1. Attention teachers and students:
Secondary 15
Attention teachers and students:
If you have some more time, why not use the 45 minute lesson to cover this topic?! It explores:
Why do people get married?
Is there such a thing as the right age?
What does the law say about child marriage?
Does the law protect you?

2. Feedback: “Have you ever read the ‘terms and conditions’?”
Print me for display
“I think we should get rid of it because no one reads it anyways.”
Folkestone Academy
“They are important so you know what you’re signing up to.”
Bridgewater High School
“The terms and conditions are usually about 20 pages long and in tiny writing so no one really reads them.”
Uckfield Community Technical College
“We SHOULD read the terms and conditions because if we don’t read them, then we could be putting ourselves in danger.”
St Wilfrid’s Church of England Academy
“It’s great to see children talking about how much they know about the apps they are signing up to when they agree to terms and conditions - and many of them admitting that they don’t read them at all. Often young people are shocked to learn just how much information is collected about them and it is so important that they are able to make informed choices about the data they are giving away. Discussions like this really help them to understand more about these important issues.”
Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England
©VotesForSchools2019

3. Starter: What is the ‘right’ age?1
Starter: What is the ‘right’ age?
Think (2 mins)
Think for a minute about what age in your lifetime you personally expect to do the following things:
Important note:
These are just ideas. You don’t have to do any of the things below.
Move into your own house / flat
Start a family of your own
Go on holiday alone with friends
Share (1 min)
Share where (if at all) you put marriage. Why did you choose here?
Get married
Buy a pet
Images:
1- iStock
Have your first full time job
Retire from work 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
100
My lifetime (in years old)
©VotesForSchools2019

4. Should the UK increase the age of marriage to 18?
Students:
If you are worried about anything covered in today’s lesson, please speak to your teacher or a trusted adult.
Images:
iStock
This week, we are working alongside Unicef UK to gather your thoughts on what age people should be able to marry.
©VotesForSchools2019

5. Countries with highest rates of child marriage:2
Why are we talking about this?
Child marriage happens all over the world, across countries, cultures and religions, to both boys and girls.
The legal age for marriage is different across the world.
See some examples in yellow.
China3 –
22 years old
Discuss (2 mins)
What do you think the legal age for marriage is in the UK?
Sudan4 –
10 years old
Countries with highest rates of child marriage:
Colombia2 – 12 years old
Images: 1-
2- Pixabay
3- iStock 4- 5-
References:
Girls Not Brides
Girls not Brides: At the time of writing, girls older than 12 years can enter into marriage when approval of their legal representatives is provided.
Girls Not Brides: At the time of writing, under the Marriage Law 2001 the minimum age of marriage is 22 years for men and 20 years for women.
Girls Not Brides: At the time of writing, there is no legislation in Sudan to prohibit child marriage. The 2010 Child Act, for example, does not mention marriage in this context. Article 40 of the Muslim Personal Law 1991 cites that once a party is 10 years old, they may be married with the consent of their parent or guardian.
Child marriage is widely seen
as harmful2.
It limits children’s potential in many ways. Countries all over the world, including the UK, have committed to ending it by
Child marriage:
Any formal marriage or informal union where one or both of the people are under 18.
©VotesForSchools2019

6. Forced marriage is illegal1:3
The UK’s laws on marriage
Click for answers.
Investigation (5 mins)
Learn about the legal age for marriage in the UK by reading the purple boxes below. Then in groups, decide whether the grey scenarios are legal or illegal.
Shannon, 16, lives in Scotland. She marries her boyfriend, Jon, 17, against her parents’ wishes.
LEGAL
Abdul, 19, is being forced by his father to marry a girl his age he has only met once.
ILLEGAL
Riya, 17, has been told by her parents she will be married in India over the summer.
ILLEGAL
Forced marriage is illegal1:
Forcing someone to marry against their will is illegal in the UK and people can face seven years in prison for this.
In Scotland, the legal age for marriage is 162. Parental consent is not needed.
In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland2, the legal age for marriage is 18 but 16 and 17-year olds can get married with parental consent.
Images: 1- 2- 3-
References:
1- Government Website:
2- Girls not Brides
3- Forced Marriage Unit
In 2017, 1,200 possible forced marriage cases were flagged in the UK3, 355 involving children under 18 and 186 of these involving children younger than 15.
©VotesForSchools2019

7. Pair discussion (2 mins)4
Should the age be raised?
Community
Government (laws)
Parents
Friends / family
0:00-
1:05
Pair discussion (2 mins)
Click to hear the story of a 15-year old Meera from the UK. Using the diagram to help, talk about who or what has failed to protect her.
Alternative video links: 1)
Meera
Child marriage:
Any formal marriage or informal union where one or both of the people are under 18.
©VotesForSchools2019

8. Final reflection (3 mins) The proposed change in law:4
Should the age be raised?
Does our current law protect children?
Final reflection (3 mins)
Before you cast your vote, consider one of the questions in purple. Your teacher will ask a couple of you to share your thoughts.
When does a child become an adult?
Whose choice should a marriage be?
Child marriage:
Any formal marriage or informal union where one or both of the people are under 18.
Images:
1) iStock
The current law:
With parental consent, a 16 or 17-year old can marry. In Scotland, a 16-year old can marry without parental consent.
The proposed change in law:
Marriage will only be legal from the age of 18, and there will be no exceptions.
©VotesForSchools2019

9. Career Launchpad! Video (5 mins) Click to watch a video.
Learn more: The impact of child marriage
Around the world, 23 girls a minute1 are married before the age of 18. Their personal development and wellbeing are put at risk as a result. They often feel disempowered and may not be physically or emotionally ready to be married. Watch the video to hear from Fatimetou, a young girl from Mauritania who was forced to marry by her parents when she was just 13 years old.
0:00-2:48
Warning:
This video may be upsetting for some students.
Career spotlight: Website Moderator
Career website
Requirements:
Languages are very helpful as they help you to monitor international websites.
A passion for helping people is vital!
A degree in computer science, social media, online marketing or business can help.
Summary:
Nearly all online forums need someone to look out for nasty comments, worrying signs or even illegal activity. It’s a bit like being an internet policeman – you spend your time dealing with flagged posts to make sure everyone is safe.
Responsibilities:
Help improve safety of the world wide web.
Check out flagged comments or images to see if they are against the website’s rules.
Flag inappropriate content and report illegal activity.
Alternative video link:
(Teacher’s note: Please start the video at 0:22, and end at 3:10).
Images:
1- Screenshot, Youtube
References: 1-
©VotesForSchools2019

10. Should the UK increase the age of marriage to 18?NO
YES
I think 16 and 17-year olds are emotionally mature enough to make big decisions, like getting married.
Many forced marriages in the UK happen to people over Changing the law would not prevent all forced marriage.
I think the fact that 16 and 17-year olds can get married only with their parents’ permission already protects children enough.
Child marriage is a real issue in the UK. In 2016, the UK’s Forced Marriage Unit gave advice to 1,428 young people. 26%1 of these cases involved under-18s. 
A 16 or 17-year old is not yet an adult. They are not emotionally mature enough to get married.
Allowing children of 16 and 17 to get married with parental consent opens the door for forced marriage, or at least pressure to get married.
References:
1) Forced Marriage Unit Statistics, The UK’s Forced Marriage Unit found that the largest proportion of forced marriage were year old victims (35% of total).
©VotesForSchools2019

11. Vote Now on… www.votesforschools.com