Child Marriages

Thousands of children in the United States under the age of 18 marry adult men. But how is this possible? And why is it possible? Although the minimum age of marriage is 18 in most states, some states do make exceptions. Lets take a look at two.

The first common exception is parental consent. If the parent signs a marriage license application, girls as young as sixteen can marry. In Virginia, it is very legal for girls as young as 12 or 13 to marry if there is evidence of pregnancy. Even if a young girl is openly crying and knowingly being forced into a marriage, a court clerk cannot intervene.

*This is nothing compared to what is happening to young girls around the world. (Richards, V. 2016).

Saudi Arabia & Yemen (ages 9 to 13)

Spain (age 16)

UK (16 with parental consent)

Estonia (15 with parental consent)

Niger (age 15 - 76% are married before 18)

Muslims & Hindus (age 12)

Unchained At Last, is an organization that helps girls escape from arranged and forced marriages. They obtained information on marriages from the Department of Health, showing that 3,481 children were married in New Jersey between 1995 and 2012. Most were ages 16 or 17. Out of those marriages, 163 were ages 13 or 15.

Sadly, only ten states or jurisdictions have laws that can prevent or punish forced marriage offenders. These marriages are a widespread and often ignored problem in the United States.

The second common exception is children marrying with judicial approval. This exception can lower the age below 16 in many states, especially if the states do no specify an age. Judges can also allow marriages of elementary school girls. (WTH!!!)

Forced child marriages, according to a Tahirah survey also occur in families of many faiths including Muslim, Christian (Catholic), Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh. Also in the Orthodox Jewish community, Mormon and Unification Churches.

Marriages is a loving and legal contract between knowledgeable and consenting adults. Regular marriages are very damaging for adults is they do not work out, but for a young girl, it can undermine her health, education, raise the chances of domestic violence and future opportunities.

So, how do we fix this? Simple, push for state legislators to eliminate these exceptions to allow children to become child brides. This is the only way to stop this practice. Child marriage is not a legal, moral or biblical marriage.

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Until next time, mentor or raise a girl to have a choice...her choice.

*Richards, V., Independent US (2016) "Child marriage chart revelas girls can wed at 12 in some parts of the US as lawmakers battle to raise age to 16".