It was just the other day that I was writing of the momentous 2020 that Students Against Child Marriage experienced. Well, it seems like ages ago in light of the incredible past week we’ve had!
Last Monday, we launched the nationwide campaign calling on the Biden-Harris administration to end child marriage in its first 100 days.
This effort involved our entire team and leveraged grass-tops activism to widely circulate our message on social media. While we had considered such a campaign for some time, it was through the guidance and connections of the newest member of our Board of Directors, educator and influencer Blair Imani, that our campaign officially launched on January 25.
In the days leading up to this public launch, it was all hands on deck at Students Against Child Marriage as we prepared for thousands of individuals previously unaware of this crisis to begin taking action. Our communications team worked to prepare a series of graphic assets (linked here) which were widely distributed and shared to raise awareness and create change. The action items I created with our advocacy team allowed everyday Americans to instantly take action by signing a petition and emailing their lawmakers.
With Blair’s help, we gained the support of dozens of high-profile figures who took child marriage advocacy to a new level of awareness. Celebrities and influencers, ranging from Mark Ruffalo, Chelsea Handler, and Jonathan Van Ness, to Stephanie Beatriz, Shannon Purser, Schuyler Bailar, Steph Frosch, and more shared our posts and calls to action.
The result? An unprecedented level of child marriage advocacy.
Over 6000 petition signatures. More than 33,000 emails sent to lawmakers across the country. An astronomical figure of more than 500,000 unique individuals bearing witness to the American child marriage crisis and learning about this abuse. And that’s all in one week!
In founding Students Against Child Marriage, one of my central objectives was to make child marriage a household name. For too long, this human trafficking has been swept under the rug and has gone unnoticed by everyday Americans. Not anymore! Our team, in partnership with the incredible advocates and survivors who have been leading this fight for years and the passionate organizations and individuals who are now joining this movement, is committed to finally ending this insidious cycle NOW.
We need a movement, not a moment.
I couldn’t be more excited about the progress we made last week alone. But we can’t let this be a one-time event. For too long, spikes in child marriage awareness have been just that—fleeting, momentary increases that vanish as soon as they emerge. We can not let this happen. Not when the stakes are this high.
If you have not already, please use the links on this page to take action now. And most importantly, share these links across all of your social media platforms. It is essential that we continue to raise awareness and are unceasing in our advocacy efforts. We will not stop until child marriage is no longer legal in 46 states, but we need your help now!
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