WoLF Submits Testimony Protecting Against Forced Marriages
By Naima Schuller, Operations Director at WoLF
WoLF recently submitted testimony in support of AB 2534 in California which expands the state's Domestic Violence Prevention Act to explicitly protect individuals facing forced or coerced marriages. It establishes specialized protective orders to help prevent or escape marriages forced through fraud, duress, or coercive control.
Marriage is supposed to begin with a choice. Forced marriage begins with the absence of one.
Forced marriage is a global problem—including in the United States—and it disproportionately affects women and girls. More than two-thirds of those living in forced marriages, approximately 14.9 million people, are female.
More than a quarter of forced marriages also occur in high- or upper-middle-income countries, showing this is not just a problem that happens “somewhere else.”
The coercion often comes from those a victim depends on most: 73 percent of victims identified their parents as responsible, while another 16 percent identified other relatives. For many girls and young women, resisting can mean risking the loss of family, housing, financial support, community, or personal safety. Under those conditions, the ability to say “no” is not the same as having the freedom to do so.
The Harm Does Not End at the Wedding
Forced marriage is not a one-time violation. The loss of autonomy often continues long after the ceremony. Victims face increased risks of sexual exploitation, violence, domestic servitude, and other forms of forced labor. Women and girls are also more likely to be forced to work by a spouse or the spouse’s family.
That power imbalance can shape every part of life, including decisions about sex, pregnancy, household labor, employment, money, movement, and contact with others. A marriage certificate does not eliminate the need for consent.
Child Marriage Raises Additional Concerns
Forced marriage and child marriage are not identical, but they often overlap because children have less independence and are more dependent on the adults controlling their futures.
Research published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that nearly 300,000 children were married in the United States between 2000 and 2018.
Education and Economic Independence Matter
Barriers to education and economic opportunity can increase vulnerability to forced and early marriage. Child marriage can limit women’s education, employment, earnings, and independence. Financial dependence can trap a woman in a coercive marriage, making education, employment, access to money, and the ability to support herself essential to freedom.
Protecting the Right to Say No
At its core, forced marriage deeply impacts and harms women’s autonomy, and the problem is growing. Between 2016 and 2021, the estimated global number of people living in forced marriages increased by 6.6 million, from 15.4 million to 22 million.
WoLF continues to fight for the rights of women and girls to determine the course of their own lives. If you support our work, please consider making a donation today!
Sources and Statistics
International Labour Organization (ILO), Walk Free, and International Organization for Migration (IOM), Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage (2022).Source for the estimates that 22 million people were living in forced marriages in 2021; this represented an increase of 6.6 million since 2016; approximately 14.9 million people in forced marriages were women and girls; women and girls represented more than two-thirds of those forced to marry; 26 percent of forced marriages occurred in high- or upper-middle-income countries; 73 percent of victims identified parents as responsible and 16 percent identified other relatives; half experienced emotional threats or verbal abuse; and forced marriage increases vulnerability to sexual exploitation, violence, domestic servitude, and forced labor.
Source for the finding that nearly 300,000 children were married in the United States between 2000 and 2018.U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Forced Marriage.