RES-2020-106RESOLUTION NO. 2020 - 106
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
ANAHEIM ANNOUNCING ITS COMMITMENT TO END
CHILD MARRIAGE BY CALLING FOR AN "END CHILD
MARRIAGE UNDER 18, NO EXCEPTIONS" LAW AND
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER, OR DESIGNEE, TO
PUBLISH EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION PERTAINING TO
ENDING CHILD MARRIAGE
WHEREAS, each year minors are coerced and forced into marriages in cities
across the United States; and
WHEREAS, marriage license records from a sample of state health departments
across the country reveal that, in a 15 -year period between 2000 and 2015, well more
than 200,000 minors were married in the United States, mostly girls married to adult men;
and
WHEREAS, Child Marriage, a formal marriage or informal union where one or both
parties is under the age of 18, is defined as a human rights abuse by the Department of
State, UNICEF and Human Rights Watch; and
WHEREAS, as a member of the United Nations, the United States adopted the
United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development including a commitment to
achieving the Sustainable Development goals, including Goal 5 to "Achieve gender
equality and empower all women and girls," and specifically target 5.3: "Eliminate all
harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation";
and
WHEREAS, the American Medical Association has called for an end to Child
Marriage stating "Child marriage is associated with higher rates of sexually transmitted
infections, early pregnancies, divorce, and intimate partner violence than women married
at age 21 "; and
WHEREAS, the detrimental effects of Child Marriage are many, including but not
limited to, an adverse effect on the child's health, education, and employment
opportunities as proven by UN Women and the World Bank; and
WHEREAS, minors in unwanted or abusive marriages suffer social isolation from
their support networks like school, friends and family, which contributes to their poor
mental health; and
WHEREAS, young women and girls ages 16-19 face intimate partner violence
victimization rates almost three times the national average; and
WHEREAS, the majority (70%-80%) of Child Marriages end in divorce; and
WHEREAS, minors who marry early are more likely to discontinue their formal
educations prematurely, earn low wages, and live in poverty. Girls who marry early are
fifty percent more likely to drop out of high school and four times less likely to graduate
from college; and
WHEREAS, a minor's understanding of their legal rights and access to practical
resources to avoid or abandon an unwanted or abusive marriage are far more limited than
adult men and women may have; and
WHEREAS, in the state of California, there is no minimum age to marry and no
restrictions on the age differences between the two parties (e.g., between adult men and
minor girls); and
WHEREAS, Child Marriage in the United States is not confined to any religious or
cultural group. American children of all backgrounds are at risk in California cities because
the law permits marriage before the age of majority; and
WHEREAS, the overwhelming evidence of adverse effects on the minor's
wellbeing and the remaining risk of abusive relationships with older men calls for an "End
Child Marriage Under 18, No Exceptions" law; and
WHEREAS, the states of Delaware, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey
already passed laws ending Child Marriage for all minors, without exception; and
WHEREAS, the City of Anaheim has determined that it is a moral imperative and
undeniably in the best public interest of the city to protect all minors from Child
Marriage.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the City Council of the City of
Anaheim as follows:
1. The City Council hereby calls on the California State Legislature to
introduce and pass legislation to "End Child Marriage Under 18, No
Exceptions".
2. The City Council hereby calls on other California municipalities to pass
resolutions showing their commitment to end Child Marriage.
3. The City Council hereby authorizes and directs the City Manager, or
designee, to publish information regarding opposing the practice of Child
Marriage. In so far as is necessary, the city manager and city staff shall
collaborate with human rights nonprofits and organizations specializing in
the aforementioned cause to produce such educational content.
4. The City Council hereby authorizes and directs that the City Manager, or
designee, to make known to city residents the availability of various letter -
writing campaigns designed to "End Child Marriage Under 18, No
Exceptions" on a state and federal level.
2
THE FOREGOING RESOLUTION is approved and adopted by the City Council of
the City of Anaheim this 25 day of August , 2020, by the following
roll call vote:
AYES:Mayor Sidhu and Council Members Faessel, Barnes, Brandman,
Moreno, Kring, and O'Neil
NOES:None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
138933
CLERK'S CERTIFICATE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss.
CITY OF ANAHEIM )
I, THERESA BASS, City Clerk of the City of Anaheim, do hereby certify that the foregoing is the
original Resolution No. 2020-106 adopted at a regular meeting provided by law, of the Anaheim
City Council held on the 25th day of August, 2020 by the following vote of the members thereof:
AYES: Mayor Sidhu and Council Members Faessel, Barnes, Brandman, Moreno,
Kring, and O'Neil
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 26th day of August, 2020.
CITY CLERK F THE CITY OF ANAHEIM
(SEAL)