Currently, in England and Wales, 16- and 17- years olds can marry with parental consent.
Campaigners are advocating for the legal age of marriage to be raised to 18. Many are concerned that currently the onus is on the child to protest again the marriage. Others are worried that raising the legal age to 18 years old may drive the issue underground rather than tackle problems of potential coercion head-on.
The government is supporting a Bill that could see the legal age of marriage raised to 18 years.
For more information, see Spratt Endicott’s Article.
...change could happen today as the government is supporting a bill that would raise the minimum age of marriage from 16 to 18...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-59312660
