America has a child marriage epidemic—and it's even worse than you think

https://open.substack.com/pub/qasimrashid/p/america-has-a-child-marriage-epidemicand

created by caveatlector73 on 24/11/2024 at 19:17 UTC

11302 upvotes, 207 top-level comments (showing 25)

Comments

Comment by ObscureSaint at 24/11/2024 at 19:45 UTC

904 upvotes, 9 direct replies

186 of 193 countries have ratified the CEDAW treaty, the United States shamefully remains as one of only seven countries that has to date refused to ratify it. We join Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Nauru, Palau, and Tonga on this indefensible list. Therefore, CEDAW does not apply in the United States.

Jesus Christ

Comment by caveatlector73 at 24/11/2024 at 19:21 UTC

1002 upvotes, 18 direct replies

What happens when a child is legally married to an adult over the age of consent in the United States?

Well for one thing the child cannot file for divorce because they are not legally old enough to do so.

Comment by ILikeNeurons at 24/11/2024 at 20:07 UTC

276 upvotes, 2 direct replies

Child marriage in the U.S. is used as a defense for pedophilia.

Low-rate persistent sex offenders typically begin offending during their late teens and offend less than once per year with the most offenses in their 30s. This group was equally as likely to commit rape as child sexual abuse. This is the most common type of sex offender[1], so testing kits[2] even when the statute of limitations has passed can[3] help protect adults as well as children.

1: https://smart.ojp.gov/somapi/chapter-3-sex-offender-typologies

2: https://www.endthebacklog.org/take-action/advocate-state/

3: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2024/09/26/michigan-rape-kit-case-part-1/74620143007/

Contact from constituents works[4], and it's really easy[5]. Customized letters are more effective.[6]

4: https://escholarship.org/content/qt7sk23908/qt7sk23908.pdf

5: https://www.endthebacklog.org/take-action/advocate-state/

6: https://www.citizen.org/news/personalized-emails-are-key-to-boosting-grassroots-influence/

https://www.endthebacklog.org/take-action/advocate-state/

Comment by Fake_William_Shatner at 24/11/2024 at 19:58 UTC

75 upvotes, 3 direct replies

This photo attached to this story is killing me.

Comment by A_Reddit_Guy_1 at 24/11/2024 at 21:09 UTC

32 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Why is this not on par with CSA? It’s just a form of legal CSA.

Comment by Fellowshipofthebowl at 24/11/2024 at 20:26 UTC

62 upvotes, 5 direct replies

Next, let’s understand the lead culprits perpetuating this injustice. Because while child marriage is a nationwide problem, Republican states lead the way. Nine of the top 10 states leading rates of child marriage are GOP run states. They are as follows:

1. Nevada (0.671%)

2. Idaho (0.338%)

3. Arkansas (0.295%)

4. Kentucky (0.262%)

5. Oklahoma (0.229%)

6. Wyoming (0.227%)

7. Utah (0.208%)

8. Alabama (0.195%)

9. West Virginia (0.193%)

10. Mississippi (0.182%)

Comment by foxy-coxy at 25/11/2024 at 01:31 UTC

20 upvotes, 1 direct replies

The GOP used the lie that kids are getting sex changes at school to rile up their base while protecting laws that allow adults to marry literal 10 year olds.

Comment by BioSemantics at 24/11/2024 at 20:04 UTC

71 upvotes, 1 direct replies

the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) calls for action to specify a minimum marriage age of 18. Therefore, any U.S. state law which forces minors into marriage is a de facto violation of CEDAW. The tragic bad news is that while 186 of 193 countries have ratified the CEDAW treaty, the United States shamefully remains as one of only seven countries that has to date refused to ratify it. We join Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Nauru, Palau, and Tonga on this indefensible list. Therefore, CEDAW does not apply in the United States

Unsurprising.

Comment by Fantastic_Year9607 at 24/11/2024 at 20:25 UTC

46 upvotes, 4 direct replies

The fact that America hasn’t outlawed this practice is nuts. And with so many pedos like Trump coming into power, America is truly a country with no morals.

Comment by gofl-zimbard-37 at 24/11/2024 at 20:05 UTC

159 upvotes, 10 direct replies

Why is the GOP so into pedophilia?

Comment by BachelorCooking at 25/11/2024 at 00:36 UTC

15 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Republicans love child marriage while claiming everyone else is a pedophile.

Comment by mysteriousGains at 25/11/2024 at 00:55 UTC

11 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Red states are child marriage states?

Who would have guessed?

Comment by thedude213 at 24/11/2024 at 22:39 UTC

11 upvotes, 1 direct replies

And you'll never guess who is trying to keep those laws intact!

Comment by [deleted] at 24/11/2024 at 20:56 UTC

7 upvotes, 2 direct replies

[removed]

Comment by NomadFire at 25/11/2024 at 01:51 UTC*

8 upvotes, 1 direct replies

The US military might have a problem with this too. A friend of mine told me of underage marriages happening. Most of the time between two underage teenagers but other times one of the spouses is over and the other is under. They had a special rules and understandings when a wife or husband of someone was underage. A lot of things wives/husbands between the ages of 15-17 can do that normal people that age cannot. There are a lot of 18-21 year olds marrying people under the age of 18. Part of it is because when you are married you get special privileges.

I am talking about the 1980s to early 2000s I do not know how it is now.

Comment by jgreg728 at 24/11/2024 at 21:29 UTC

11 upvotes, 1 direct replies

The more you read this article the more you want to light something on fire.

Comment by el-Douche_Canoe at 25/11/2024 at 03:39 UTC

6 upvotes, 0 direct replies

No big surprise, the country is ran by pedos

Comment by Superb-Associate-222 at 24/11/2024 at 20:43 UTC

20 upvotes, 1 direct replies

The “protect the children cult” is wildin out right now

Comment by Trap_Cubicle5000 at 24/11/2024 at 20:17 UTC

13 upvotes, 2 direct replies

I'm interested to know why Nevada's rate is so much higher than the rest.

Comment by recoveringleft at 24/11/2024 at 20:25 UTC

16 upvotes, 0 direct replies

And now the Christian nationalists have taken over.

Comment by Informal_Funeral at 24/11/2024 at 20:13 UTC

10 upvotes, 2 direct replies

That's like 32-33 child marriages/day.

Comment by SVW1986 at 25/11/2024 at 02:14 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

One of the most frustrating things I've watched was an SC rep (republican man obviously, Sen. Cash is a fucking plague of a human being) argue against minors being able to get birth control, but then be in favor of minors getting married.

https://www.newsweek.com/south-carolina-state-senator-richard-cash-teen-birth-control-marriage-comments-1740715[1][2]

1: https://www.newsweek.com/south-carolina-state-senator-richard-cash-teen-birth-control-marriage-comments-1740715

2: https://www.newsweek.com/south-carolina-state-senator-richard-cash-teen-birth-control-marriage-comments-1740715

Comment by [deleted] at 24/11/2024 at 21:56 UTC

7 upvotes, 0 direct replies

What's with these shitty headlines? The media doesn't give the readership enough credit.

The problem is exactly as bad as we think. That's what we've been saying for years.

Comment by Apprehensive-Till861 at 25/11/2024 at 06:35 UTC

3 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Well, right-wing types keep saying all pedophiles should die, right?

Maybe start with the ones keeping child marriage legal...

Comment by MetaVaporeon at 25/11/2024 at 08:54 UTC

3 upvotes, 0 direct replies

and then you elected the pedo brigade across the nation.

in four years, child marriage is probably a norm, especially if a kid seems too queer.