Child marriage in Sierra Leone

UNICEF's Early Marriage: A Harmful Traditional Practice report characterizes child marriage as a harmful institution that often exposes young women in developing nations to damaging domestic, health, and sexual conditions. The report also highlights the practice as a human rights violation. In World Vision's "Before She's Ready: 15 Places Girls Marry by 15", the organization highlights the socioeconomic consequences of child marriage on girls, noting that many girls are forced to stop their schooling as a result of their marriages. With the denial of education, girl brides are often not able to make income as adults or become politically active citizens.

Sierra Leone's major child marriage legislation is the 2007 Child Rights Act, which states that the minimum age of betrothal/marriage is eighteen years old. The act also commits the country to the elimination of the forced marriage of girls. It rejects the customary practices of betrothal and marriage for minors, and orders that such practices may not be forced upon minors.

According to Sierra Leonean customary law, a marriage is not considered a valid customary marriage unless both parties are at least 18 years old, with the Customary Marriage and Divorce Act dictating this in 2007. However, in the case that a minor's parents are able to give consent to the union, a legal marriage is able to take place. If the consent of the parents is not able to be achieved, "a Magistrate or Local Government Chief Administrator of the locality in which the marriage is to take place" is able to provide their consent to verify the marriage. In accordance with customary tradition, child marriages are often the result of unions arranged by the parents of the young bride.

As stated by UNICEF's The State of the World's Children 2013 report, 18% of Sierra Leonean women are married by the age of 15, while 44% of them are married by the age of 18. As of 2017, Sierra Leone was ranked by UNICEF as the 19th nation for the highest rates of child marriage.