This Houston Chronicle article tells the story of courageous survivor advocate Trevicia Williams, who married at age 14 in Texas. Williams is working with the Tahirih Justice Center and Texas state legislators to change Texas’ minimum age law through SB 1705 / HB 3932, a bill to limit marriage to legal adults.
Tahirih’s Senior Counsel for Policy and Strategy, Jeanne Smoot, spoke with the Houston Chronicle for this story.
As the law stands, a child as young as 16 can be legally married by the state with the consent of a single parent. Children younger than 16 can also be married with a judge’s consent, according to Jeanne Smoot of the Tahirih Justice Center.
‘There is no age floor as long as a judge signs off on it,’ Smoot told Chron.com.
