Child marriage is still legal in the US. How 43 states' laws exploit children and what you can do about it.
Nearly 300,000 children were legally married in the US between 2000 & 2018
CW: This post refers to child exploitation and child sexual abuse.
On Monday, England and Wales passed the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimal Age) Act, raising the marriage age to 18. Despite the media frenzy regarding “grooming” (as an anti-LGBTQ dog whistle), we haven’t seen outcry against the serious harms caused by child marriage in the US. Last year, Tennessee Republicans introduced a bill to remove age restrictions on marriage. Just a few weeks ago, Wyoming Republicans criticized a bill for imposing a marriage age of 18, with exceptions to age 16.
So this week, let’s talk about the harms of child marriage in the United States:
Child marriage is still legal in 43 US states, and eight states have no lower age limit
Child marriages provide cover and protection for sexual predators
Child marriage traps children in human rights abuse, creating lifelong harm
Data shows 300,000 children were legally married between 2000 and 2018. 86% of the married children were girls – and most were married to men over 18.
Not only are young girls forced into marriage denied educational and economic opportunities, but they are also at increased risk of intimate partner violence, forced pregnancy, and negative health consequences.
U.S. laws continue to protect this behavior.
Forcing rape survivors to marry their abusers.
Allowing older men to groom girls for sexual exploitation.
And facilitating child trafficking.
Child Marriage is Legal in Most States
Despite empty outcries to protect kids, 43 states still allow minors to enter marriage contracts.
In 2017, child marriage with parental consent was legal in all 50 states. Slowly, through incredible advocacy, this is finally changing.
Banned without exception in Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.
Eight states still have no minimum age requirement for minors entering a marriage contract - California, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Washington, and West Virginia.
With a parental or judicial waiver, 20 states have no minimum age for marriage.
Before banning the practice in 2022, Massachusetts had the lowest minimum marriage age with parental consent (12 for girls and 14 for boys).
If you find this surprising, you’re not alone. A 2020 study by Lawson, et al. in PLOS ONE showed child marriage misconceptions are common. If you check out the green section of the graph below - the vast majority of people who took their survey believed child marriage was illegal in all states, when at the time of the study, it was only illegal in two.
Statutory rapists protected by marriage
Of the 300,000 children married from 2000-2018, 60,000 minors were under their state’s age of sexual consent. This means that but for legal marriage, the spousal age difference should have been considered a sex crime.
When one of the parties in a sexual act is below the age of consent, it is called statutory rape. In many states, child marriage is considered a valid defense to statutory rape. The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022 was amended by to eliminate this statutory rape defense, but a similar defense still exists in the United States Military Code.
Sexual predators are incentivized to force a child to marry them - protecting them from criminal charges. We need laws that discourage sexual activities with children.
Child marriage is human rights abuse
And finally, child marriage is human rights abuse, trapping young people in a cycle of exploitation. Child marriage leads to lifelong negative repercussions:
Serious health consequences, including increased pregnancy risks
Reduced access to education
Loss of economic opportunities
Lower quality of life
Exposure to gender-based violence and intimate partner violence
Leaves children vulnerable to human trafficking
Minor marriages can easily be forced. Children forced into marriages suffer both the abuse of parents who coerce them into the marriage and potential sexual, physical, and emotional abuse from the spouse.
Due to their extremely limited legal rights, children can be married but not vote, own property, or file for divorce. As minors, they aren’t able to utilize women’s shelters, further reducing their ability to escape. Since parents may have consented and coerced the child into marriage, minors aren’t necessarily welcome or safe to return home.
So, here’s how to fix it:
We need to follow England and Wales and make child marriage illegal, without exception, in all 50 states.
There is no federal law preventing child marriage. Some federal laws encourage child marriage. We must close loopholes in federal laws, such as those related to visas.
Here are two major advocacy organizations where you can learn more:
Unchained At Last
Unchained At Last is a survivor-led nonprofit organization dedicated to ending forced and child marriage in the United States through direct services and advocacy.
Go here to find your state and advocate for laws to change. They have pre-written messages to send to your representatives.
Girls Not Brides
Girls Not Brides is a global partnership working collectively to end child marriage so that girls can fulfill their potential.
The organization uses a 4 pillars of change to end child marriage:
Support girls’ rights
Mobilize families and communities
Provide services
Establish and implement laws and policies
That’s it!
As always, thanks for reading. I know these topics can be tough - change begins with our willingness not to look away.
Hit reply and let me know what you found most helpful or interesting this week—I’d love to hear from you!
See you next week,
Dr. Alyssa Burgart
So appreciate your insights into this ongoing problem - I have always been curious as to how the episode of The West Wing that addressed this issue sparked some efforts to change? Thanks for the simple steps to move in a positive direction.