Romantic relationship in Equatorial Guinea

There are no reliable nationwide rules, standard costs or fixed deadlines for dating and starting a relationship in Equatorial Guinea. Courtship is mainly informal, while family and community expectations can influence whether a couple forms a union. Common local terms include pareja, unión, matrimonio civil and matrimonio consuetudinario. Civil and customary marriage do not necessarily have the same legal or practical effects, especially for separation, property and inheritance. Those detailed consequences belong to civil and family law rather than to the relationship itself. Sexual consent is legally set at 18 years. The legal marriage age is reported as 18, with judicial exceptions from age 14 under the described civil-law framework. Early unions remain a significant concern: 34% of women aged 20 to 24 were reported to have entered a union before 18, based on DHS data from 2011. Early pregnancy also affects relationships and family expectations; 43% of girls aged 15 to 19 had begun their reproductive lives and 37% were mothers in the cited data. In some Fang contexts, early pregnancy may be interpreted as a sign of fertility or readiness for marriage, while children born outside marriage may still be accepted within family or community structures. Domestic and intimate-partner violence is illegal, but reported enforcement is weak. The cited DHS and UNFPA figures indicate intimate-partner violence affecting 63% of women aged 15 to 49 and spouse violence affecting 65% of married women; the 2011 survey also found that 53% of women and 52% of men justified violence in at least some circumstances. Rape carries 12 to 20 years of imprisonment and a fine. Spousal rape is not expressly regulated in the cited framework, so a relationship or marriage should not be treated as automatic consent. The National Reproductive Health Program, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, health centres and hospitals provide the main formal routes for information and care concerning contraception, pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections and HIV. Modern contraceptive use was 9.6% in the cited DHS data, and unmet family-planning need was 34% among women aged 15 to 49 in union and 37.2% among young people. In 2018, family-planning services were reported at 23 of 47 functional health centres and 6 of 18 public hospitals. Distance, transport, cost and local availability can limit access, particularly in rural areas, and emergency contraception was not regularly available according to the cited 2023 report. Youth information is also offered through programmes and places such as the Malabo Youth Center. A 2023 study in Malabo and Bata found that 95% of participants knew about HIV transmission and 93% knew about prevention, while conversations about sexually transmitted infections remained taboo for 6%. Consensual same-sex sexual relationships between adults are not expressly prohibited by law, but same-sex couples and families have no legal recognition. Explicit anti-discrimination protection is limited outside employment, public discussion may discourage LGBTQI visibility, and harassment or violence can occur. Separate military rules may apply to people serving in the armed forces. Online conduct can create additional risks during or after a relationship. Law No. 7/2024 covers harassment, humiliation and psychological harm through information and communication technologies. The stated penalties are two to four years of imprisonment and a fine of 2,000,000 to 25,000,000 CFA francs, rising to four to six years and 5,000,000 to 50,000,000 CFA francs when the affected person is a child, adolescent or person with a disability. Complaints can be directed through the responsible telecommunications ministry or ANCIC, with possible criminal referral. The practical effectiveness and application deadlines of this process have not been measured in the available research. Dating and separation themselves generally follow informal pathways. A civil or customary union can create different consequences for separation, property and inheritance, so those questions require a separate legal assessment. Equatorial Guinea signed the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls on 12 February 2026, but signature alone does not establish ratification or additional domestic protection. The available national evidence is uneven and often comes from DHS 2011 or programme research from 2023; it should therefore be read with its date and scope in mind.