Scarsdale – Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (D-88) will be hosting a panel discussion about ending child marriage in New York at the Scarsdale Library on May 25. The program, entitled “Too Young to Wed: Child, Early and Forced Marriage Worldwide and in New York,” is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

The panel will address the human rights and development impacts of child, early and forced marriages and the imperatives to end them. Paulin, who has written legislation that would ban marriage of children under 18 in New York, will be joined by Stephanie Sinclair, the award-winning photojournalist and the founder/executive director of Too Young to Wed. Fraidy Reiss, the founder and executive director of Unchained at Last, and Sayoni Maitra, a staff attorney with Sanctuary for Families, will also be on the panel.

The presentation will include an exclusive showing of Sinclair’s photo series “Too Young to Wed”, a series of still photography taken of child brides around the world.

“It doesn’t make sense to me that on the one hand we say children under 18 can’t buy cigarettes, get a tattoo, drive a car without restrictions or be bound by a legal contract, but on the other hand we allow these same children to enter into a life-altering contract of marriage,” Paulin said. “Even more questionable is that we don’t even give these children, who neither consent nor have the capacity to consent to the marriage, a way out. The law doesn’t allow children under 18 to sue for divorce and they can’t even access domestic violence shelters if they are being abused.”

Those wishing to attend the event can register at http://bit.ly/paulinpanel