In the United States, consensual arranged marriages are legal as long as both parties agree to the marriage of their own volition. However, most states require 18 years of age for marriage, but all fifty states allow exceptions. Arranged marriages are not the same as forced marriages, as the spouse has the possibility to reject the offer.
Arranged marriages were deeply rooted in the past and were generally not legal before the American Civil War. In some cases, the state sent a child home to be raped, making sex within the marriage a crime. Most states have a minimum marriage age for minors with parental consent, ranging from 12-17 years old. However, California and Mississippi do not have minimum ages for minors to be allowed to marry with parental consent.
The Tahirih Justice Center developed proposed Policy Recommendations to Address Forced Marriage in the United States, which outline a national action plan that includes the following:
1. Enslaved people in the United States were generally not legal before the American Civil War (1861-1865). Enslaved African Americans were considered chattel legally, and they were denied human or civil rights until the United States abolished slavery with the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
2. Child marriage is not legal in any U.S. state, as the minimum marriage age in most states is 18. Underaged marriage in the U.S. is not permitted unless there are exceptional circumstances.
3. The U.S. government recognizes the distinct differences between arranged marriages and forced marriages, as long as no one can legally force anyone to marry against their will.
📹 Uncovering the problem of forced marriage in the U.S
She was never verbally or physically threatened or restrained. But at age 19, Nina Van Harn felt like she couldn’t say no when she …
📹 Why does the US have so many child brides? – BBC News
Angel was 13 when her mother forced her to marry and start a family. “I felt like a slave,” she says of her childhood.
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