The problem has affected as many as 200,000 children in the the US since 2000
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Men in the United States are taking advantage of exceptions in state laws to marry minors
at an alarming rate, leading to disastrous consequences for many girls who become trapped with little ability to fend for themselves.
In the majority of states, people need to be 18 years old in order to get married — but all but three states make parental or court exceptions to that rule leading a group of predominantly young girls into dangerous situations. And, contributing to those lax allowances are 25 states that have no statutory “floor”, meaning a child of any age can technically get married to an adult with certain permissions.
As a result, more than 200,000 children were married between 2000 and 2015, and many of those were young girls marrying adult men, according to new [...]
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