Too young to marry: Connecticut finally ends child marriage

From left to right: Dr. Matthew Blondin, Audrey Blondin, State Representative Michelle Cook, Fraidy Reiss, founder and leader of Unchained At Last, at a public hearing in Hartford to discuss a minimum marriage age in Connecticut on March 6, 2017. The bill was signed into law on June 20, 2017. less From left to right: Dr. Matthew Blondin, Audrey Blondin, State Representative Michelle Cook, Fraidy Reiss, founder and leader of Unchained At Last, at a public hearing in Hartford to discuss a minimum marriage ... more Photo: Contributed Photo Photo: Contributed Photo Image 1 of / 77 Caption Close Too young to marry: Connecticut finally ends child marriage 1 / 77 Back to Gallery

At least 20,000 girls under the age of 18 married with judicial consent in 2017 in the U.S. and Canada, according to a report released Wednesday by the Fairfield-based organization Save the Children. And a recent Frontline investigation found that between 2000 and 2014, more than 1,200 minors were married in Connecticut.

But no more.

In a move hailed by children's rights advocates, the Connecticut legislature voted in June to ban child marriage before the age of 16. The new law took effect this month.

Previously, Connecticut children could get married at any age with the approval of a probate judge, a practice that’s still allowed in 25 states.

A growing number of states are raising the minimum age of marriage in the U.S. Since last month, Texas requires children under 18 to get a judge's consent before marrying. In July, New York passed a law requiring both parties to be at least 17.

“I think that’s a positive trend,” said Carolyn Miles, president and CEO of Save the Children. “We would like to see this as something that continues in the United States and globally.”

The campaign to end child marriage in Connecticut was originally initiated by a Litchfield lawyer, Audrey Blondin, and her husband, Dr. Matthew Blondin. Both are pursuing master's degrees in public health at the University of Connecticut and discovered through a class project in March that there was no minimum age requirement for marriage in the state.

“That really struck us,” Blondin said. “This was something local and most people had no idea. They assumed you had to be at least 16. You can’t vote until you’re 18 or buy alcohol until you’re 21, but you can get married when you’re 5.”

The Blodins talked to their local state representative, Michelle Cook, D-Torrington, and convinced her to help draft and co-sponsor a bill to ban marriage under the age of 18, with the support of other legislators, including Representative William Tong, D-Stamford, and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk.

The bill passed the Connecticut General Assembly unanimously, with the exception that 16- and 17-year-olds can still be married with approval of a parent and a judge probate.

“We were satisfied with our results,” Blondin said. “To have a bill get through the legislature in six months from start to finish, I think that spoke to the seriousness and the gravity of the situation.”

But international organizations like Girls Not Brides, Unchained at Last and Save the Children argue that exceptions based on parental or judicial consent don’t protect teenagers who are being forced into marriage.

Today, at least 7.5 million girls marry illegally each year and about 100 million girls are at risk of becoming brides, even with parental or judicial consent, according to the Save the Children report.

Girls who marry before 18 are also less likely to complete high school, the report shows. They’re also not always capable of giving their free and full consent to marry.