Child Marriage Is Still Legal In Forty-Four U.S. States, And This Nonprofit Organization Has Taken The Fight Into Their Own Hands
Did you know that child marriage is still legal in forty-four states? Between 2000 and 2018, nearly three hundred thousand children under the age of eighteen– primarily girls– were legally married in the United States.
Unchained At Last, a survivor-led nonprofit organization, is working to end these premature partnerships and their detrimental consequences.
The U.S. Department of State– responsible for foreign policy and international relations– has called child marriage “human rights abuse.”
Their 2016 Global Strategy To Empower Adolescent Girls report acknowledged that this inhumane practice “produces devastating repercussions for a girl’s life, effectively ending her childhood.” Yet, child marriage is still happening here at home.
Unchained At Last conducted a nationwide study between 2000 and 2018, and the results were recently published in their 2021 report entitled United States’ Child Marriage Problem. There, the statistics speak for themselves.
The study found that Texas had the highest rate of child marriages throughout the eighteen-year period, totaling over forty-one thousand.
California, Nevada, and Florida followed suit. On the opposing end, the District of Columbia officiated the lowest number of child marriages with a total of seventy-seven.
According to the organization, most of these marriages included girls aged sixteen or seventeen. Still, some children as young as ten years old were wed. In addition, the average age difference between the children and their spouses was four years.
Unchained At Last outlined three key reasons why child marriage is especially dangerous for minors:
Tetiana Soares – stock.adobe.com
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“Children can easily be forced into marriage since minors have limited legal rights with which to escape an unwanted marriage. Typically, they are not even allowed to file for divorce.”
If a child runs away from home, most states consider that child a runaway, and, if found, police are required to return them home.
Still, even if a child does escape without a trace, most domestic violence shelters cannot accept victims under the age of eighteen. Moreover, child-protective services are powerless if the marriage is legal under state law.
In addition, children are unable to handle their own legal needs. According to Unchained At Last, “Children in the U.S. are typically not allowed to initiate a legal proceeding in their own name. This means, in many states, children can be entered into marriages, typically by a parent or guardian, with little or no say from them.”
Afterward, the children are not legally allowed to file for divorce or annulment– leaving them virtually powerless.
“It is a human rights abuse that produces lifelong repercussions for American girls– destroying their health, education, economic opportunities, and quality of life.”
Girls forced into child marriage are fifty percent more likely to drop out of high school and four times less likely to obtain a college degree. Due to this educational inequity, women who marry young are thirty-one percent more likely to live in poverty.
This economic disparity is only amplified once offspring enter the picture. According to the organization, “Women in the U.S. who marry as teenagers are three times more likely to have at least five children than are women who married as adults.” Having children is no cheap undertaking and only adds to the economic strain.
All of these consequential stressors, combined with the often traumatizing experience of the marriage itself, lead to increased health risks.
The report found that “women in the U.S. who married at eighteen or younger face a twenty-three percent greater risk of serious health conditions– including heart attack, diabetes, cancer, and stroke.”
Child marriage is also associated with higher rates of STIs, higher rates of morbidity from childbirth, and increased risk of mental health disorders.
The Legality Behind Child Marriage & What Can Be Done
With the shocking prevalence of child marriage, coupled with all of the known negative consequences, you may be wondering how it is even legal. While most states do have a minimum marriage age requirement of eighteen, there are legal loopholes that require as little as a parent’s signature or court approval.
So, what can be done? Unchained At Last advocates that, “Every U.S. state, territory, and district must pass simple, commonsense legislation to eliminate any legal loophole that allows marriage before age eighteen.”
Get Involved
Unchained At Last is leading the fight against child marriage nationwide. Before 2017, this practice was legal in all fifty states.
“Thanks to Unchained’s relentless advocacy, that is changing. Delaware and New Jersey became the first two states to end this human rights abuse in 2018, followed by American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Rhode Island, and New York.”
Still, their work is nowhere near finished. To get involved, you can donate, volunteer, or even just spread the word on social media. For more information, visit their website here.
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