Legalization of consensual unions in Latin America

Abstract

In Latin America conjugal unions take two forms, legal marriages and consensual unions. The distinction between these two types of unions is complicated by the fact that cohabiting couples often legalize their relationship through civil or religious marriage. This analysis examines legalization in rural areas of Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Costa Rica based on data from the PECFAL rural survey (1969). The results indicate that legalization is frequent in rural Latin America, especially among women who enter consensual unions after age 17 and who have some education. Surprisingly, there is little increase in the frequency of legalization for church‐attending Catholics or for women who have a pregnancy or birth within a consensual union. Consensual unions appear to serve a useful function as trial marriages since legalized unions are less likely to end in separation than are legal marriages without premarital cohabitation.