The Wikipedia page on "Child Marriage in the US" is in need of revision due to the current pages need for including more comprehensive stubs, in order to provide a better understanding of the issue. This Wikipedia article/page states that it is meant to cover laws on child marriage, not necessarily the general topic of child marriage. However, the few stubs that are present on the article are very underdeveloped, with only a few sentences per stub topic.
The limited stub topics dont allow for a varied knowledge of Child Marriage in the U.S. Adding three new stubs titled “Advocacy and Awareness,” as well as “Cultural Perspectives,” and adding more sentences to the stubs on “Psychological Health,” and “Education” with strong research will allow for a more in-depth understanding of the subject.
Child marriage in the United States is not just a surface level issue. It affects our values and how we view childhood and freedom. When we talk about child marriage, we're talking about protecting the basic rights and children. It's about making sure everyone gets a fair chance at life. A comprehensive page raises awareness about this critical human rights issue. It serves as an educational tool and a reflection of changing norms.
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Organizations such as Unchained At Last and the Tahirih Justice Center have initiated various campaigns and movements in an effort to bring about an end to child marriage in the United States.[1] Unchained At Last, for instance, emphasizes on providing support and necessary resources to girls and women who are looking to escape from arranged/forced marriages.[1] On the other hand, the Tahirih Justice Center often takes a legalistic approach, offering legal services to those within forced marriages while also spearheading policy advocacy to establish more stringent marriage laws.
Obstacles in advocacy
While there is a unified goal among advocates to curtail child marriages, the path is fraught with obstacles, predominantly cultural and legislative. Cultural roadblocks often emerge from entrenched traditions and belief systems that have historically endorsed early marriages, while legislative obstacles can manifest as opposition or inertia from policy-makers who might be reluctant to amend existing laws or policies due to various socio-political considerations.
Influential advocates
Certain individuals and former victims of child marriage have also risen as prominent advocates, sharing their stories to shed light on the tangible adversities faced by minors who are thrust into marital arrangements. Their narratives often spotlight the multifaceted impact - ranging from psychological to socio-economic consequences - of child marriages and serve as a pivotal driving force in propelling the movement forward.
Advocacy against child marriage begins with spreading awareness among girls, women, men, and their communities. This is an essential first step in challenging the deeply rooted traditions of child marriage. However, it's important to understand that bringing about lasting change requires more than just raising awareness. To truly combat child marriage, advocates must also work on building strong support systems and infrastructure. Their motivation comes from the hope that one day they can proudly say they played a key role in ending child marriage. Their dedication to creating a brighter future for young girls is what keeps them working tirelessly toward this goal.
A significant number of states in the United States have historically exempted sexual relationships between married individuals from statutory rape laws. This means that, in these states, child marriages did not qualify as statutory rape under existing laws, despite meeting the criteria in some cases. Variations in the strictness of these laws across states resulted in differences in the proportion of child marriages that would have been considered crimes elsewhere. This raises questions about the blurred lines between child marriage and sexual violence, especially in the 14 states where the two could be indistinguishable. In 33 states, exemptions to statutory rape laws within marriages provided legal pathways for sexual relationships with children that would have otherwise been punishable offenses. Such exemptions may have incentivized child marriages as a means to avoid criminal charges.
Human rights perspective on child marriage:
The human rights framework offers valuable insights into addressing child marriage as a grave violation. Child marriage violates multiple interconnected rights, including the right to equality based on gender and age, the right to marry and form a family, the right to life, access to quality healthcare, education, and personal development. By framing child marriage as a human rights violation, it becomes a matter of public concern rather than a private family issue. This perspective enables the establishment of strict penalties for violations of laws and policies preventing child marriage, emphasizing its criminal nature, especially against women and girls.
Minimum age for marriage in the United States:
In the United States, marriage laws vary by state, allowing teenagers as young as 14 to marry with parental consent in some regions. Recent cases, such as one in Kansas where a pregnant 14-year-old married a 22-year-old, prompted changes in some states' laws. For instance, Kansas raised the minimum age for marriage to 15 with approval from a judge.
In the context of child marriage, it's important to understand how societal norms both shape and are influenced by this practice. This involves exploring how individual experiences and collective beliefs interact, often contributing to the continuation of child marriage. Additionally, we must examine the broader societal and economic consequences of child marriage, including its impact on demographics, societal stability, and economic development. These consequences extend beyond individual lives and affect communities, nations, and the world. To address these issues, various initiatives and programs aim to reduce the psychological and societal impact of child marriage. These efforts include prevention and support measures, and by studying their strategies, successes, and challenges, we gain insight into ongoing efforts to combat child marriage and its far-reaching effects on societies and economies.
These girls are from disadvantaged households and playing soccer allows them to avoid child marriage.Child marriage has serious and long-lasting effects, especially on young girls. When they marry early, they are more likely to become teenage mothers and have more children in a shorter amount of time compared to those who marry later. They also have a higher risk of experiencing mental health issues[2] and issues with substance abuse when they grow up. Studies have found that women in the United States who marry before they turn 18 are more likely to have mood and anxiety disorders later in life, even compared to those who marry when they are older. Regardless of their age, people who are forced into marriages are more likely to report experiencing intimate partner sexual abuse from their partners, as well as physical and emotional problems that affect their children. These findings highlight how important it is to address child marriage and its consequences as a significant social problem.
Child marriage in the United States exhibits demographic variations, with rates influenced by factors such as ethnicity, economic status, and geographic location. Studies have revealed that Hispanic women, those hailing from disadvantaged households, and residents of the Southern United States are more prone to marrying at a young age.[2] Additionally, individuals with backgrounds in Mormonism and conservative Protestantism tend to enter marriage at earlier stages of life compared to those from different religious traditions. Immigrants from societies where child marriage is a common practice may bring with them attitudes and beliefs supportive of such unions, potentially leading to higher child marriage rates among immigrant children in the United States, particularly from regions like Europe and South Asia. Notably, religion also plays a significant role, with more than 42% of conservative Protestant women marrying before the age of 23, surpassing rates for other religious groups. This stark gender inequality in child marriage, with girls being disproportionately affected, reinforces a broader issue of discrimination and contributes to the perpetuation of unequal gender dynamics in society.
Child marriage often comes from the desire to control girls' sexuality, a common theme across regions that uphold patriarchal values.[3] In some cases, girls may feel pressured to marry if they become pregnant, while in other situations, parents arrange their daughters' marriages to protect them from potential pre-marital romantic involvement or harassment.[3] What ties these situations together is the sense of coercion most girls experience. They often lack economic independence, autonomy, and face societal expectations that make it difficult to oppose their parents' wishes.[4] Additionally, deeply ingrained gender norms, such as the idea that girls should live with their husband's family while boys continue to support their parents, contribute to the perception that daughters are a financial burden while sons are seen as investments for the future. This perpetuates gender inequality and highlights the need to address child marriage's societal impact.
Child marriage, defined as marriage before the age of 18, is a violation of human rights and has significant consequences. Girls who marry early tend to achieve lower educational attainment compared to those who delay marriage.[5][6] This can hinder their literacy and increase the likelihood of living in poverty during adulthood.[6][4]Research from United States censuses in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s found that marrying before 16 increased the risk of poverty by 31 percentage points, surpassing the impact of dropping out of high school, which raised the risk by 11 points.[7]
Impact on girls' right to education
Child marriage universally correlates with lower levels of schooling, violating girls' right to education as guaranteed by international conventions such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Furthermore, early marriage restricts girls' access to both formal and non-formal education due to domestic responsibilities, childbearing, and family pressures. Recent studies by UNICEF have confirmed that girls with secondary education are less likely to marry early. Compulsory education laws, mandating girls to stay in school until age sixteen, significantly reduce the chances of child marriage. Lack of education perpetuates the cycle of child marriage, being both a cause and effect of this harmful practice.
