Correspondence - #29 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Orozco, Norma From: Dawn Tyree <upondawnwriting@gmail.com> Sent: Friday, April 29, 2022 5:19 PM To: !City Clerk; Sarmiento, Vicente; Bacerra, Phil; Phan, Thai; Penaloza, David; Lopez, Jessie; Hernandez, Johnathan; Mendoza, Nelida Subject: In support of resolution #29 To End Child Marriage My name is Dawn Tyree and I am a survivor of child marriage. was 13-years-old when I was forced to marry my 32-year-old abuser. He had been sexually abusing me for two years. When I became pregnant, my stepmother first tried to terminate my pregnancy - nearly killing me and my unborn son. When that failed, my family insisted that marriage was in our best interest, and the trusted adults in my life coerced me into marriage. I had no rights over my body. Not one adult ever talked to me about birth control, and 13 months after my son was born, I gave birth to my second child. I was a mother of two at age 15. Research shows that married teens are 40% more likely than unmarried teens to have a second child within 24 months of marriage. At 16-years-old and with two toddlers in tow,we escaped the marriage. Homeless and with no support, I tried to go to a shelter. The women's shelter turned us away because as minors, we presented the shelter with a liability. Family Services told me to go back to my parents because they were responsible for me. But my parents had disowned me for leaving the marriage. My husband had reported me as a runaway and law enforcement threatened to return me to my rapist. I couldn't even rent a hotel room. How was I to think about working or going to school? Who would help me with child care? We lived below the poverty line for over a decade, sometimes going without the essentials such as toilet paper or shampoo. We often lived without electricity. My greatest fear was that my children would be taken away because of the way we lived. When a child tries to leave a marriage, the decisions often favor the older spouse. In my divorce decree, I was allowed to have physical custody of the children, but I was never awarded any child support. The court also allowed my ex-husband unsupervised visits with my children, ignoring my concerns of physical and emotional abuse. My only option for safety was to break the order and save us from his abuse. I had to flee from the state of California. The ripple effect of child marriage has been devastating. My adult children struggle to survive and support their families. Mental illness, addiction, and poverty all repeat through more generations. We do a grave disservice by allowing minors to marry. Marriage is a decision that should be between two consenting adults. The standards of responsibility for marriage should reflect the same standards we have in place for things such as voting, entering contracts, or serving our country. You must be 21 years old to buy tobacco in America, yet a child can marry. This issue is important because the trauma of child marriage didn't end after the divorce. This trauma is generational and unless we raise the minimum age for marriage to 18, we are creating a perpetual loop of abuse and trauma for generations to come. Research by organizations fighting to end child marriage has revealed that most child marriages are a cover-up for statutory rape and child sex abuse. Almost 80% of these marriages end in divorce. i