Map Shows Where Child Marriage Remains Legal as Maine Ban Becomes Law
Child marriage remains legal in most states, many of which allow children as young as 15 or 16 years old to get married. A handful of states have no age requirements at all for marriage. About 300,000 children have gotten married since 2000, according to Unchained at Last, an organization that fights for laws banning child marriage.
Advocates to end child marriage say that married minors are left vulnerable on multiple fronts. Married minors lack the legal rights of an adult to obtain a lawyer and fight the marriage if they do not want to get married, advocates say, noting they also are more likely to face lifelong challenges surrounding poverty and abuse.
What to Know
Maine’s ban on child marriage means the practice is now banned in the entirety of New England, ending what advocates view as a potential child marriage haven. New Hampshire’s law against child marriage kicked in at the beginning of the year, though some in the Granite State are seeking to add an exemption to the ban.
