Advocates demand New York lawmakers outlaw child marriage
Child advocates in New York are attempting to overturn an archaic law that allows children as young as 14 years old to wed, claiming it can trap minors in sexual abuse and domestic violence.
Shockingly, the law was used almost 4,000 times to facilitate the marriage of minors in the state in the decade leading up to 2010.
Democratic Assemblywoman Amy Paulin has introduced a bill that aims to raise the minimum age for marriage to 17. New York is one of three states that allow 14-year-olds to marry with parental and judicial consent.
Paulin called the law an appalling loophole for adults to sexually abuse children and avoid statutory rape charges.
Women in chains protest against child marriage at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y.
'I can't even begin to imagine the physical, psychological and emotional traumas these children have suffered,' she said.
STATES WHERE CHILD MARRIAGE IS LEGAL Alaska: A superior court judge may grant permission for a person who has reached the age of 14 but is under the age of 18 to marry New York: Children aged 14 can be married in New York with parental and judicial consent New Hampshire: Females aged 13 and above and males aged 14 and above can marry in cases of 'special cause', with parental consent and court permission North Carolina: Those aged 14 and 15 can apply for a wedding license with consent from parents or guardians and a court order A further five states: Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, and Utah, allow marriage at 15, with consent from judges and/or parents, and in the case of Indiana, when the female is pregnant A total of 27 states also have no 'floor' age, meaning it is theoretically possible for a child of any age to marry, with parental and/or judicial consent. Although in such states there is no set minimum age by statute, the traditional common law minimum age is 14 for boys and 12 for girls
'We must safeguard the health, safety and welfare of our children, who are the future of our society.'
According to data from the Tahirih Justice Center, a nonprofit that protects immigrant women and girls, and the National Conference of State Legislatures, North Carolina and Alaska also allow 14-year-olds to marry with parental and judicial consent.
Twenty-seven states have no minimum age in state statutes, meaning children of any age could technically marry with court approval.
Paulin said children have no escape from forced marriages because minors have limited access to legal services and domestic violence shelters. Paulin's proposal would prohibit marriage of children under 17, and children age 17 to 18 would require court approval.
Fraidy Reiss, founder and executive director of Unchained at Last, a nonprofit to end forced marriage, said religion, economic status and tradition motivate thousands of forced child marriages a year.
Health department data shows that between 2000 and 2010, 3,853 minors were married in New York. Eighty-four percent were minor girls married to adult men.
'The impacts of child marriage on a girl's life are devastating and long-lasting, undermining her health, education and economic opportunities and increasing her risk of experiencing violence,' Reiss said.
Fraidy Reiss, center, founder and executive director of Unchained at Last, a non-profit organization with the goal to end child marriages, demonstrates in chains at the State Capitol
Safia Mahjebia of New York's Brooklyn borough was 16 years old when a close friend in her tight-knit Bangladeshi community was forced into a marriage with a 25-year-old man.
'Our immediate response was unanimous fear. Fear for her safety, fear for her future, and fear in the air to know you could be next,' Mahjebia, now 20, said.
Mahjebia said she felt betrayed to learn the marriage was legal in New York, and it was only her parents' ignorance of that fact that prevented her own marriage as a young girl.
Advocates from Unchained At Last and the Human Rights Watch wore white gowns and chains on their wrists outside the Assembly chamber Tuesday singing 'Save the girls. Be the change. Help us to break the chains.'