I came across this flash plea from the Human Rights Watch and felt compelled to post it along with one of my images.

 

Children can legally marry in Florida. There is, in fact, no minimum age for these marriages when the child marrying is pregnant or has a baby and a judge authorizes it.

From 2001 to 2015, over 16,000 children under the age of 18 married in Florida, the second highest rate in the US for that period.

Research strongly links child marriage with dropping out of school, poverty, and mental and physical health disorders.

Activists, including Human Rights Watch, have campaigned for change in other states and reforms have been passed in New York, Texas, and Virginia. Now it is Florida’s turn!

This fall, a new bill to end child marriage has been introduced in Florida’s state legislature. Please email key Florida lawmakers to tell them to support the bill