The refusal of married minors by shelters is just another obstacle faced by child brides trying to escape abusive marriages. Another obstacle? The courts. As a minor, Dawn had to wait until she was 18 to finalize her divorce and get custody of her children.
“The courts, even in these grotesque marriages, these egregious acts toward children, favor the adult,” she explains. “My first real job was assembling bicycles at Toys R Us. That is how I paid rent for our one bedroom in a little house.”
With her children long grown, Tyree now fights for other children out there: ones who, like herself, might fall victim to child marriage. In the United States, the legal marital age is left up to the states, and marriage for minors is still legal in 43 of 50 states. Tyree has committed her life to ending the legality of child marriage in this and every country, but her fight is focused here where she lives.
“It’s no longer about me,” she says. “I can remove all of my trauma and show up for the other 13-year-old brides. I’m speaking for those who are silenced — for those who don’t have a voice.”
Tyree knows there are victims of childhood marriage out there who are, as she was, trying to figure out how to escape the living nightmare, and she has a message for them: “There are people out here aware of these circumstances that feel so lonely and isolating,” she says. “We’re fighting for you. Hang in there. Hang on.”
