On July 23, Spain has raised the minimum age for marriage from 14 to 16.
當地時間7月23日，西班牙將最低婚齡從14歲提升至16歲。

The legislation follows continued pressure from child protection groups and United Nations experts, who asked the country to address the matter in 2010.
迫于兒童保護機構和聯合國專家方面持續不斷的壓力，西班牙終于修改了立法。早在2010年，他們就要求西班牙解決這個問題。

It brings Spanish law in line with most other members of the European Union and comes after the country raised the minimum age for consent for sexual relations from 13 to 16.
這使得西班牙法律與大多數歐盟成員國保持一致，此前西班牙已將性行為法定最低年齡從13歲提升至16歲。

Officials from Unicef and Save the Children encouraged the move in the hope it would boost protection for the country's teenagers.
來自聯合國兒童基金會和救助兒童會的官員支持此舉動，他們希望此舉可以加強對西班牙青少年的保護。

Ana Sastre, speaking on behalf of Save the Children from Spain, previously said: 'Fundamentally it's a measure of protection to avert possible forced marriages, sexual exploitation or offenses against children, especially girls.'
安娜?薩斯特雷曾代表西班牙救助兒童會表示：“從根本上來講，這是一種保護措施，可以防止任何逼婚、性虐待，以及針對兒童、特別是女童的犯罪。”

National statistics show only a handful of 14-year-olds, who needed permission from a judge to complete the ceremony, have got married in Spain in the last decade.
國家統計數據顯示，在過去十年里，西班牙只有一小部分14歲青少年結婚，他們需要經過法官的同意來才能完成結婚儀式。

In the 1990s, however, there were 2,678 marriages involving at least one under-16 - and 12,867 in the 1980s.
然而，在20世紀90年代，2678例婚姻中至少有一方不足16歲，而80年代的相應數據是12867例。

One study by the Statistical Institute of Catalonia showed that, in 2013, men in the region married at an average age of 33.6 years, compared to 32.6 years for women. Ten years earlier, men married at an average age of 30.7 years and women at 28.7 years.
加泰羅尼亞統計研究所的一項研究表明，2013年，在西班牙加泰羅尼亞，男性平均婚齡為33.6歲，女性為32.6歲。十年前，男性平均婚齡為30.7歲，女性為28.7歲。

英文來源：每日郵報
譯者：實習生馮佳佳
審校&編輯：許晶晶