The Human Rights Commission of the Chamber of Deputies received this June 11, 2025 the draft bill that seeks to eliminate all legal exceptions that allow marriage with minors.
This Wednesday, June 11, 2025, a key session of the Human Rights Commission of the Chamber of Deputies of the Plurinational State of Bolivia was held, where the draft bill that explicitly prohibits marriage and unions with children and adolescents, without exception, was socialized.
During her speech, Ipas Bolivia Director Malena Morales remarked that Child, Early and Forced Marriages and Unions (MUITF) constitute a serious form of violence and a systematic violation of human rights that mainly affects girls in situations of poverty, abandonment or domestic violence.
“Every day that passes without this law, more girls see their future cut short. We cannot continue to allow practices that perpetuate cycles of exclusion, violence and inequality to be normalized,” Morales told the legislators present.
The session was also attended by Senator Virginia Velasco, promoter of the legislative initiative, and by Mónica Bayá, technical secretary of the Human Rights Community, who supported the need to eliminate the legal ambiguities that allow exceptions to child marriage in the country.
The bill has already been approved in the Senate. Its presentation in the Chamber of Deputies represents a decisive step for its final approval. According to the organizations supporting the bill, more than 80 letters of support have been submitted by institutions and individuals committed to children’s rights.
“This is a collective effort to ensure that no girl is forced to marry or cohabit at an early age. We are knocking on every door with respect and hope,” said Senator Velasco.
The bill is part of a legislative agenda that seeks to eradicate harmful practices that affect the integral development of Bolivian girls and adolescents, promoting a childhood free of impositions and with full access to their rights.
