As many as 50 underage New Zealand girls a year are being forced into marriages by Sikh and Muslim religious leaders who abuse a loophole in the Marriage Act to get away with it: a respected ethnic women’s group, Shakti Community Council, is making the claim this week as it launches a media campaign to get the act changed.
via:[http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4651006/Teens-forced-into-marriages]
Washington
Grade: C
Number of Women and Girls At Risk: 25,000
Status: Existing Legislation Needs Strengthening
Improve by adding: Prosecuting parents/guardian, felony offense