California bans child marriage after decade-long campaign

California has passed AB-1267, setting 18 as the minimum marriage age with no exceptions and closing a loophole that allowed children to marry with parental and judicial approval. Advocates say the move protects minors from forced marriage and puts the nation’s most populous state in line with human rights standards.

Why it matters: - California’s new law ends child marriage in the state and removes one of the last major legal loopholes allowing minors to marry. - The change matters for survivor safety, because child marriage can expose girls to abuse, forced pregnancy, school dropout, and long-term economic harm. - The law also matters beyond California because the state is the nation’s most populous and could influence the remaining 32 states where children can still legally marry. - The legislation voids a statutory rape exception tied to marriage, except for children already in existing marriages.

What happened: - California lawmakers passed AB-1267, setting 18 as the minimum legal age of marriage without exception. - The bill closes a loophole that had allowed children of any age to marry with the written consent of one parent and judicial approval. - The law comes after nearly a decade of campaigning by Unchained At Last, survivors, grassroots groups, and human rights organizations including Equality Now. - Survivor advocate Sara Tasneem said the fight took nine years of advocacy and brought both joy and pain. - Survivor activist Courtney Stodden said the ban means no child has to grow up under a law that failed to protect them. - Child marriage survivor and advocate Christina Sutton said the law vindicates survivors and said more work remains.

The details: - Before the ban, California was one of only three U.S. states with no minimum marriage age, alongside Mississippi and New Mexico. - California law had allowed a child of any age to marry with the consent of just one parent, including a non-custodial parent, plus judicial approval. - Advocates said marriage-based emancipation did not fully protect minors because it took effect only after marriage and did not confer full adult rights. - Minors in California could not leave home, enter a domestic violence shelter, retain an attorney, or bring independent legal action. - Advocates warned the old law also created trafficking risks through federal spousal and fiancé visa rules that defer to the couple’s intended state of residence. - Unchained At Last estimates that about 34,875 girls were married in California between 2000 and 2021. - Unchained At Last found that 86% of all children married in the U.S. between 2000 and 2021 were girls, with most wed to adult men. - The group said at least 66,415 U.S. child marriages involved a child too young to legally consent to sex or involved an age gap that would meet statutory rape thresholds under state law. - In 2023, the U.N. Human Rights Committee called on the U.S. to prohibit marriage under 18.

Between the lines: - California’s fight showed how a single issue can stall when women’s and girls’ rights groups disagree over related concerns, including abortion and medical decision-making. - Earlier efforts failed in 2018 after substantial amendments left a loophole in place, and another attempt in the 2023-24 session also fell short. - Advocates argued the tension was false because abortion and medical care are time-sensitive, while marriage is not. - The campaign succeeded by building a coalition of roughly 30 members, including survivors, local and national groups, and advocates such as Chelsea Clinton. - Unchained At Last says its work helped push 17 states to adopt 18 as the minimum legal marriage age after the first California bill was introduced. - Equality Now’s Anastasia Law said the win shows legal change can come through persistence and coalition-building.

What’s next: - California’s law now aligns the state more closely with international human rights standards requiring governments to prevent child abuse. - The ban sends pressure across the 32 other states where children can still legally marry. - Advocates are likely to use California’s action as a model for ending child marriage in every U.S. state and at the federal level. - Unchained At Last and Equality Now say the broader movement will continue until the remaining loopholes are closed.

The bottom line: - California took nearly a decade to do it, but the state has now closed the door on child marriage and given advocates a major template for the next fight.