Clad in wedding dresses and chains, protestors marched through the Pennsylvania State Capitol on Wednesday morning to demand an end to child marriage in the state.
Advocates for Unchained At Last, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending child marriage, were at the Capitol to support pending legislation that would raise Pennsylvania’s minimum marriage age to 18.
In addition to white wedding gowns and chains, many wore tape over their mouths to symbolize the effect that child marriage has on young women.
“Arms chained, mouths taped, trapped, silenced,” Unchained At Last Founder and Executive Director Fraidy Reiss said. “This is what life looks like for girls and women right here in Pennsylvania who are forced to marry.”
Reiss, a survivor of a forced marriage, said as of 2014 there were more than 2,000 girls living in Pennsylvania who had been married between the ages of 15 and 17. The legal age to marry in Pennsylvania is technically 18, but Reiss said there are loopholes that “effectively lower the marriage age to zero.”
Parents or guardians can sign off on minors being married before 18, according to current law. Additionally, a court can authorize the marriage of someone under 16 if it is in their “best interest.”
Efforts to close those loopholes are currently underway. Earlier this month, the state House of Representatives passed a measure to raise the legal age to marry to 18 with no exceptions.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Jesse Topper, R-Bedford County, would raise the minimum age to marry to 18. It passed in the house with a vote of 195-0, and is now being considered by the Senate.
The U.S. State Department has characterized child marriage as “human rights abuse.” Topper said he didn’t know the practice was still possible in Pennsylvania when he took office.
“I truly believe this a child protection bill,” Topper said.
The bill also has support in the Senate. Reiss said 28 senators have signed on, and several attended the Wednesday-morning protest.
“Sixteen is way too young to be married,” Sen. John Sabatina, D-Philadelphia, the primary sponsor of the Senate version of the bill, said. “You need to be 18 to vote it only stands to reason that you need to be 18 to be married.”
Protestors marched through the capitol to Gov. Tom Wolf’s office, where they were told the governor is in support of the legislation.
Underage marriage has myriad consequences for young girls, advocates said. Those include a greater likelihood of dropping out of high school and a higher chance of domestic abuse.
“It has devastating, life-long representations,” Reiss said.
Pennsylvania is not alone in its exceptions for child marriage. According to Unchained At Last, 48 states have exceptions that allow people to marry under the age of 18. Additionally, 17 states don’t set a minimum age below which a child cannot marry.