In California, the applicable law is found in California Family Code Sections 302 and 304 (2019): “An unmarried person under the age of 18 may obtain a marriage certificate upon receipt of a court order authorizing the person or persons to marry in accordance with the requirements described in Section 304.” [11] Historically, Section 56 of the California Civil Code (1872) established 15 as the age at which a woman could marry without her parents` consent. In 1921, the age was raised to 18. [12] Yet shelters and services for victims of domestic violence often struggle to help married minors, especially if they have children, Acheson said. Animal shelters generally accept adults with children, but not children with their own children, she explained. Youth shelters are usually for homeless minors and do not care for those fleeing child marriage, she added. In addition, shelters are required to call a legal guardian or child protection services about unaccompanied minors, which can be scary for youth trying to escape an abusive husband or forced parent. They were able to set the minimum age of marriage at 18 in six states. However, child marriage is still legal in 44 states in the United States. Although the road to complete abolition of the practice is long, these victories inspire them to continue. In Massachusetts, the general age of marriage is 18, but minors can be married with judicial approval. Unlike many other states,[2] child marriage in Massachusetts does not automatically emancipate the minor or increase his or her legal rights beyond allowing the minor to consent to certain medical treatments. [3] For Sara Tasneem, who grew up in a religious cult and was forced to marry a 28-year-old man at the age of 15, passing AB 1286 – simply to bolster data on child marriage – seems to be the “bare minimum” California can do to address this issue. Delaware, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Rhode Island,[21] New York, and New Jersey do not allow underage marriage.
Other states allow a minor to marry in the following circumstances: For Tyree, the damage caused by her marriage as a child has already been done. At the age of 15, she had two children and dropped out of school. She left her husband at the age of 16, but failed to get a judge to sign the divorce or give her custody of her children until she was 18 because she was then considered an adult, she said. She has struggled with homelessness and drug use for years. Now, decades later, she suffers from PTSD and an anxiety disorder, she said. Some states have different minimum ages for men and women, with or without parental consent. For example, in Mississippi, the age of consent to marriage with parental consent is 17 for men and 15 for women. Note: State laws can still be changed in a number of ways, including the passage of newly signed laws and decisions of higher courts.
You may want to contact a California family law attorney or do your own legal research to review the state laws you`ve been looking for. In 2018, bills to end child marriage were successful in Delaware and New Jersey. As a result, there is considerable momentum on this issue. Georgia passed a law in May 2019 raising the minimum age of marriage from 16 to 17. The new law passed in the conservative state of Georgia is now stronger than the protection we provide to children in the state of California. In January 2020, child marriage was banned in the US Virgin Islands. In May 2020, Pennsylvania and Minnesota passed laws ending child marriage. In June and July 2021, Rhode Island and New York passed laws ending child marriage under 18, without exception. To date, six states have ended child marriage without exception and the practice remains legal in 44 states. Regardless of the age of the participants, marriage is a serious commitment that should be made with great thought. However, there are special considerations when minors want to marry.
If you`re a minor and want to get married, you`ll want to learn more about California laws. Contact a California family attorney now to learn more. The man, a family friend, was supposed to keep Tyree in the family home in San Pablo, California, as she completed sixth grade, and her parents moved to Texas to start a business. Instead, the man raped her repeatedly and eventually got her pregnant, Tyree said. When they found out, his parents and family friend, presumably knowing they could face legal consequences, convinced Tyree that marriage was the solution. State laws governing age limits for marriage are generally similar, although California is one of the few states where there is no minimum age for marriage. However, minors (under the age of 18) must obtain both parental consent and a court order before they can marry. Although couples rarely marry before reaching the age of majority, it is intended primarily to allow pregnant minors to marry. Child marriage is still legal in California. It requires the consent of only one parent by court order. Many of these marriages take place between young girls and men much older than them, giving way to gender-based violence within marriage. TASNEEM: We allow children to marry in the state of California at any age with parental consent and judicial review.
Therefore, it is extremely troubling to think that people would still justify this today. This is pedophilia. If you look at the statistics today, most of the children who marry are girls and they marry adult men. And many of these marriages circumvent legal rape laws and age of consent laws. And I think it`s very clear that these laws are extremely sexist and biased against women. Ruby`s Place is currently setting up two shelters for young people aged 13-17 to meet the needs of survivors of trafficking, including those fleeing child marriage. But to end the problem, laws that allow children to marry need to be changed, Acheson said. Dawn Tyree says she was 13 when her father and stepmother urged her to marry a 32-year-old child molester. Most Californians are shocked to discover that child marriage is legal in their state and 45 other states.
California law, established by SB273, approved by the governor in September 2018 and went into effect in January 2019, does not include a minimum age for marriage. The minimum age for marriage is also known as the minimum age limit. Minors may marry with the permission of their parents and the court. The 2018 bill introduced in Sacramento failed to link child marriage to Californians and tie a global campaign to prevent human rights abuses. The California Coalition to End Child Marriage believes that this legislative error is due to a lack of education, a lack of listening to survivors` voices and a lack of community awareness. Going forward, the California Coalition to End Child Marriage will engage the public to build a coalition of support.