The Virginia senate just voted 39-1 to end child marriage! The bill now heads back to the house for a re-vote, since the senate amended (and improved) the bill.
We also expect senate votes this week in Missouri and New Hampshire, so you will hear from us again soon. We hope it will be with good news.
Only two weeks to go until you get to meet Crime Junkie’s Ashley Flowers at True Crime: Forced Marriage in the U.S., our parallel event to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
And Ashley is not the only powerhouse you’ll get to meet at our March 14 event (in person at the U.N. or virtually via Zoom):
Ashley Flowers, Host of Crime Junkie Podcast (Moderator):
Ashley Flowers is a founder/Chief Creative Officer, podcast creator/host, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author and mother. She is the host of the hit true crime podcast “Crime Junkie” and several other chart-topping shows, including “The Deck” and “The Deck Investigates.” Ashley is the founder & CCO of audiochuck, home to industry-leading, advocacy-driven podcasts that have generated over two billion downloads. In just six years, audiochuck has contributed more than $7.5 million to nonprofit organizations and continues to seek out advocacy opportunities across the globe to help solve cold cases, locate missing persons, fund DNA testing and advocate for marginalized communities. Ashley’s passion for advocacy also led her to establish Season of Justice, a nonprofit that provides financial resources to help solve cold cases.
Chani Getter, LCSW, Survivor and scholar-in-residence at Footsteps:
Chani Getter (they/them) is writer, speaker, therapist, and interfaith minister. Their life and work have been featured in two documentary films, “One of Us” (2017) and “Devout” (2012). At 23, Rev. Chani began a courageous journey to live authentically. There was no model or path for what they set out to do. They made one. Decades later, Rev. Chani supports people to discover themselves, embrace their truth, and celebrate their milestones. Rev. Chani is also an award-winning activist and educator. For nearly 20 years, Rev. Chani has supported and nurtured a growing community of women, trans, gender queer, men and non-binary people across North America and Europe. The Jewish Women’s Archive highlights Rev. Chani’s pivotal role in supporting the formation and development of organizations and resources for LGBTQ+ people, including those wanting to stay connected to their Orthodox roots. Learn more at chanigetter.com.
Houry Geudelekian, Survivor and past chair of NGO CSW/NY:
Houry Geudelekian is a global leader in intersectional feminist network organizing, spearheading collaborative movements to achieve transformational change in gender equality in the U.N. space and is the U.N. Coordinator of Unchained At Last. Houry has skillfully led campaigns, forums and coalitions for global policy change. As Chair of NGO CSW/NY, she spearheaded the Beijing+25 campaign as well as convened a global Civil Society Advisory Group to support U.N. Women’s Generation Equality Forums (GEF). She leads high-level engagement with U.N. Agencies, civil society networks, Member States and other actors to advance policy efforts on care-work, child marriage, gender-based violence and other important topics. Houry organized numerous multilateral forums which generated over 25,000 participants and $40 billion committed towards gender equality. She brings dedication, passion and humor to a challenging field, and has been seen making the U.N. Secretary General laugh on gender-equality panels at UNHQ. Born in Beirut, Lebanon to an Armenian family, Houry moved to New York City in the late ‘70s and started a business that grew to over 30 team members and 2,000 constituents. This business continues to flourish, although she has transitioned to full time work in the human-rights field. Houry is fluent in Armenian and English as well as spoken Arabic and French.
Davinder Kaur, Survivor and author of “Forced to Marry Him”:
Davinder Kaur was born and raised in Bradford, England. She briefly lived in Denmark and traveled Australia for a year before moving to the United States in the early 1990s. She earned her bachelor’s degree at the age of 40 while working full time and raising her three children, who are her pride and joy. In the late 1980s, Davinder was forced to marry a man she didn’t know. When she was only 14 years old, the marriage was arranged and set to occur when she turned 18. After four long years of internal turmoil and despair, she had two choices: adhere to the customs and traditions of her family, or risk bringing dishonor to their home. Davinder didn’t like either option, so she made a plan—a plan to survive. In her first book, “Forced to Marry Him: A Lifetime of Tradition and the Will to Break It,” Davinder tells of the pain, lies, and betrayal she suffered at the hands of those who were meant to protect her the most. But her story doesn’t end there. Davinder’s willingness to speak out and fight not only saved her life but the lives of many other women and young girls over the years. She offers courage and strength to those who can’t advocate for themselves, and she works with organizations all over the world to help end arranged and forced marriages. Davinder gives a voice to the voiceless as she breaks down walls to eradicate cultural and traditional abuse. Today, Davinder enjoys cooking and traveling, loves cruises, and her two favorite places thus far are Italy and London. You can find Davinder on Twitter or Instagram @luchanik or visit her website at forcedtomarryhim.com.
Fraidy Reiss, Survivor and founder/executive director of Unchained At Last:
Fraidy Reiss is a survivor turned activist. She was 19 when she was forced to marry a stranger who turned out to be violent. She lost all sexual and reproductive rights, forced to have unprotected marital sex and to have two children. When she finally escaped that marriage, her family shunned her. Fraidy rebuilt her life and founded Unchained At Last, an NGO that combats forced and child marriage in the United States through direct services and systems change. Fraidy’s research and writing on forced and child marriage have been published extensively, making her one of the foremost experts on these abuses in the U.S. She has been featured in books (including as one of the titular women in Hillary and Chelsea Clinton’s “The Book of Gutsy Women”), films and countless TV, radio and print news stories. Through Unchained, Fraidy has supported some 1,000 survivors as they fled forced marriage. She also leads a national movement that has banned child marriage in 10 U.S. states – and counting.
The Washington senate clearly heard us: It just voted 48-1 to end child marriage!
Now all we need is for Gov. Jay Inslee to sign HB1455, championed by Rep. Monica Stonier and Sen. Derek Stanford — and Washington will become the 11th state where we have helped to eliminate a human rights abuse that destroys girls’ lives. #18NoExceptions
We’re just a month away from True Crime: Forced Marriage in the U.S. with Crime Junkie’s Ashley Flowers. Will we see you there?
Join us March 14 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET — in person at the United Nations in New York City or virtually via Zoom. Register here.
As the United Nations launches the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women – the world’s largest annual gathering on women’s rights – we at Unchained At Last are launching a hybrid parallel event.
Join us and Ashley Flowers of Crime Junkie as we talk with American forced and child marriage survivors about how they escaped their nightmare and why they now have partnered with us to make sure the U.S. keeps its promise – under the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals – to eliminate forced and child marriage by year 2030 and help achieve gender equality.
True Crime: Forced Marriage in the U.S.
Crime Junkie’s Ashley Flowers Explores United States’ Forced Marriage Problem
An Unchained At Last Hybrid Parallel Event
68th Session of the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women
14 March 2024
12:30 p.m. ET – 1:30 p.m. ET | 9:30 a.m. PT – 10:30 a.m. PT | 4:30 p.m. GMT – 5:30 p.m. GMT
Featuring:
Sponsored by:
IN PERSON:
Church Center for the United Nations
777 United Nations Plaza, New York City
VIRTUALLY:
Via Zoom
About Commission on the Status of Women
Each year the U.N. hosts CSW, the world’s largest annual gathering on women’s rights, in New York City. Representatives of member states, U.N. entities and approved non-governmental organizations from around the world are invited to attend. The 68th session of CSW takes place 10 to 22 March 2024, on a hybrid basis, with a priority theme of accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective.
About Unchained At Last
Unchained is a survivor-led NGO dedicated to ending forced and child marriage in the U.S. through direct services and systems change – in line with U.N. Sustainable Development Goal 5.3, which calls for the elimination of child, early and forced marriage by year 2030, since these are recognized as harmful practices that hinder gender equality. Unchained provides crucial legal and social services, always for free, to individuals in the U.S. who are escaping forced marriage and rebuilding their lives. At the same time, Unchained pushes relentlessly for social, policy and legal change. Founded in 2011, Unchained has been an Organization in Special Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 2017.
About Ashley Flowers
Ashley Flowers is a podcast creator and host of #1 podcast, Crime Junkie. In addition to podcasting, she’s a founder of audiochuck media company, New York Times bestselling author, and mother. Apart from hosting the hit true crime podcast Crime Junkie, she hosts several other chart-topping shows, including The Deck and The Deck Investigates. Ashley is the Founder of audiochuck, home to industry-leading, advocacy-driven podcasts that have generated over two billion downloads. In just six years, audiochuck has contributed more than $7.5 million to nonprofit organizations and continues to seek out advocacy opportunities across the globe to help solve cold cases, locate missing persons, fund DNA testing and advocate for marginalized communities. Ashley’s passion for advocacy also led her to establish Season of Justice, a nonprofit that provides financial resources to help solve cold cases.
The silence sent a loud message last Thursday, when we held our first-ever Silent Chain-In in Olympia.
More than 20 survivors, allies and legislators joined us to stand silently on the rotunda steps in the state capitol, dressed in bridal gowns and chains. Our message was clear: It is time for Washington legislators to pass HB1455 and end child marriage — a human rights abuse that impacted 5,048 children as young as 13 in Washington between 2000 and 2021, mostly girls wed to adult men, in some cases before the girls were old enough to consent to sex.
Rep. Monica Stonier, the primary sponsor of HB1455 joined us in our silence, as did legislative champions Sen. Derek Stanford – who introduced a companion bill in the senate – and Sen. Manka Dhingra – who is holding a hearing on HB1455 in the senate law and justice committee on Jan. 30. Child marriage survivors Kate Yang and Sara Tasneem and forced marriage survivor Stephanie Warren also joined to share their personal stories. We were joined, as well, by several allies from the Washington Coalition to End Child Marriage, including Michele Hanash of the AHA Foundation and several members of Zonta International, including Katherine Cleland.
Our Silent Chain-In got a lot of attention, including from the Seattle Times (which was also picked up by the Spokesman-Review, the Columbian, the Herald-Palladium and others), NewsRadio 560 KPQ, KPUG, the Northwest News Network, Fox 13 (link not available) and more.
We at Unchained started and now lead a growing national movement to end child marriage in the United States by making the marriage age 18, no exceptions, in all 50 states. One of the many ways we advocate for change is by hosting Chain-Ins like this. Read more here about this form of peaceful protest we invented.
Child marriage is an urgent problem in Washington. Dangerous legal loopholes allow parents to enter a child of ANY AGE into marriage without any input required from the child, and without any real legal recourse for a child who does not want to marry.
Marriage before 18 can too easily be forced, because minors, even a day before their 18th birthday, have limited legal rights that make resisting or escaping an unwanted marriage nearly impossible. Further, marriage before 18 is a human rights abuse that destroys American girls’ health, education and economic opportunities and greatly increases their risk of experiencing violence.
Let’s seize on the momentum. If you live in Washington, contact your senators now and urge them to end child marriage. And wherever you live, here are other ways you can get involved.
We set out in November with what felt like a pretty ambitious goal: to raise $100,000 in the last 50 days of 2023 to help end forced and child marriage in all 50 U.S. states.
Thanks to your extraordinary generosity, and a dollar-for-dollar match on the first $75,000, we raised more than DOUBLE that goal: $261,783!
Forced and child marriage don’t stand a chance — especially if you continue to partner with us. Here are some ways you can do that.
We know reading our founder/executive director Fraidy Reiss’s piece in HuffPost — in which she describes the trauma of being forced to marry, have unprotected sex and become a mother — might be painful for you.
But we ask that you read it and share it widely anyway. Because writing it was even more painful for Fraidy.
And the world needs to know about the reality of forced marriage in the United States, if we have any hope of ending it.
We have more than DOUBLED our goal of raising $100k in the last 50 days of 2023 to help end forced and child marriage in the U.S. But we can do more! Child marriage remains legal in 40 U.S. states, so we still have quite the battle ahead.
You still have a matter of hours left to donate to our 50-for-50 year-end campaign, which will help us take a stand against forced and child marriage in 2024 and beyond.
