According to a study conducted by Unchained at Last, nearly 300,000 children under the age of 18 were legally married in the United States since the year 2000. That’s right, it’s the 21st century and child marriage is still legal throughout our country. Most people find this shocking, and should.
Unchained at Last is working to change this. According to its mission statement:
Unchained At Last is a survivor-led nonprofit organization dedicated to ending forced and child marriage in the United States through direct services and advocacy.
A couple of years ago, Safer Society Foundation joined a coalition organized by Unchained at Last to raise the legal age of marriage in Vermont from 16 to 18 years. Yesterday, Governor Scott signed that law into effect.
We want to congratulate Fraidy Reiss, founder and executive director of Unchained at Last, and her team, as well as the other members of the Vermont Coalition to End Child Marriage for this win for the children of our state.
Vermont now joins Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Rhode Island, New York and Massachusetts as states that have banned child marriage. There are still 42 states to go. You can help Unchained at Last continue to fight for just marriage laws.