The law, which took effect Friday, sets the minimum marriage age at 18, or 16 if a child is emancipated by court order. That includes more than 200 children age 15 or younger. The change is aimed at curbing forced marriage, human trafficking and statutory rape disguised as marriage. Nearly 4,500 children under age 18 were married in Virginia from 2004 to 2013, according to data from the state’s Department of Health. More than 700 million women worldwide were married as children — four times the female population of the United States, according to UNICEF.

Source: thestar July 04, 2016 00:45 UTC