Author: Tahirih Justice Center

Publication: January, 2020

Making Progress, But Still Falling Short outlines what more needs to be done to end child marriage in America both at the state and federal level. It contains the latest analysis on all twenty-one states that have recently enacted laws to end or limit child marriage, calling out features that make them strong or weak.

The report serves as a complement to our Child Marriage in the U.S.: Survivor Story Compilation that was released in January 2020, in which 20 survivor voices are featured to provide a window into the many ways that children can be forced and coerced into marriage in modern-day America.

Compiled by: Tahirih Justice Center

Publication: January, 2020

The 20 survivor voices featured in the report provide a powerful window into the circumstances under which children are forced and coerced into marriages in modern-day America.

These survivors have shared their stories so that we may understand fully the significant, life-long consequences of child marriage and to compel us all to continue our fight to change the laws that allow this practice to continue. For every survivor who speaks out, countless others cannot do so. This report honors their courage as well.

Author: Tahirih Justice Center

Publication: November, 2019

This resource, created by the Tahirih Justice Center’s Forced Marriage Initiative, compiles existing research on the harms of child marriage into a convenient one-pager, useful for advocacy and education on the issue of child marriage in the United States.

Author: Rachel L. Schuman

Publication: May 31, 2019

Laws allowing for child marriage have a long history in U.S. and common law, but are currently receiving increased scrutiny from advocates seeking to prevent the documented harms of early marriage. This article examines whether Congress could legally promote the implementation of a uniform marriage age across states using precedent set in South Dakota v. Dole. Read more.

Authors: Suzanne Petroni, Madhumita Das, & Susan M Sawyer

Publication: December 5, 2018

As many governments worldwide have raised the legal age of marriage to 18 years, some are also considering raising the age of sexual consent. Without close-in-age exemptions, arguments to align the legal age of sexual consent with that of marriage would restrict the ability of adolescents to legally have sex. The authors find that, because the consideration to marry and to have sex are very different, the minimum ages need not be aligned.