Author: Tahirih Justice Center

Published: May, 2020

This one-pager brings together research on the devastating, lifelong harms of child marriage in the United States.

Author: Tahirih Justice Center

Publication: January, 2020

Updated: May, 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-five 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.

This report was updated to reflect legislative changes made prior to May 13, 2020. Any versions dated January, 2020 will be out of date.

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.

Authors: Aditi Wahi, Kristen L. Zaleski, Jacob Lampe, Patricia Bevan, & Alissa Koski

Publication: February 12, 2019

Researchers interviewed Americans who were married under age 18, investigating the reasons behind their child marriages, and the experiences face by participants as a result of marrying underage. Most participants reported experiencing abuse related to their marriage, including physical, sexual, financial, and emotional abuse. Read more.

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