HomeMy WebLinkAbout10 - CC-9 - Adopt Resolution to End Child Marriage - 3/2/20211
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: MARCH 2, 2021 ITEM NUMBER: CC-9
SUBJECT: ADOPT RESOLUTION TO END CHILD MARRIAGE
DATE: FEBRUARY 23, 2021
FROM: LEGISLATIVE REVIEW TEAM:
KATRINA FOLEY, MAYOR
ANDREA MARR, MAYOR PRO TEM
LORI ANN FARRELL HARRISON, CITY MANAGER
PRESENTATION BY: ALMA REYES, ASSISTANT TO THE CITY MANAGER
ALEXANDER GONZALEZ, CHIEF OF STAFF
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: ALMA REYES (714) 754-5090
ALEXANDER GONZALEZ
(714) 754-5192
RECOMMENDATION:
The Legislative Review Team recommends that the City Council approve Resolution
2021-XX in support of Ending Child Marriage.
BACKGROUND:
On September 14, 2019, Global Hope 365 – a local non-profit based in Tustin, CA –
announced the start of the California Coalition to End Child Marriage at the Human
Trafficking and Child Marriage Forum. During that meeting, over 100 elected officials and
community leaders from Orange County jurisdictions and agencies committed to
implementing policies that call for the end of child marriage.
According to the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), Economic Impacts
of Child Marriage: Global Synthesis Report1, ending child marriage empowers girls and
reduces poverty. Often the most vulnerable, impoverished and marginalized girls are the
targets of child trafficking and marriage. The costs of child marriage along with the moral
imperative matters as well. It is negligent for communities and societies as a whole, to
lock child brides and their families in a cycle of poverty that can persist across
generations. Ending child marriage – enabling girls to finish school, delay motherhood,
find decent work and fulfil their potential – could provide a secure future and limitless
opportunities for success.
1 EICM-Global-Conference-Edition-June-27-FINAL.pdf (icrw.org)
2
The State of California has a child marriage rate that is above the national average where
5.5 out of 1,000 children ages 15 – 17 are married in the state. This draft resolution
includes a commitment to end child marriage by calling for an “18 No Exceptions” law and
authorizes publications on the city’s website and social media platforms with information
pertaining to ending child marriage for the Council’s consideration.
Per City Council Policy 000-8, the City Council through its Legislative Review Team,
makes recommendations to the City Council regarding policy positions on key legislative
matters of importance to the City of Costa Mesa. Ending child marriage is a significant
issue and with the adoption of this resolution, the City can raise awareness on the dangers
of child marriage.
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED:
The City Council may choose to take no action and receive and file this report.
FISCAL REVIEW:
There is no fiscal impact as a result of the adoption of the revisions to this policy.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed this staff report and prepared Resolution 2021-XX,
and approved them as to form.
CONCLUSION:
The Legislative Review Team recommends that the City Council approve Resolution
2021-XX Ending Child Marriage.
___________________________ __________________________
ALMA L. REYES CAROL MOLINA
Assistant to the City Manager Finance Director
____________________________ __________________________
LORI ANN FARRELL HARRISON KIMBERLY HALL BARLOW
City Manager City Attorney
ATTACHMENT: 1.
Resolution 2021-XX Ending Child Marriage
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RESOLUTION NO. 2021-___
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COSTA
MESA (1) ANNOUNCING ITS COMMITMENT TO END CHILD
MARRIAGE BY CALLING FOR AN “18 NO EXCEPTIONS” LAW; AND
(2) AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER AND AUTHORIZED CITY
PERSONNEL TO PUBLISH ON THE CITY’S WEBSITE AND SOCIAL
MEDIA PLATFORMS NECESSARY INFORMATION PERTAINING TO
ENDING CHILD MARRIAGE
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COSTA MESA DOES HEREBY
RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
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;1 and
WHEREAS, Child Marriage, a formal marriage or informal union
where one or both parties is under the age of 18,2 is defined as a human
rights abuse by the Department of State,3 UNICEF4 and Human Rights
Watch5; 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 mutilation6;
and
WHEREAS, the American Medical Association has called for an
end to Child Marriage stating “Child marriage is associated with higher
1 http://apps.frontline.org/child-marriage-by-the-numbers/
2 https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/254904.pdf, p.5
3 Id.
4 https://www.unicef.org/protection/child-marriage; see also,
https://www.unicef.org/protection/unfpa-unicef-global-programme-end-child-marriage
5 https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/03/27/us-massachusetts-should-end-child-marriage-0; see also,
https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/childmarriage.pdf
6 https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg5
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rates of sexually transmitted infections, early pregnancies, divorce, and
intimate partner violence than women married at age 21.”7; 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 Women8 and
the World Bank9; 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 health10; and
WHEREAS, young women and girls ages 16-19 face intimate
partner violence victimization rates almost three times the national
average11;
WHEREAS, the majority (70%-80%) of Child Marriages end in
divorce12; and
WHEREAS, minors who marry early are more likely to
“discontinue their formal educations prematurely, earn low wages, and
live in poverty.”13 Girls who marry early are fifty percent more likely to
drop out of high school and four times less likely to graduate from
college14; and
WHEREAS, minors’ 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
7 American Medical Association Resolution 011, https://www.ama-assn.org/system/files/2019-10/i19-
011.pdf
8 https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2013/3/child-marriages-39000-every-day-more-than-
140-million-girls-will-marry-between-2011-and-2020
9 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/530891498511398503/pdf/116829-WP-P151842-
PUBLIC-EICM-Global-Conference-Edition-June-27.pdf
10 https://www.tahirih.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Child-Marriage-Impacts-One-Pager-
updated-5.8.-2020-REGULAR-PRINT.pdf
11 http://www.loveisrespect.org/pdf/Dating_Abuse_Statistics.pdf (citing Department of Justice, Bureau
of Justice and Statistics, Intimate Partner Violence in the United States, 1993-2004. Dec. 2006).
12 https://www.tahirih.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Child-Marriage-Impacts-One-Pager-
updated-5.8.-2020-REGULAR-PRINT.pdf (citing College of William & Mary Law School Professor Vivian
E. Hamilton, in “The Age of Marital Capacity: Reconsidering Civil Recognition of Adolescent Marriage,”
Boston University Law Review (December 2012), 92 B. U. L. Rev. , 1820.)
13 College of William & Mary Law School Professor Vivian E. Hamilton, in “The Age of Marital Capacity:
Reconsidering Civil Recognition of Adolescent Marriage,” Boston University Law Review (December 2012),
92 B. U. L. Rev. , 1820.
14 Gordon B. Dahl, “Early Teen Marriage and Future Poverty,” Demography (August 2010: 47(3): 689-
718), at 691, n. 2., https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3000061/.
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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, in the State of California, limited reporting on Child
Marriage statistics from the majority of counties has hampered the state’s
ability to track the prevalence of Child Marriage; 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
adults 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 Costa Mesa 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; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the City Council of the
City of Costa Mesa as follows:
1. The above recitals are hereby adopted by the City Council of the
City of Costa Mesa.
2. The City Council hereby calls on the California State Legislature
to introduce and pass legislation to “End Child Marriage Under 18,
No Exceptions.”
3. The City Council hereby calls on other California municipalities to
pass resolutions showing their commitment to end Child Marriage.
4. The City Council hereby calls on the Orange County
Registrar/Recorder/Clerk to proactively comply with Section
102356 of the California Health and Safety Code by sending
aggregated data on all Child Marriages registered in the county
each year to the State Registrar before January 31st of the
following year; should there be no Child Marriages registered in
the county, the City Council calls on the County
Registrar/Recorder/Clerk to proactively confirm this with the State
Registrar. The City Council also calls on the County
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Registrar/Recorder/Clerk to make statistics on Child Marriage
available to the public upon request, including the total number of
Child Marriages in the county, as well as the ages and genders of
the parties to those marriages.
5. The City Council hereby authorizes and directs the City Manager
and authorized city personnel to publish on the city’s website
educational information regarding opposing the practice of Child
Marriage. Insofar 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.
6. The City Council hereby authorizes and directs the City Manager
and authorized city personnel to publicize on the city’s social
media platforms the aforementioned content.
7. The City Council hereby authorizes and directs that the City
Manager and authorized city personnel shall make known to city
residents the availability of the letter-writing campaign, to “End
Child Marriage Under 18, No Exceptions” in California sponsored
by Global Hope 365.
8. The City Council hereby authorizes and directs that the City
Manager and authorized city personnel shall make known to city
residents the availability of other letter-writing campaigns
designed to “End Child Marriage Under 18, No Exceptions” on a
federal level.
9. This resolution shall take effect from and after its date of adoption.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 2nd day of March, 2021:
_______________________________
Katrina Foley, Mayor
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________ _____________________________
Brenda Green, City Clerk Kimberly Hall Barlow, City Attorney
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STATE OF CALIFORNIA)
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss
CITY OF COSTA MESA )
I, BRENDA GREEN, City Clerk of the City of Costa Mesa, DO HEREBY CERTIFY
that the above and foregoing is the original of Resolution No. 2021-__ and was duly
passed and adopted by the City Council of the City of Costa Mesa at a regular meeting
held on 2nd day of March, 2021, by the following roll call vote, to wit:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereby set my hand and affixed the seal
of the City of Costa Mesa this 3rd day of March, 2021.
_______________________________
BRENDA GREEN, CITY CLERK (SEAL)