The number of states in which it is legal to marry before the age of 18. Many parents will use child marriage as a way to benefit financially; one common legal loophole in child marriage laws is that it only takes one parent to consent to the marriage of a 16- or 17-year-old and once that minor is married, any unresolved custody agreements are moot. Unchained At Last, an organization that advocates for the end of forced and child marriages, estimates that nearly 300,000 minors were married between 2000 and 2018.
