State and sex-specific trends in the annual incidence of child marriage in the United States since the year 2000

Abstract

ObjectivesChild marriage, defined as marriage before 18 years of age, is a violation of human rights with harmful consequences for population health, educational attainment, and economic opportunities. Child marriage is legal across most of the United States but how often it happens is challenging to estimate. We measured state and sex-specific trends in the annual incidence of child marriage in 41 states and the District of Columbia. MethodsWe collected data from marriage certificates filed between 2000 and 2019. These certificates allowed us to identify marriages that occurred within each state and involved a spouse under the age of 18. We divided the number of 15–17-year-olds married in each year by the number of children in that age range living in the state in that year and graphed these annual rates to present trends over time. ResultsThe rate of child marriage declined substantially across the United States between 2000 and 2019. Over 75 % of all married children in each state were girls. Girls married men who were an average of 4 years older than they were, and the age gap was substantially larger when girls married than when boys married. ConclusionsChild marriage continues across most of the United States and reflects gender inequities in American society. The continued legality of marriage before the age of 18 is at odds with the country's commitment to eliminate child marriage by the year 2030 and violates the human rights of children, primarily girls, across the country.