US Lags Behind In Fight Against Child Marriage: 300,000 Cases Since 2000

The global dialogue over child marriage frequently focusses on South Asia, which includes countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal, as well as several African countries. This concentrated attention on these areas has overshadowed the prevalence of this harmful practice in other parts of the world especially the 'superpower' United States.

Though it is widely believed that child marriage is a problem limited to backward regions of the world, the fact that child marriages are still legal in most of the United States indicates that reform is urgently needed in the country.

India has made significant strides in combating child marriage through strict laws and enforcement. While the practice is now a punishable offense with severe penalties, the United States presents a stark contrast. Despite being illegal in most countries, child marriage remains a pervasive issue across 37 states in the US.

According to Unchained At Last, an organization in the United States that works to end child and forced marriage, Child marriage, or marriage before age 18, was legal in all 50 US states as of 2017. Delaware and New Jersey in 2018 became the first two states to end this human rights abuse, followed by American Samoa in 2018, the US Virgin Islands, Pennsylvania and Minnesota in 2020, Rhode Island and New York in 2021, Massachusetts in 2022 Vermont, Connecticut and Michigan in 2023, and Washington, Virginia and New Hampshire in 2024."

"However, child marriage remains legal in 37 states and is happening in the US at an alarming rate: Unchained's groundbreaking research revealed that more than 300,000 children as young as 10 were married in the US since 2000 - mostly girls wed to adult men."

Unchained At Last has revealed in its report that child marriage, which is legal in many US states, often masks a sinister reality: forced marriage. The report states that the age of majority, when children become legal adults and get the rights of adulthood, is 18 or higher in every US state. Children who have not yet reached the age of majority have limited legal rights and therefore can easily be forced into marriage or forced to stay in a marriage."

"They face overwhelming legal and practical barriers if they try to leave home to escape a forced marriage, get help from an advocate, enter a domestic violence shelter, or retain an attorney."

"Perhaps most shockingly, children are typically not allowed to initiate a legal proceeding, such as seeking a protective order or even filing for divorce, unless they act through a guardian or other representative. This outrageous legal setup puts the "lock" in "wedlock."

The organisations and and other advocates say Child marriage victims, especially girls, face heightened abuse and legal exploitation.Texas leads with the highest number of child marriages (41,774) from 2000-2018, followed by California, Florida, Nevada, and North Carolina. Rhode Island recorded the least with 171 cases.