Child Marriages Violating US State Statutory Rape Laws

The United Nations defined "child marriage" as marriage before the age of 18, and is widely regarded as a violation of human rights that affect the health and educational opportunities of children — especially young women. Nothing was known about child marriage in the United States until recently. This study highlights the legal boundary which is very blurred between child marriage and sexual violence.

In many U.S. states, children can be legally married at the age of consent, which can lead to situations where sexual intercourse between spouses becomes a sex crime. Researchers at McGill University state that some states exempt sex between married spouses from their legal definition of rape, which could create a perverse impetus for child marriage.

Their findings show that child marriages violated statutory rape laws in 14 states and were highlighted in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

The researchers found that the proportion of child marriages that meet the definition of sex crime varies from 1% to 50%, compared to data from marriage certificates and statutory or legal rape laws across the country. In 33 states, some or all of the legal rape laws exempt sexual intercourse between married couples from the definition of a crime. In these states, the proportion of child marriages that are offenses without these exemptions varies from less than 1% to over 80%.

“Our study exposes the inconsistency between laws that permit children to marry and laws that criminalize sex with children across the U.S. The research shows that some child marriages are indistinguishable from sex crimes,” says senior author Alissa Koski, an assistant professor in the department of epidemiology, biostatistics and occupational health at McGill University. “It’s unclear why they were certified as marriages rather than prosecuted,” she adds.

Marital Exemptions to Statutory Rape Laws

Lead author Kaya Van Roost, a PhD student under the supervision of Alissa Koski, said, “We were surprised by the enormous variation between states’ statutory rape laws and how they overlapped with child marriages. We were also alarmed to find some extremely young children were married over the period that we studied. For instance, four 12-year-olds have been legally married in Louisiana since 2000.”

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Research shows that some states have more regulatory laws, while others are more lenient. In Idaho until 2010 sexual intercourse before the age of 18 was prohibited for all unmarried. In these states, many child marriages met the definition of sexual offenses. On the other hand, laws in Michigan prohibit having sex with anyone under the age of 16, unless individuals are married. In these states, fewer child marriages met the definition of crime because most marriages involve youth of ages 16 or 17 years.

The research shows that some states have more restrictive laws while others were more lenient. In Idaho sex before age 18 was prohibited for all unmarried persons until 2010. In these states, many child marriages met the definition of sex crimes. On the flip side, laws in Michigan prohibit sex with someone less than 16 years old, unless the individuals are married. In these states, fewer child marriages met the definition of crimes since most of the marriages involve 16- or 17-year-olds.

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Alissa Koski told, “The simultaneous legality of child marriage and marital exemptions to statutory rape laws provide legal loopholes for sexual acts with children that would otherwise be considered crimes.”

Finally, the researchers suggested that marital exemptions to statutory rape must be reexamined and that the minimum legal age for marriage should be raised to avoid inconsistencies with statutory rape laws.

Source-Medindia