Author: Tahirih Justice Center

Publication: March 06, 2017

Tahirih submitted this written testimony to the Connecticut General Assembly in support of HB 5442, a bill to eliminate exceptions to age 18 as the minimum legal age to marry. On March 6, the Connecticut General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Judiciary held a public hearing on HB 5442, which is sponsored by Representatives Michelle Cook and Josh Elliott.

Author: Tahirih Justice Center

Publication: November 18th, 2016

This chart, which was developed by the Tahirih Justice Center with pro bono assistance from Hogan Lovells US LLP, serves as a resource for understanding the state legal regimes that permit child marriages to happen in the United States. It is an eye-opening compilation of all 50 states’ laws on minimum marriage age and exceptions that among other things, highlights how many states set which age “floors” for marriage.

Author: Tahirih Justice Center

Publication: June 01, 2016

This report on the June 2016 national consultation on the question of forced marriage criminalization illustrates the complexity of forced marriage cases and details advocates’ diverse perspectives on the potential risks and benefits of making forced marriage a criminal offense in the United States. The meeting was organized by the Forced Marriage Initiative at the Tahirih Justice Center and brought together 30 participants from across the United States.

Author: Judith McFarlane, DrPH, RN; Angeles Nava, PhD; Heidi Gilroy, PhD; and John Maddoux, PhD

Publication: 2016

Researchers from Texas Women’s University conducted a 7-year study on 244 mothers who had reported intimate partner violence in the U.S. They based their survey questions on the 2011 Forced Marriage Initiative study, and found that 17% of respondents faced a forced marriage attempt, and among those respondents, 45% experienced the threat as a minor.

Author: Promundo: Alice Taylor, Giovanna Lauro, Marcio Segundo, & Margaret Greene

Publication: July, 2015

This study – the first of its kind in Brazil – explores attitudes and practices around child and adolescent marriage in the two Brazilian states with the highest prevalence of the practice, according to the 2010 Census, namely Pará in the north and Maranhão in the northeast. The study examines local attitudes and practices, as well as risk and protective factors, around child and adolescent marriage in the capital cities in these two states. It looks at both formal and informal unions (i.e., co-habitation), as the latter are the most prevalent forms of child and adolescent marriage in Brazil yet hold similar implications as formal marriages. The analysis highlights the ways in which a child or adolescent marriage may create or exacerbate risk factors (i.e., related to health, education, security) while often being perceived by girls or family members as offering stability in settings of economic insecurity and limited opportunities.