We won't stop until we end child marriage in each and every state. 8 states have now banned child marriage. 42 to go! Join us at this chain-in if you can, or please spread the word!
CHAIN-IN SACRAMENTO - JUNE 22, 2023
Advocates in bridal gowns and chains will protest forced and child marriage in California at the State Capitol in Sacramento, and urge an end to human rights abuse.
Press Contact: Alex Boyer Coffey alex@unchainedatlast.org
CHAIN-IN SACRAMENTO - JUNE 22, 2023
SACRAMENTO, CA – Dressed in bridal gowns and veils, with arms chained and mouths taped. That is how advocates will gather June 22 on the West Steps of the California State Capitol to protest forced and child marriage and call on legislators to introduce and pass a simple, commonsense bill to end child marriage in California. Child marriage, or marriage before age 18, creates a nightmarish legal trap. Even the most mature minor faces overwhelming legal and practical barriers if they try to resist or escape a forced marriage. Further, marriage before 18 is recognized as a human rights abuse that destroys almost every aspect of an American girl’s life. And it is an urgent problem in California. Dangerous legal loopholes allow parents to enter a child of any age into marriage with judicial approval --without any real legal recourse for a child who does not want to marry.
Speakers at the Chain-In will include:
• Asm. Cottie Petrie-Norris, legislative champion
• Pat Abatemarco, child marriage survivor
• Mandy Havlik, child marriage survivor
• Davinder Kaur, forced marriage survivor
• Marilyn Smith, child marriage survivor
• Sara Tasneem, child marriage advocate and survivor
• Chavie Weisberger, forced marriage survivor
• Fatemah, child marriage survivor
• Dr. Tamara MC, survivor advocate
• Ela Pandya, Zonta International
• Michele Hanash, AHA Foundation
• Fraidy Reiss, Unchained At Last
TIME/DATE: 9:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. Thursday, June 22, 2023
LOCATION: West Steps of the California State Capitol: 1315 10th St., Sacramento, CA
The Chain-In is hosted by Unchained At Last. ABOUT UNCHAINED AT LAST: Unchained At Last is a survivor-led nonprofit organization dedicated to ending forced and child marriage in the UnitedStates through direct services and advocacy. Unchained provides crucial legal and social services, always for free, to help women, girls and others in the U.S. to escape arranged/forced marriages and rebuild their lives. At the same time, Unchained pushes for social, policy and legal change; the organization started and now leads a growing national movement to eliminate child marriage in every U.S. state and at the federal level, including by organizing Chain-Ins. For more information, visit unchainedatlast.org.