there is no

interaction with the state. … They don’t

feel that they are your co-citizens. They are

a very isolated and closed community.

(Expert)

The law may change something in this

situation. For instance, when I asked, ‘Why

don’t you want your children to marry at an

early age?’ they replied that nowadays they are

not afraid that their girls will be kidnapped.

… Kidnapping is a punishable illegal action

regulated by the criminal code. If someone

wants to kidnap a bride, now he knows he

will be punished by the law. … Because they

were afraid of the law, the practice of bride

kidnapping has almost stopped.

(Expert)

United Nations Population Fund

At the trainings and discussions I

attended, the police and concerned authorities

stated that the issue is very sensitive and

complex when it comes to the important

traditions of ethnic minorities. That’s why early

marriage is a very sensitive issue.

(Expert)

Early marriage [disrupted] my

personal development. I was a very good

student at school, but after the marriage I

could not attend school. After a few years

I enrolled in college, but after graduation

my husband did not allow me to work.

We had no financial need. It made me

very dependent on my husband; I was very

vulnerable.

(Child spouse, Tbilisi)

I was 16 years old when I got married. I

did not agree, but my parents wanted me to get

married. I did not love him and I did not think

about marriage. I thought that the marriage

was the end of my life. I wanted to study, but

I could not study because of my parents. They

thought I should marry and there is no necessity

for me to study.

(Child spouse, member

of an ethnic minority)

Further, the research suggests that in Tbilisi as well

as in the regions, early marriage may be related to

control of women’s sexuality. The findings of the

Reproductive Health Survey 2010 confirmed that

traditional norms are strong and sexual abstinence

before marriage is a common practice.

Accordingly,

tradition implicitly triggers early marriages by leaving

no alternative relationship, other than marriage.

Girls are not always forced to marry: it may be their

‘choice’ resulting from their desire to conform, or

fear of social stigma. Another factor is a lack of

information about sexual and reproductive health,

which leads to a higher probability of girls becoming

pregnant, which in turn is one of the reasons for

early marriage. According to the respondents in this

study, pregnant adolescents are more likely to marry

to ‘legitimise’ their pregnancies and avoid social

disapproval. In 2012, babies born to adolescent

mothers aged 15-19 accounted for approximately

10 per cent of all births in Georgia.

The findings of the Reproductive Health Survey

Georgia suggest that women who married before 18

were most likely to have not completed secondary or

higher education.

All the child spouses interviewed

for this study expressed regret that they married

before the age of 18. They felt special remorse over

their inability to continue their studies, and that

marrying early had reduced their educational and

career prospect.

Child spouses interviewed for this study lived

with their parents-in-law at the beginning of their

marriage. Some experienced a great deal of stress

and pressure from the mother-in-law, and after some

time managed to ‘escape’ and live separately with

their husbands. The only advantage child spouses

highlighted in regard to early marriage was their

children. For some respondents, it was only their

children who gave meaning to their lives.

Responses to child marriage

Experts interviewed for this study stated that so

far, the state, in general, has not recognised early

marriage as an issue and has not taken prompt

actions to eliminate this practice. In addition, the

issue is not considered a priority by women’s and

children’s rights NGOs in the country, and there

have been no targeted responses.

Reaching out to young people. Informal education

has been used to improve access to reliable

information on reproductive health and rights

issues among young people in Georgia. UNFPA is

a leader in piloting and disseminating a youth peer

education concept in the country, creating a highly

effective and sustainable model that is being widely

utilised to bring information and education messages

to young people. Aspects of the programme include

youth forums, active participation of media, youth

information-education sessions at summer camps,

a wide range of educational materials, and other

initiatives. Young people have been the special target

group for awareness-raising activities. More than 600

peer educators have been trained on gender equality,

HIV/AIDS, and reproductive health and rights.

More than 55,000 young people, including those

from vulnerable groups, such as IDPs and minorities,

have been reached since 2006. However, integration

of these issues into the formal education system is

essential to ensure sustainable changes in knowledge,

attitudes, and behaviour among young people.

Child Marriage in Georgia (Overview)

Key points

According to the Civil Code, the minimum age for

marriage is 18 years, but marriages can take place

from age 16 with parental consent or in special

circumstances. This makes the law practically

ineffective.

Despite the fact that legislation stipulates what

should be done in the event of marriage under the

age of 16, these laws are not properly applied.

Reproductive health and rights education is not part

of the school curriculum. As a result adolescents

lack appropriate information on this subject. Due

to this lack of knowledge of reproductive health

issues and the social expectations pressuring girls to

become pregnant immediately after marriage, child

marriages result in early motherhood in Georgia.

Early marriage is a nationwide social problem,

but the reasons that trigger child marriage are not

homogenous and vary according to religious, ethnic,

and regional factors. Traditions and patriarchal values

intersecting with poverty and lack of education are

the main trigger behind child marriage in regions

populated by ethnic and religious minorities.

Neither the state nor the public recognises child

marriage as a problem. As a result, child marriage is

not well researched.

Child marriage is not a priority for child rights defence

organisations or women’s rights organisations. It is

only indirectly addressed by women’s NGOs and

as a side-product of other issues, namely domestic

violence.

Child marriage is one of the main reasons leading

girls to curtail their education. After getting married

or engaged (in the case of some ethnic minorities in

some parts of the country), girls drop out of school.

Quotes

If there were a law prohibiting marriage before the age

of 18, people would obey the law. There would be only

a few exceptions. (Expert)

National legislation is in accordance with international

legislation. The only problem is that of implementation.

The parental care regulatory authority is not active

enough. (Legal expert)

I think it is very necessary to have reproductive health

education in school. … The abortion rate is so high

because there is a lack of information on this issue.

(Expert)

Of course, the socioeconomic factor is important, but

there [in Kvemo Kartli], this practice has become the

norm, and they don’t see it as abnormal. When we

asked them and mentioned that marriage younger than

age 16 is illegal, they did not understand the meaning.

(Expert)

The society does not consider early marriage as a

problem. However, if you show them the real aspects of

it and explain, then they start seeing it as a problem…

First, we should recognise that it’s a problem and then

we can think about a solution. (Expert)

… [The Centre for Children and Women’s Rights

at the Office of the Public Defender of Georgia] and

UNFPA are the only ones working on this issue. It’s

being missed everywhere. (Expert)

In 12th grade there are 25 boys and only five or six girls.

In the 1st grade the number of boys and girls is equal,

but after 9th grade girls drop out of school, because

of their family or other life circumstances. (Teacher,

member of an ethnic minority)

United Nations Population Fund

Data overview

Total population (2012): 4,497,600

Life expectancy at birth as of 2011: 70.2 (males); 78.6 (females)

Population under age 15 (2012): 17.6%

Unemployment rate (2009): 16.9%

Youth literacy rate: 100% (both males and females)

Health expenditure per capita per year (2009): US $564

Main ethnic groups:

Georgians, Abkhazians, Ossetians, Armenians, Russians,

Azerbaijanis, Yezidis, Kists

Main religions: Orthodox Christian (ocial), Islam

Main languages: Georgian (ocial), Russian, Armenian, Azeri

Number of marriages in 2012: 30,412

Average age at rst marriage (2010): 21.9

Age-specic fertility rate for ages 15-19 (2010): 39.0 births per 1,000 women

Total fertility rate for ages 15-49 (2010): 2.0

Child marriage statistics

Table 1. Marriages by bride’s age and groom’s age (2012)

Total number of marriages

Bride’s age (years) Groom’s age (years)

Under 16 16-19 Under 16 16-19

30,412 n/a 4137 (14%) n/a 842 (3%)

Table 2. Live births by mother’s age (2012)

38, 39

Total number of live births

Mother’s age (years)

Under 15 15 16 17 18 Total under 18

57,031 26 (0.05%) 114 425 977 1,602 3,144 (5.5%)

Age-specific data on stillbirths and number of abortions was not available.

Table 3. Percentage of girls aged 15-19 married or in union, by level of education (2005) (data not available for men)

Level of education % women 15-19 years married/in union

Primary 34.0

Secondary – not completed N/A

Secondary or higher 7.1

No education 49.1

N.B. up-to-date statistics are not available.

Table 4. Percentage of women who were first married before the age of 18, by wealth quintile (2005) (data not

available for men)

Wealth quintile % women married before age 18

Lowest 29.1

Second 21.0

Middle 18.3

Fourth 11.3

Highest 12.6

N.B. up-to-date statistics are not available.

Notes and references

1 A child is ‘every human being below the age of 18 years

unless under the law applicable to the child, majority

is attained earlier’. United Nations Convention on

the Rights of the Child (1989), available at: http://

www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm (accessed 29

May 2012).

2 Georgian Civil Code. Article 1108.

3 Georgian Criminal Code. Article 140.

4 Kim, M., Boyle E.H., Longhofer W., and Brehm,

H.N. (2013) ‘When do laws matter? National

minimum-age-of-marriage laws, child rights, and

adolescent fertility, 1989-2007’, Law and Society

Review, 47(3), pp.589-619.

5 The Law on Health Protection. Article 6.

6 The Law on the Rights of the Patient. Article 5.

7 The Law on the Rights of the Patient. Article 41 (2).

8 The Law on the Rights of the Patient, Chapter VIII,

Article 40.

9 The Law on Health Protection. Article 140. Georgian

Criminal Code. Article 133.

10 Georgia Centre for Disease Control (NCDC);

Georgian Ministry of Labour, Health, and Social

Affairs (MOLHSA); Division of Reproductive

Health-Centres for Disease Control and Prevention

(CDC) (2012), Reproductive Health Survey Georgia

2010: Final Report, Tbilisi: UNFPA, UNICEF,

USAID, p.52.

11 Ibid.

12 Ibid.

13 Ibid., p.150.

14 Ibid.

15 Ibid., p.257

16 United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) (2012)

Marrying Too Young, New York: UNFPA.

17 Institute of Social Studies and Analysis (2013)

Revealing the Needs and Priorities of Ethnic Minority

Women in Kvemo Kartli, Tbilisi: UN Women.

18 Public Defender of Georgia (2012) Annual Report,

Tbilisi: Public Defender of Georgia.

19 Ibid., p.710.

20 Georgian Code of Administrative Offences. Article

172.

21 NCDC, MOLHSA, and CDC (2012), op. cit.

22 GEOSTAT (2012) Fertility rates according to

age group for the year 2012, http://www.geostat.

ge/?action=page&p_id=1090&lang=geo (accessed 20

November 2013).

Child Marriage in Georgia (Overview)

23 NCDC, MOLHSA, and CDC (2012), op. cit.

24 GEOSTAT (2012) Demography, available at: http://

www.geostat.ge/?action=page&p_id=151&lang=geo

(accessed 20 November 2013).

25 United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

(2011) Countries in Figures, Georgia. Available

at: http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/stats/

profiles2011/Georgia.pdf (accessed 20 November

2013).

26 World Health Organization (WHO) (n.d.) European

Region: Georgia Statistics Summary. http://apps.

who.int/gho/data/view.country.9100 (accessed 20

November 2013).

27 United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

(2011), op. cit.

28 UNICEF (n.d.) Georgia: Statistics (2007-2011),

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/georgia_

statistics.html (accessed 29 November 2013).

29 World Health Organization (WHO) (2013) Georgia:

Statistics, http://www.who.int/countries/geo/en/

(accessed 29 November 2013).

30 State Statistical Office of Georgia (2002), available

at: http://www.geostat.ge/cms/site_images/_

files/english/census/2002/03%20Ethnic%20

Composition.pdf (accessed 20 November 2013).

31 Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (2013) CIA World

Factbook: Georgia, https://www.cia.gov/library/

publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gg.html

(accessed 29 November 2013).

32 Ibid.

33 GEOSTAT (2012), Marriage Statistics, available

at: http://www.geostat.ge/?action=page&p_

id=166&lang=geo (accessed 20 November 2013).

34 NCDC, MOLHSA, and CDC (2012), op. cit.

35 Ibid., p.52.

36 Ibid., p.52.

37 GEOSTAT 2012, letter N 11-06/2335, 29 October

2013.

38 GEOSTAT 2012, Fertility rates according to

age group for the year 2012, http://www.geostat.

ge/?action=page&p_id=1090&lang=geo (accessed 20

November 2013)

39 GEOSTAT 2012, letter N 11-06/2646, 4 December

2013.

40 UNICEF (2005) Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey

(MICS3), Georgia. available at: http://www.childinfo.

org/mics3_surveys.html (accessed 20 November

2013).

41 Ibid.

Key messages

When a girl delays marriage, everyone benefits. A

girl who marries later is more likely to stay in school,

work, and reinvest her income into her family.

Crucially, a girl who marries later is more empowered

to choose whether, when, and how many children to

have. When investments in girls are made, everyone

benefits: their families, communities, and most

importantly, the girls themselves.

There is a huge cost to inaction on child marriage.

It is time for policy-makers, parliamentarians,

communities, families, and young people to address

this issue head on. Let’s deliver a world where every

pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, and every

young person’s potential is fulfilled. Let girls be girls.

Child marriage violates girls’ rights, denies them of

their childhood, disrupts their education, jeopardises

their health, and limits their opportunities. No

cultural, religious, or economic rationale for child

marriage can possibly justify the damage these

marriages do to young girls and their potential.

A girl should have the right to choose whom she

marries and when. Parents want the best for their

children, and need to support their girls’ choices and

decisions to marry.

UNFPA is working with governments and partners

at all levels of society to deliver comprehensive

programmes addressing the needs of vulnerable and

married girls, and providing access to livelihoods,

social support and health programmes, including

reproductive health. The ultimate aim is to end

child marriage in this generation and to shift cultural

attitudes to protect girls’ rights.

What must be done to

break the silence on child

marriage?

Bring greater attention to the situations faced by

married girls and girls at risk of child marriage, and

advocate strongly for their rights. Child marriage

is not good for girls or development. The world

cannot afford to see the rights, health, and potential

of thousands of girls each day being squandered.

United Nations Population Fund

Promote investments that build up adolescent girls’

capabilities and skills, especially education. Girls’

education, particularly post-primary and secondary,

is the single most important factor associated

with age at marriage. Girls especially need social

support and access to programmes that provide life

skills, literacy, livelihoods, and reproductive health

information and services, such as family planning

and life-saving maternal health services.

Invest in adolescent girls!

Investments should provide platforms for vulnerable

girls to develop life skills and critical health

knowledge, obtain access to social services including

reproductive health and HIV prevention, gain

vocational and employable skills for work, and have

access to friends and mentors.

Married girls need special targeted strategies

that provide access to education, life skills, and

health including SRH and HIV prevention,

and opportunities to participate fully in society.

Maternal health programmes need to be reoriented

with dedicated outreach for the youngest, first-time

mothers, to enable them to use antenatal, essential

and emergency obstetric care, and post-delivery

services.

Acknowledgements and

contacts

This fact sheet was prepared by Maia Barkaia for

UNFPA. She would like to thank the interview

participants for their kind cooperation and the

UNFPA office in Georgia and its Programme

Analyst for their support. She would also like to

thank Joanna Hoare, Team Leader and Editor, and

Nigina Abaszade, Gender Expert with UNFPA

EECARO.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this publication

are those of the authors, and do not necessarily

represent the views of UNFPA, the United Nations

or any of its affiliated organisations.

Contact Details:

UNFPA Georgia: UN House, 9, Eristavi Str., Tbilisi 0179 Georgia.

UNFPA EECARO: Hakki Yeten Caddesi, Selenium Plaza, No:10/C Kat 18-19, 34349 Besiktas, Istanbul, Turkey; [email protected]

June 2014, Version 1

Delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.