Professor JoAnne Sweeny talks Kentucky child marriage bill

On April 18, 2018, Brandeis School of Law Professor JoAnne Sweeny was a guest on UofL Today with Mark Hebert, where she commented on Kentucky's so-called "child marriage bill."

A child marriage is defined as one where at least one of the parties is under the age of 18. Most such marriages involve a bride who is much younger than the groom, says Sweeny, adding that child marriage often ends up forcing young girls into marriages with their abusers.

In Kentucky, a new law changing the age of consent to marry to 18 is a "huge improvement," Sweeny says.

Sweeny also discussed Kentucky Senate Bill 68, which closed a loophole that could have forced abused spouses to pay attorney fees for their incarcerated spouse during a divorce.

Sweeny's current scholarly interests include comparative constitutional law, freedom of expression, law and gender and legal history.

Listen to Sweeny's segment.