Governor Phil Scott signed a law that ends child marriage in the state by raising the legal age for marriage to 18 without exceptions. This victory makes Vermont the 8th state to completely end child marriage and comes after years of advocacy by the sponsor, Rep. Carol Ode, and advocates in Vermont to ensure that children can no longer be coerced into marriage

The Washington Post reporter, Kimberly Kindy, interviewed Tahirih’s public policy experts on child marriage in U.S. You can read the full article here.

After several years of efforts, Wyoming has taken action to protect children by limiting child marriage in the state. House Bill 7 does not ban child marriage but is an important first step toward ending child marriage in the state. Until this year, Wyoming had no minimum age under which minors could not be married and allowed older minors to marry with nothing more than parental permission.  

In Time to Lead: The Federal Government’s Role in Ending Child Marriage in the United States, Tahirih highlights the critical role of the federal government in our fight to end child marriage here at home.

In Comparing Compromises: Varying Impacts of Laws that Limit, But Do Not End Child Marriage, Tahirih analyzes data from states that have recently passed a reform to limit child marriage.

The Tahirih Justice Center has released two new reports that underscore the urgent need to take action against child marriage in the United States. These reports reveal alarming new data and call for long overdue legislative action at the state and federal levels to protect all children from the harms of child marriage.

After several years of efforts, Alaska has taken action to protect children by limiting child marriage in the state. House Bill 62 does not ban child marriage but is an important first step to ending child marriage in the state. Until this year, Alaska had the lowest minimum marriage age set by law at just 14 and allowed older minors to marry with nothing more than parental permission.  

The new law, which passed both House and Senate with strong bipartisan majorities, raises the state’s minimum marriage age to 16. It also ensures that all minors will go before a judge before marrying, and mandates that minors may not marry a partner more than three years older.