Child marriages violating statutory rape laws in many U.S. states

Child marriages violating statutory rape laws in many U.S. states Marital exemptions to statutory rape laws provide legal loopholes for sexual acts with children, otherwise considered crimes In many U.S. states, children can legally marry at an earlier age than they can consent to sex, leading to situations where sex between spouses may be a criminal act. Some states exempt sex between married spouses from their definition of statutory rape, which may create perverse incentives for child marriage, according to researchers from McGill University. Their findings, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health , show that child marriages violated statutory rape laws in 14 states. Child marriage, defined by the United Nations as marriage before the age of 18, is widely considered a violation of human rights that harms health and educational opportunities of children - particularly young girls. Until recently, almost nothing was known about child marriage in the United States. This study highlights the blurred legal boundary between child marriage and sexual violence. Comparing data from marriage certificates and statutory rape laws across the U.S. , the researchers found that the proportion of child marriages that met the definition of a sex crime varied from 1% to over 50%.