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The Forced Marriage of Minors: A Neglected Form of Child Abuse

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Loretta M. Kopelman
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Abstract

The forced marriage of minors is child abuse, consequently duties exist to stop them. Yet over 14 million forced marriages of minors occur annually in developing countries. The American Bar Association (ABA) concludes that the problem in the US is significant, widespread but largely ignored, and that few US laws protect minors from forced marriages. Although their best chance of rescue often involves visits to health care providers, US providers show little awareness of this growing problem. Strategies discussed to stop forced marriages include recommendations from the UN, the ABA, and the UK. The author anticipates and responds to criticisms that first, no duty to intervene exists without better laws and practice guidelines; and second, that such marriages are not child abuse in traditions where parental rights or familism allegedly justify them.

Type
Independent Articles
Information
Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics , Volume 44 , Issue 1: Part II: Harmonizing Privacy Laws to Enable International Biobank Research , Spring 2016 , pp. 173 - 181
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics 2016

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