Who:
Child marriage is happening all around the world. This fact is something that most people know. One of the highest percentage of child marriages actually takes place in India, with a total of 26 million child marriages. And the case is almost always the same-- young girls under 18 (normally as young as 12-15) being forcefully married to older men (normally older than 30s).
In the US, the story is the same. It may be less socially accepted, but that doesn't mean it doesn't still happen. These young girls are often hidden away from the world, and if they're not they are taught to accept that this is the right thing for them. Many children don't even realize how bad the situation they're in is. Understanding which states allow what and under what circumstances is hard and can be broken down in about a thousand different ways.
This website helped me understand that much more: https://www.tahirih.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Updated-Appendices-combined_June-2019.pdf
Bottom line, this is affecting children. This is affecting people who don't even know what they want yet, who don't have the ability to make the choice for themselves, and are helpless to even leave.
What:
As most of us know, at one point it was normal for young girls to be given away for marriage as soon as they hit puberty. Especially in the US, this is complete taboo nowadays, so why is it happening? What exactly does child marriage entail for both the victim and the perpetrator? For the victim, it means years of possible emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. By definition any sexual act performed by an adult to a minor is considered sexual assault, so why should it be any different in a 'marriage'? For the perpetrator, it means endless power over this individual, and apparently the states are by their side with that.
Permissions/circumstances that allow children to be forced into marriage in the US in 47 states:
-consent of a court clerk or judge
-consent of the parents or legal guardians
-if one of the parties is pregnant
-if the minor has given birth to a child
-if the minor is emancipated
Some states, such as Massachusetts, don't even have a minimum age for these requirements. Some people will argue that this law is for minors who want to marry each other, and that this right should not be taken away from them. But, only 14% of these marriages were between two children. There is a very obvious power dynamic going on here. Freedom is being taken from these children in nearly every state in the country.
When:
Child marriage has always been happening everywhere, even in the United States. In fact, the farther back you go in history, the more acceptable it was. It wasn't until 2018-2020 that we started seeing more push back in states such as Montana and Pennsylvania.
Where:
Where is child marriage most prevalent in the United States?
According to this chart, the state with the highest prevalence of child marriage is West Virginia, and the lowest is Alaska. These numbers are not even comparable to the ones in other countries, but any number is a problem. The top five areas outside of the United States with the highest concentration of child marriages are:
The way we have to approach child marriage is different in all of these areas, especially in the United States as well. There are deep cultural and religious backgrounds behind every marriage, although religion and culture are not the only reason that children are forced into this. There are also different conditions within all of these areas, depending on fragility, conflict, and natural disasters. Here, in the United States, we know that repeatedly getting through to senators and legislators has an impact.
Why?:
Why would anyone want to do this and why would anyone support this? What makes it so hard for these girls to escape these marriages? Why hasn't this been given more attention to within the United States?
People often just assume that one religion is the culprit for this. While there is some truth that religion is the driving force behind this tradition, there is no one religion that promotes child marriage. It is actually a combination of a bunch of different girls from different religions and walks of life. Some of these religions include Orthodox Judaism, Christianity, Islam, etc. It is less about the religion itself, but "parents working to safeguard a moral standard".
It is very important to be sensitive to the religious and cultural background of people and be careful not to offend these communities. I think it should be stressed to focus on the actual issue of abuse of children and power, instead of attacking the religion itself.
How?
How can we help put a stop to this? Unchained At Last is a good organization to get involved with and start helping people out. Protesting, donating, and contacting your local senators and spreading the word is just one place to start. If you wanted to look more internationally at ending child marriage, UNICEF is also dedicated to help ending this problem.
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