Secret Shame: Child Marriage in the United States - & January
Posted: 20 Jan 2025
On January 7, 2025, the IAFL Forced Marriage Committee co-organised an event on child marriage, bringing to light this tragedy that affects thousands of children in the United States each year. The meeting was held in conjunction with the USA based charity Unchained At Last which works with victims of early and forced marriages, and was sponsored by IAFL’s USA Chapter. The meeting was held in person in Maryland, and was also held on zoom. Over 100 people were on the zoom line.
The Founder and Executive Director of Unchained At Last, Fraidy Reiss was the keynote speaker. Fraidy herself is a survivor of forced marriage.
Child and forced marriage was an initiative of Cheryl Hepfer’s during her Presidency of the IAFL (2014-2016). The issue was brought to IAFL’s attention, years ago, by one of our former Fellows, Anne Marie Hutchinson OBE. Anne Marie worked on the first English court case of forced marriage in 1999. She also ensured the return of Sikh girl who had been abducted by her parents to force her into marriage in India. In 2005, in a case in the UK, Anne Marie represented a British-born Pakistani woman, and she set a legal precedent when the High Court ruled force marriages could be annulled due to lack of consent.
People are shocked to hear that child marriages are still taking place today in the USA. Unchained At Last has gathered the data that makes clear that this is an on-going problem and Fraidy spoke passionately and articulately as to why child marriage should be banned throughout all states. Fraidy noted that in 2018 Delaware became the first state to end child marriage. There are 37 states which still permit it.
The presentation included stories from two survivors of child marriage, who spoke about the devastating impact of their marriages on their lives.
You can listen to the webinar in full here. For further information on Unchained At Last can be found on the website here.
