Grantee News

December 2020

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Unchained at Last

Unchained at Last is a national organization whose goal is to end forced and child marriage in the United States through policy and legal change. In addition, they provide legal and social services, for free, to help women, girls, and others in the U.S. escape arranged/forced marriages.

This year, Unchained at Last had two major legislative victories ending child marriage in Pennsylvania and Minnesota. In 2018, Delaware and New Jersey became the first states to end child marriage, followed by American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands. However, child marriage remains legal in 46 states. For a detailed map of current child marriage legislation, please click here.

In addition, despite the challenges faced this year, Unchained at Last has been able over 60 help women like Mariam* to achieve safety, while also continuing to push for social, policy and legal change to end forced and child marriage in the United States. When Mariam was just 16 years old, her parents informed her that she was to marry her much older cousin. Although she pleaded with her parents, laws in much of the U.S. allow parents to marry off their children. These children are denied the right to leave home, enter a shelter, or even file for divorce.

Mariam turned to Unchained at Last for help, and they helped her to achieve safety. She is currently a college graduate with a promising future thanks to Unchained at Last. To read Maraim’s full story, click here.

Futures Without Violence

Futures Without Violence program, Coaching Boys into Men (CBIM), is an evidence based violence prevention program. It is based on the belief in the transformative power of sport to change cultural norms, promote health relationship skills for young people, prevent dating violence, and advance empowerment for girls. CBIM provides high school athletic coaches with the resources they need to promote respectful behavior among their players and help prevent relationship abuse, harassment, and sexual assault. For more than a decade, the program has been implemented in communities across the U.S. and around the world. JWF’s grant allows CBIM to expand into Florida.

This year, CBIM reached almost 100,000 educators through Coaching with Courage online training, which focuses on social-emotional learning and promoting equity through sports.

CBIM received scientific recognition from JAMA Pediatrics in a study that found that their program promoting health relationship skills and preventing teen dating violence among male student athletes in high school and college is also effective among middle school youth. They can now effectively reach youth at their most impressionable ages, creating new opportunities to help young people build positive, health relationship skills earlier in life.

Watch a short video about Coaching Boys Into Men here

To watch JWF’s Impact Tuesday webinar with Futures Without Violence, please click here.