Child marriage is not a distant issue relegated to foreign lands; it thrives right here in the United States, where the promise of freedom often falls short for minors. The grim reality is that many 16-year-old girls find themselves in domestic roles, changing diapers, cooking, and cleaning, often subjected to relationships with men who are significantly older—sometimes by decades.
You may not think child marriage is a pressing issue in America, assuming that the legal age for marriage is a solid 18 years. After all, marriage is a legal contract requiring consent. Unfortunately, that assumption overlooks a troubling reality affecting hundreds of thousands of minors.
Child marriage is a significant concern in the U.S. According to the advocacy group Unchained At Last, approximately 248,000 children were married between 2000 and 2010, with 85% of them being girls. Alarmingly, 78% of these young brides were married to adult men, often resulting in relationships that would be classified as statutory rape if not sanctioned by law.
Laws regarding marriage vary from state to state. The Tahirih Justice Center reports that 27 states have no minimum age requirement for marriage, while others set the bar as low as 14 for boys and 13 for girls. In most cases, parental consent or a judge’s approval is enough to legalize these marriages. Virginia stands as an outlier, requiring participants to be at least 18 or emancipated minors aged 16 or 17. Yet even in states like South Carolina, Louisiana, and Alaska, twelve-year-olds have been able to marry legally.
The Story of Emma Smith
Consider the story of Emma Smith (a pseudonym), who was just 16 when she met Mark, a 29-year-old technician at a mental health facility. Their relationship escalated quickly, leading to a wedding with her mother’s consent. The conditions were that Emma would finish high school before moving in with him. However, the day after their wedding, she left home with her new husband, only to find herself trapped. She couldn’t enroll in school due to assumptions about pregnancy and faced challenges obtaining her GED. Tragically, she was pregnant before her 18th birthday and soon found herself in an abusive relationship. Emma’s experience is not unique; girls who marry before turning 19 are 50% more likely to drop out of high school and are at a higher risk of abuse.
The Case of Mia Johnson
It’s not only willing teens who find themselves married off. Take the case of Mia Johnson, who was coerced into marrying her rapist at the tender age of 11 after becoming pregnant. Her marriage led to her bearing nine children, and now she advocates for the prohibition of child marriage in her state of Florida, which currently has no minimum marriage age. Another survivor, Lucy Grant, was forced to marry her abuser at 17, having endured years of violence before finally escaping.
Despite the overwhelming evidence of the harms caused by child marriage, legislative efforts to end this practice face significant roadblocks. In New Hampshire, Girl Scout Ava Green attempted to raise the marriage age to 18, but her initiative was quashed by the Republican-controlled House. In New Jersey, a similar bill was vetoed by then-Governor Chris Christie, who cited potential conflicts with religious customs.
The statistics are sobering: in 2001 alone, three 10-year-olds married men aged 24, 25, and 31 in Texas. Such instances, typically classified as pedophilia, are shockingly permissible in many states. If we aspire to be a nation that safeguards the vulnerable, we must confront and change this disturbing reality.
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In summary, child marriage is a hidden crisis in America that demands immediate attention. The stories of young brides are a stark reminder that legal loopholes permit minors to enter into life-altering contracts without adequate protection or consideration for their well-being. Ending this practice is essential for safeguarding the rights and futures of countless children across the nation.