Only 13 of 50 US States have passed legislation banning child marriage; we still have a long road ahead

In 2024, three U.S. states (Washington State, Virginia, and New Hampshire) each took a monumental step forward in the fight against child marriage by enacting legislation that sets the legal age of marriage at 18 years old without exception. However, the road has not been easy. The most recent legislative victory in New Hampshire in June 2024 was achieved after more than seven years of persistent advocacy. This marks a crucial turning point for the protection of minors in the state by eradicating legal loopholes that previously allowed children to be coerced or pressured into marriage, often with dire and lifelong consequences.

Child marriage is a profound manifestation of gender inequality and gender-based violence which poses numerous detrimental consequences for those involved. The legal system often complicates efforts to end underage marriages. 

What are the risks when a child gets married?

For example, in many states, minors generally cannot file for divorce or enter into a contract to retain a lawyer without adult assistance. Considering that it is frequently the legal guardians or parents of a minor who force them into marriage, these legal barriers create a dependency that can trap them in harmful situations. This dependency is further exacerbated by limited access to special services and shelters, which frequently do not cater to married minors. Consequently, these young individuals have few safe options to escape abusive or coercive relationships.

The financial hurdles to leaving a child marriage are also considerable. Even if they have the legal ability to do so, hiring a lawyer is typically beyond the financial reach of minors. These barriers mean that minors in forced or coerced marriages are frequently left without the means to advocate for themselves or secure their freedom.

Since 2018, Unchained at Last and Equality Now have been working together, including to form the National Coalition to End Child Marriage. Along with state-by-state actions, we hope to address the practice and close gaps and loopholes in laws and policies at the federal level that promote child marriage. The U.S. Government, despite having a strong foreign policy position on child marriage, has failed to apply the same standards domestically. 

How does the US address child marriage?

The U.S. Department of State calls marriage before age 18 a “human rights abuse” that “arises from, and often perpetuates, gender inequality” and “produces devastating repercussions for a girl’s life, effectively ending her childhood.” Despite this, it still allows laws and policies to flourish within the U.S. that promote, enable, and allow child marriage.

Unchained At Last has documented these issues extensively, demonstrating how the system fails to protect minors in such vulnerable positions in the United States. There is no federal minimum age for marriage and, as noted above, the minimum age is below 18 in the vast majority of U.S. states. Moreover, even in areas where federal law could be used to prevent child marriage, it fails to do so. For example, US immigration law allows for spousal visa applications where one of the parties is a minor, based on the law of the state in which they will reside. This policy promotes the marrying of girls for the purpose of obtaining legal immigration status in the United States. Unchained and Equality Now are advocating at multiple levels to change laws such as these. 

Using a global legal advocacy approach, Equality Now advocates for the minimum age of marriage to be 18 without exception around the world. A recent New York Times article highlighted just how important it is to find creative ways to enforce child marriage laws, such as implementing legislation that imposes fines on adult spouses to child brides. And we know the work does not stop there; a law on the minimum age of marriage only sets a foundation for further interventions to prevent child marriage in practice and ensure girls’ and young women’s agency is protected and nurtured. 

For a minimum age of marriage law to be effective, it needs to be accompanied by appropriate laws and policies that address the multi-faceted and multi-sectoral nature of child marriage both in terms of drivers and consequences, in full recognition of the complexity of patriarchy and gender inequality for girls and young women.

A recent Guardian article on the topic outlines the archaic and patriarchal notions some US politicians are using to uphold child marriage, notably, as a means to limit the demand for abortions, specifically for pregnant teens. 

Equality Now finds this particularly worrisome specifically in the 37 US states that still need to ban the practice. There has been fairly significant progress in recent years, from 2018, when all 50 states permitted child marriage, to 2024, when that number has been reduced by 26%. These advances have largely been due to the persistent advocacy of organizations like Unchained At Last. 

Roadblocks to ending child marriage

However, in many states, bills to ban child marriage are facing significant roadblocks – from both sides of the political aisle. Lawmakers in conservative states are opposing bans on child marriage for reasons such as anti-abortion, as highlighted below, while in seemingly more progressive states like California, lawmakers have stalled efforts to pass laws against child marriage on grounds that it may prevent minors from abusive relationships from accessing social support protection. 

Following our submission to the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) outlining these concerns and others, The UNHRC echoed our concern that the vast majority of US states continue to legally permit child marriage,* and called on the US “to adopt measures at all levels to prohibit marriage below the age of 18 years.”

While the passage of this law in New Hampshire represents a legal victory, it also highlights the protracted struggle required to achieve such change. The law’s implementation is a necessary step, but it also underscores the persistent systemic issues around the world that have allowed child marriage to continue for so long which must be addressed, and the United States is no exception. 

We urge the remaining states to follow suit and remain hopeful that this legislation will prompt further scrutiny and reform to ensure that all minors are protected from similar vulnerabilities and can access the resources they need to escape harmful practices.