Projection of Article 1 of the bill amending Law No. 603 of the Family and Family Procedure Code.
The amendment to the Family Code was promoted by Senator Virginia Velasco, with the technical support of Ipas Bolivia and the Human Rights Community, and the articulation of civil organizations that fight for children’s rights.
General view of the Senate Chamber during the session held on April 23, 2025, the day the law was approved.
This Wednesday, the Bolivian Senate approved the Bill that modifies Law No. 603, “Code of Families and Family Process”, eliminating the legal exceptions that allowed marriage from the age of 16 with judicial or parental authorization. This advance represents a historic victory for the protection of girls and adolescents against Child, Early and Forced Marriages and Unions (MUITFs), and marks a profound change towards guaranteeing a childhood free of violence.
Senator Virginia Velasco Condori, representative of the department of La Paz and promoter of the bill, during her speech before the plenary.
“We have to prevent that. We cannot allow our girls to suffer violence, psychological violence, feminicidal violence. […] Between 2014 and 2024, 6,001 MUITFs were registered, cases in which dreams have been broken,” Senator Velasco stated in her speech.
The new regulation proposes to modify the Code of Families and Family Process, eliminating any exception that allows marriage before the age of 18. Its approval constitutes a significant advance in the fulfillment of the commitments assumed by the Bolivian State before international instances.
The partner organizations recalled that MUIFTs is closely related to school dropout, unwanted teenage pregnancy and multiple forms of gender-based violence. In this context, this legislative change seeks to protect the right of girls and adolescents to live a childhood free, safe and with opportunities.
Legislators review the UCIEM information pamphlet prepared by Ipas Bolivia as part of its advocacy efforts to pass the law.
“When a girl marries, she loses her childhood. This law is a clear message: girls are not wives or concubines,” said Malena Morales, country director of Ipas Bolivia. Ipas Bolivia has accompanied this process as part of the campaign. “Neither wives, nor concubines. Girls are girls “This has mobilized voices from communities, educational centers, social networks and the media, making visible the urgency of eliminating child marriage as a form of violence and the lives of girls.
General view of Senators voting in the Senate Chamber during the session held on April 23, 2025, the day the law was approved.
Next step:
After its approval in the Senate, the bill will be sent to the Chamber of Deputies. Ipas Bolivia trusts that this body will also recognize the urgency of this norm in order to move towards a more just and equitable country.
No wives, no concubines. Girls are girls!