Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell has defended the decision to amend the 1966 Marriage Act saying it is to ensure that vulnerable children are not married off at the consent of their parents and at the same time broaden protection to citizens under the age of 18.
‘This amendment to the Marriage Act is part of a broader series of legislation, that not only this administration but the prior administration as well, via the Spotlight Initiative sought to embark upon to modernise and to get protection to our children,’ he told Parliament.
Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell
The amendment was later approved by Parliament.
Prime Minister Mitchell, who is an attorney, said that there is another bill which is not yet before the Parliament which created all kind of ‘whobalawho’ in the public and all kind of noise, but its main aim is the protection of children.
He was referring to the amendment to the Age of Civil Responsibility Bill which will allow for minors as young as 12 years old to receive sexual and reproductive healthcare and treatment without the consent of their parents.
Several civil society groups have raised objection to this amendment and the Bill is yet to be laid in the House for debate and approval.
In Grenada, a child is defined as a person between the ages of one day and 18 years.
Mitchell told legislators that the amendment to the ‘Age of Civil Responsibility’ Bill is merely intended to give children access to sexual and reproductive healthcare.
‘I have not heard the same set of people making all this noise talk about the existing laws on our books which permits our children to be married off and to engage in sex, the same sex they seem to think that by allowing them to have access to reproductive health care that they will engage in.
‘So, I want us to understand, that we have to resist the temptation for sensation and for all kinds of random woke conspiracy theories when it comes to how this administration seek to protect our children,’ said the Prime Minister, saying that his government has sought as much as possible to make sure that it can align with almost all government policy and legislation with a minimum threshold of 18 years.
He said 18 years is the age when people are allowed to drive, are allowed to get their identification card, register to vote and are allowed a National Insurance Service (NIS) card.
‘So, we are seeking to get consistency. There may be opportunities when exceptions are required as in the case of access to health care,’ he told legislators.
‘Should the law remain the way it is, it creates an opportunity for Grenada to be used as a place where children, first you can marry children, second a place where nefarious actors can take advantage of our children, especially those parents who are vulnerable financially and pay them to marry off young boys and girls in Grenada who at 16 will be barely living high school,’ he said.
The 1966 Marriage Act provided for people as young as 16 years to be married with the consent of their parents or guardian. The 2025 amendment put the marriage age at 18 which is the same age of civil responsibility according to the 2011 Age of Civil Responsibility Act which was approved in Parliament during the Tillman Thomas Administration.