Kentucky joins the growing list of states imposing age limits and other restrictions on child marriage, to rein in a practice that has been largely overlooked in the United States.
A bill approved by the Kentucky Legislature and headed to the governor's desk would change that. Kentucky's S.B. 48 would make it illegal for anyone 16 and younger to marry. The bill cleared the Kentucky House of Representatives on Friday.
All states generally require those 17 and younger to get consent from a parent or judge. Nine states, including Kentucky under current law, allow officials to waive the minimum age requirements for girls who are pregnant.
"People assume that child marriage is a thing of generations past," says Jeanne Smoot, senior counsel at the Tahirih Justice Center. The Virginia-based advocacy group is leading a nationwide push to raise the legal age of marriage to 18.
Smoot says that Kentucky, which has one of the highest rates of child marriages in the nation, allows for children to be "abused and exploited in the guise of marriage — and effectively for no questions to be asked, provided that the right signatures appear on a form that's presented to the clerk."
Kentucky law "turns a truly blind eye to the risks and harms of child marriage," she says.
Advocacy groups cite research indicating that those risks and harms include forfeited education, a greater likelihood of poverty, and increased rates of disease and mental health problems, as well as a higher incidence of domestic violence.
