Child Marriage is a Pressing Problem in the US
Only nine states have a total ban on the practice.
Less than three months after a bill to end child marriage in New Hampshire, the state’s House approved an exception to the rule. The exception lowers the age of marriage to 17 if one spouse is active duty military. Representative Debra Simone (R-Atkinson) supported this decision saying that, if 17 year olds can decide to join the military, they can decide to marry. The bill does not specify an acceptable age gap between the active duty spouse and the 17-year-old in question.
As of now, child marriage is legal in 37 states with 20 states having no minimum age requirement with parental or judicial permission. Only 9 states (Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont) ban child marriage with no exceptions. In 10 states, the youngest age to marry is 17 years old and in 20 states, the youngest age to marry is 16. In two states, it is 15 and in four states, there is no absolute minimum age to marry.
Child marriages undermine statutory rape laws by allowing some states to legalize an act that would otherwise be classified as rape. They also open the door to human trafficking in which American girls are forced to marry adult men from overseas or American men import girls as mail-order brides. Even worse, minors cannot initiate legal proceedings such as filing for divorce or retaining an attorney in many states. This leaves the minor trapped, essentially putting the lock in wedlock.
Research by the organization Unchained at Last revealed that most (96%) recorded child marriages in the US between 2000 and 2018 were between 16 or 17 year old girls and adult men. The youngest recorded children were 10 years old. Although most child marriages involved child brides (86%), the US had child grooms as well (14%). These figures come from what the organization was able to record and are likely under-reported. Some states left out small numbers of child marriages (less than 10). Ohio also “randomly and irretrievably” deleted data for most years regarding children being married before the age of 15.
All over the world, child marriage is recognized as a human rights abuse and an arrangement that disproportionately harms women and girls. Americans are no exception to this widespread condemnation, but many are unaware that child marriage happens in their country. Raising more awareness about American child marriage would help to bring an end to this practice in this country and all over the world.
