*Sherry Johnson, who was 11 when she was forced to marry her rapist, has worked for six years to ban child marriages in Florida. On Friday, her efforts finally paid off as the state legislature passed a bill preventing marriage of anyone under 17.
“My heart is happy,” Johnson said afterward. “My goal was to protect our children and I feel like my mission has been accomplished. This is not about me. I survived.”
“Johnson was 9 when she was raped by a church deacon, 10 when she gave birth and 11 when she married the man. Sherry’s church pressured her mother to consent to the marriage and a judge approved it. That was 47 years ago,” per USA Today. “She ended up giving birth to five more children with her rapist before breaking free from the marriage several years later. She wasn’t able to attend school and her experience led to a string of abusive relationships.”
“State lawmakers have cited Johnson as an inspiration to change the law. She watched in the House gallery as the bill passed the House on a 109-1 vote, then stood as representatives turned to face her and applauded,” according to the report.
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“The Senate originally passed a bill that banned the marriage of anyone under 18, but the House had wanted to carve out exceptions for some 16- and 17-year-olds when there’s a pregnancy.”
“The bill would set limits on the marriage of 17-year-olds. While pregnancy won’t be a factor, anyone marrying a 17-year-old couldn’t be more than two years older and minors would need parental consent. Scott’s office said he will sign the bill.”
“Currently, 16- and 17-year-olds can marry with the consent of both sets of parents. If a pregnancy is involved, there’s no minimum age for marriage if a judge approves.”
Supporters say changing the law will make sure no child is forced to marry a man who raped her, even if she becomes pregnant.
Republican Rep. George Moraitis voted against the bill because the current law is “very good, in my opinion, a very carefully crafted balance,” he previously stated.
“There’s literally only a handful of cases that would fall under what I would say are potentially abusive,” said Moraitis, who also is chairman of the Broward County Republican Party. “To focus on a 10-year-old or an 11-year-old or something like that when we’re talking about the hundreds and hundreds of people that could get married. I’m particularly focused on the pregnancy aspect of it. I don’t want the message to be that it’s better to not get married.”
“While the soon-to-be law wouldn’t have prevented Johnson’s rape or pregnancy, she wouldn’t have been forced to marry, and she said that could have prevented her from years of abuse.”
“It would have changed my life by not allowing me to get married, to continue to have children, to continue to have my downfall,” she said. “I would have been a single mother and I think would have done well.”
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