"In announcing the bill, its four congressional cosponsors cited data showing that more than 314,000 minors were legally married in the United States between 2000 and 2021, including girls as young as 10. The figures, compiled by child-marriage advocacy groups from state marriage records, indicate that most of the underage girls were married to adult men. "Unchained At Last, a nonprofit worked to end forced and child marriage in the U.S., estimates that at least 66,415 of these marriages — about one in five — occurred when the bride was at an age when sexual relations would be considered a crime (the age varies from 14 to 18 depending on the state). In roughly 90% of that subset, according to the organization's founder, Fraidy Reiss, marital exemptions in state statutory-rape laws shielded the adult spouse from prosecution. Married minors may also face legal barriers to hiring an attorney, filing for divorce or obtaining protection from abuse." https://m.ai6yr.org/@npr_bot/117367426675255872