Unchained At Last convenes the California Coalition to End Child Marriage, a statewide coalition of local, state, national and international organizations and survivors of child marriage who advocate together for passage of legislation to end child marriage, or marriage before age 18, in California. Coalition members participate at varying levels, according to their capacity, with no obligation to contribute more than their resources allow.
California’s marriage age is 18, but the law includes alarming loopholes: A parent may “consent” to marry off a child of any age with judicial approval, and the court may enter a child of any age into marriage if the child does not have a parent capable of “consenting” to the marriage. These loopholes disempower and seriously endanger minors, even with supposed safeguards the legislature added in 2018.
Child marriage destroys American girls’ health, education and economic opportunities, and increases their risk of experiencing violence. The U.S. State Department calls marriage before 18 a “human rights abuse.”
More than 8,000 California children are entered into marriage every year, and the annual number has been increasing in recent years. As of 2021, more than 14,000 minors living in California already had been married. 100% of these marriages would have been considered a sex crime outside of marriage, because a child-marriage license is a “get out of jail free” card for a would-be child rapist. Sex with a child under age 18 is a sex crime in California unless the perpetrator first marries the child.
The California coalition advocates for a simple, commonsense solution: Eliminate the dangerous loopholes that allow children to be entered into marriage before age 18 – and keep the marriage age at 18, no exceptions.
Coalition members do this by meeting with California state legislators to urge them to introduce, support and pass a bill to end child marriage in California and by raising awareness through events and media coverage.
The California coalition is led by Unchained At Last and includes individual and organizational allies as well as forced and child marriage survivors.
Organizations
Forced and Child Marriage Survivors
Individuals
Are you a survivor or advocate who wants to help end child marriage in California? Join the California Coalition to End Child Marriage.
