Activists Rally To End Child Marriage In Massachusetts

BEACON HILL, MA — Wearing bridal gowns and veils, with arms chained and mouths taped, advocates and supporters gathered Wednesday on the steps of the State House for a "chain-in" to urge state legislators to pass An Act to End Child Marriage in Massachusetts. Some 1,190 children as young as 14 were married in the state between 2000 and 2014, according to Unchained At Last, a New Jersey-based nonprofit that organized the rally.

Most of those children are girls who married adult men, the group said.

“We cannot allow this human-rights abuse to continue,” said Fraidy Reiss, a forced-marriage survivor and the founder of Unchained At Last, which aims to end child marriage in the U.S. “What better way to urge legislators to take action than to show them what life looks like for girls who are forced into marriage?”

Because of loopholes in the existing marriage laws, children of any age can marry in the Commonwealth. The legal age of consent in Massachusetts is 16 but that doesn't apply to marriage. The state requires a parent's permission, but there are several exceptions, the Globe previously reported.

"Three years ago I learned that child marriage is happening all across the country, including here in Massachusetts," said Newton Rep. Kay Khan, who is a sponsor of a bill that would prohibit child marriage. "If you are a married child and you are still a minor, you do not have adult rights. You cannot file for divorce, annulment, protective order, rent an apartment, open a checking account, or seek services from the Department of Children and Families," said Khan in a statement. "We are here today to draw attention to this form of child abuse and gain support to end child marriage by passing H.1478/S.24."

The State Department has called marriage before 18 a "human rights abuse" because of the effects on girls’ health, education, economic opportunities and overall quality of life.

"Forced marriage victims experience significantly high rates of sexual abuse, economic threats, and isolation," said Senate President Harriette Chandler, who co-sponsored the bill. "Married minors do not have the legal rights of adults. A minor cannot easily secure financial or legal assistance to leave a marriage. They lack the legal tools to protect themselves from potentially abusive or coercive relationships and are often subject to the whims of their family or spouse. When we eliminate marriage for those under the age of 18, we eliminate the threat of a minor being forced or coerced into a marriage."

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Advocates raise concerns about child marriage (Jim Morrison, The Boston Globe 2016)