Washington DC Ends Child Marriage

The DC Coalition, with great support from the Zonta Club of Washington DC and Fairfax VA, achieved another milestone in protecting vulnerable children.

We are proud to share a significant milestone in the fight to protect vulnerable children in the United States. On March 21, Washington D.C.’s landmark bill to end child marriage officially went into effect.

This marks another victory in our relentless efforts to safeguard children from the devastating impacts of child marriage. Previously, a parent or guardian could enter a 16- or 17-year-old into marriage with nothing more than a signature. This dangerous loophole has been eliminated, and now, the marriage age is 18—no exceptions.

New Law: The Child Marriage Prohibition Amendment Act of 2024, sponsored by Councilmember Brooke Pinto, was unanimously approved by the DC Council and signed into law by Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Minimum Marriage Age: This law establishes the minimum marriage age in the District of Columbia at 18, with no exceptions.
Elimination of Loopholes: Previously, DC law allowed 16 and 17-year-olds to marry with just the consent of a parent or guardian, without safeguards to ensure the child’s willingness. This dangerous loophole has now been eliminated.

D.C. has now joined 13 states (Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Rhode Island, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, Michigan, Washington, Virginia and New Hampshire) and two territories (American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands) in embracing the simple, commonsense legislative solution we are pushing in all 50 U.S. states to ban child marriage, without exceptions. Such legislation harms no one, costs nothing and ends a human rights abuse.