The Associated Press spoke with the Tahirih Justice Center’s Senior Counsel for Policy and Strategy, Jeanne Smoot, about the alarming number of child marriages in the United States.
Utah’s lawmakers are pushing to raise the legal age of marriage to 18 in their state. Currently, people in Utah can get married as young as 15, with parental consent and permission from court.
I came to the U.S. in the winter of 2006. Life back home in Mexico was tough for me and my family. I dreamt of going to college and graduating but with my family’s economic status, that dream was too costly and impossible.
At least I was able to graduate high school and that is something I am proud of since I was also working at the time to help my family. I was always looking for an opportunity to have a better life as a young woman.
“I hope my story is helpful to someone else…and can inspire many women to be stronger. We need to help young women identify toxic relationships, so that there are fewer Camilas that go through such difficult things, let alone have our children suffer.”
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