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Child marriage and other harmful practices

in Greece

Between 2000 and 2021, 37,058 marriages involving at least one person below the age of 19 took place. Of those, 835 marriages involved at least one person below 15.
25 per cent - 42 per cent of girls originating from countries where female genital mutilation is practiced continue to be at risk after their arrival in Greece (2017-2018).
Out of 358 referred survivors of human trafficking, 68 were children, 34 of whom were unaccompanied including 11 child victims of forced marriage.
There is no official data on the number of homeless children in Greece. A pilot study across seven municipalities in 2018 (coordinated by the MoLSA), found 1,645 homeless people of whom 954 in a temporary shelter and 691 living on the street. Of those, one in every four (24.2 per cent) was below 29 years old.

Gender

Sub-national

Enabling Environment

Legislation, policy, resources, coordination, data

Under the Civil Code (art. 1350), marriage of children under 18 years old can be allowed following a court decision on the basis of a ‘’significant reason’’.
Lack of qualitative data on child marriages related to nationality and ethnicity of the child involved, the type of marriage, and the reasons that were considered as acceptable by the judge.

16. While noting that children regardless of their age can marry after a court approval as an exception under the Civil Code or under the jurisdiction of the Mufti, the Committee urges the State party to remove all exceptions in the law that allow marriage for children under 18.
28(b) Strengthen its efforts to prevent female genital mutilation in relation to migrant girls.

Make available sustainable State funding for targeted prevention programmes on child marriage addressing particularly the most vulnerable populations.
Review the legal framework that regulates exceptions for child marriage.

Adequately staffed services, facilities, information, commodities

Serious lack of social welfare professionals at regional and municipal level to proactively reach out to vulnerable communities and inform about the risks of child marriage, the violation of child’s rights that a child marriage entails, as well as to follow up and support children who are married and may be at an even greater risk of social exclusion, violence, and poverty.

28(c) Ensure that no child, including intersex children, is subjected to unnecessary medical or surgical treatment during childhood, and provide social, medical and psychological services, as well as adequate counselling, support and reparations, to intersex children and their families.

Provide further training to law enforcement, social welfare, and other front-line professionals working on trafficking, on the identification of child survivors, provision of emergency support, and long-term case management.

Financial access and social behavioural drivers

Child marriage is perceived as acceptable among certain communities.
Prevalent social belief that child marriage is not an issue in the country.
The majority of early marriages within Roma communities remain unregistered, leading to lack of qualitative and quantitative data informing comprehensive understanding of the situation and effective policy making.

28(a) Raise awareness about the harmful effects of child marriage on the physical and mental health and well-being of girls, targeting in particular the Roma community and the Muslim minority in Thrace, encourage the reporting of child marriage and establish protection schemes for victims.

Conduct comprehensive research to understand the prevalence, trends, and factors contributing to early marriages.
Review existing legal framework and policies related to child marriage, child protection, and gender equality.
Launch awareness-raising campaign on the prevalence of child marriage.
Work closely with the Roma community, through community centres, leaders and advocates, to raise awareness of the fact that early marriages are against children's rights and have severe consequences in the development of their children.