Girls as young as 10 were among the minors who wedded under legal loopholes
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More than 200,000 children were married in the US over the past 15 years, new figures have
revealed.
Three 10-year-old girls and an 11-year-old boy were among the youngest to wed, under legal loopholes which allow minors to marry in certain circumstances.
The minimum age for marriage across most of the US is 18, but every state has exemptions – such as parental consent or pregnancy – which allow younger children to tie the knot.
In May, the high-profile Republican governor for New Jersey declined to sign into law a measure that would have made his state the first to ban child marriage without exception. Chris Christie claimed it would conflict with religious customs.
At least 207,468 minors married in the US between 2000 and 2015, according to data compiled by Unchained At [...]
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Child marriage is a formal marriage or informal union entered into by an individual before reaching a certain age. This is specified by several global organizations such as UNICEF as minors under the age of 18. The legally prescribed marriageable age in some jurisdictions is below 18 years
especially in the case of girls; and even when the age is set at 18 years, many jurisdictions permit earlier marriage with parental consent or in special circumstances, such as teenage pregnancy. In certain countries, even when the legal marriage age is 18, cultural traditions take priority over legislative law. Child marriage violates the rights of children; it affects both boys and girls, but it is more common among girls.