Fraidy Reiss

'''Fraidy Reiss''' is a United States–based activist against forced marriage, child marriage, and teenage marriage.

==Life== Reiss was raised Haredi Jewish in Brooklyn, New York.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320160652/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/21/us/woman-breaks-through-chains-of-forced-marriage-and-helps-others-do-the-same.html |archive-date=20 March 2020 |last1=Freedman|first1=Samuel|title=Woman Breaks Through Chains of Forced Marriage, and Helps Others Do the Same|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/21/us/woman-breaks-through-chains-of-forced-marriage-and-helps-others-do-the-same.html?_r=0|work=The New York Times|date=20 March 2015 |access-date=7 March 2017}}</ref><ref name="MY">{{cite web|last1=Baer|first1=Reut|title=Interview with the Founder of Unchained, Fraidy Reiss|url=http://www.mayan.org/2014/08/interview-with-the-founder-of-unchained-fraidy-reiss/|website=Ma'Yan|date=13 August 2014 |access-date=8 March 2017}}</ref> At age 19, she entered an arranged marriage to a man she had known for three months.<ref name="NPRW">{{cite web|title=The Joy Of Leaving An Arranged Marriage — And The Cost|url=https://www.npr.org/2014/06/15/322004182/how-one-woman-left-an-arranged-marriage-and-what-it-cost-her|website=NPR|date=15 June 2014 |access-date=7 March 2017}}</ref><ref name="HR">{{cite journal|title=An Orthodox Jewish Woman's Journey From Chained Wife to Advocate|url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/features/an-orthodox-jewish-woman-s-journey-from-chained-wife-to-advocate-1.503505|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029142052/http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/features/an-orthodox-jewish-woman-s-journey-from-chained-wife-to-advocate-1.503505|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 29, 2015|journal=TheMarker|publisher=Haaretz|access-date=8 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ferguson |first1=Sarah |title=On the Front Lines in the Fight to End Child Marriage in the U.S. |url=https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/front-lines-fight-end-child-marriage-us/35587 |website=unicefusa.org |date=29 January 2024 }}</ref> She married the man, and had two children with him.

According to Reiss, in the first week of her marriage, her then-husband began to abuse her, repeatedly threatening to kill her and engaging in other forms of violence.<ref name=NPRW /><ref name=NYT /><ref name="NYDN">{{cite web|last1=O'Keeffee|first1=Michael|title=Unchained at Last helps women, girls escape forced marriages|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/unchained-helps-women-girls-escape-forced-marriages-article-1.2833085|work=New York Daily News|date=16 October 2016 |access-date=7 March 2017}}</ref> Reiss says she only realized that she was experiencing domestic violence when she spoke with a therapist outside of her community.<ref name="TI">{{cite web|last1=Bronis|first1=Leeor|title=Freedom from the bonds of unholy matrimony|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/freedom-from-the-bonds-of-unholy-matrimony/|website=The Times of Israel|date=5 June 2013 |access-date=8 March 2017}}</ref> Nonetheless, her family encouraged her to stay with her husband.<ref name=NYDN /> After one violent episode, Reiss applied for a temporary restraining order, the first woman in her community to do so.<ref name=NPRW /> However, she says her rabbi sent an attorney, also a member of the Haredi community, to take Reiss to family court, to tell the judge that she wished to drop the order. Reiss developed a five-year escape plan,<ref name=NYDN /> and was eventually able to go to college, get a job, support her family, and divorce her husband.<ref name="HP">{{cite web|last1=Reiss|first1=Fraidy|title=Fraidy Reiss: Breaking The Chains Of Religious Tradition|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/25/fraidy-reiss-breaking-the_n_1450708.html|work=The Huffington Post|date=25 April 2012 |access-date=8 March 2017}}</ref>

Reiss graduated at 32 from Rutgers University, and was commencement speaker.<ref name="PRN">{{cite press release|title=Women Rising Announces Fraidy Reiss As Next Documentary|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/women-rising-announces-fraidy-reiss-as-next-documentary-300232766.html|website=PR Newswire|access-date=8 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unchainedatlast.org/founder-executive-director/|title=Founder/Executive Director }}</ref> She began work as a journalist. Reiss left her husband after twelve years of marriage, and was shunned by her family after doing so. She finally was able to obtain a divorce three years after leaving him.<ref name="HRW">{{cite journal|last1=Braunschweiger|first1=Amy|title=Witness: Child Marriage in the US|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/02/13/witness-child-marriage-us|website=Human Rights Watch|date=13 February 2017 |access-date=8 March 2017}}</ref> Reiss subsequently left Judaism, and became an atheist.<ref name="NPRW" /><ref name="NYT" /> Reiss has not spoken to her family since then, save for her sister on occasion.<ref name=NPRW /><ref name=MY /><ref name=HR />

In 2016, it was announced that Reiss would become the subject of a documentary by production company Women Rising.<ref name=PRN /> Sara Hirsh Bordo will direct the documentary, and production on it was scheduled to begin in fall of 2016.<ref name=PRN />

==Activism== In 2011, Reiss founded the non-profit organization Unchained At Last, to support people who wish to leave arranged and forced marriages.<ref name=NPRW /><ref name=NYT /><ref name=NYDN /><ref name=MY /><ref name=HP /> he organization is incorporated in New Jersey.<ref name=NYT /> Unchained At Last serves people from various communities. The organization tailors services to each client's background.<ref name=MY /> Unchained At Last offers legal assistance and other direct services for the survivors. The organization also helps clients with social services, so that they can continue with their lives, as well as mentoring.<ref name=NPRW /><ref name=NYT /><ref name=NYDN /><ref name=TI /> Reiss has also participated in a planning session held by the White House Council on Women and Girls that would target development of a national policy on forced and child marriages.<ref name=NYT /> Reiss also collaborated with New Jersey senator Loretta Weinberg on a draft of a law that would allow women to access crime victimization records free of charge. This would allow the women to use those records as proof to obtain restraining orders.<ref name=HR /> As of 2024, the organization has assisted over 1,000 survivors.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Unchained At a Glance |url=https://www.unchainedatlast.org/unchained-at-a-glance/ |access-date=2024-09-13 |website=Unchained At Last |language=en-US}}</ref>

Upon learning about the phenomenon of marriage under the age of 18 in the United States, Reiss took on ending marriage under the age of 18 in all 50 U.S. states. In 2018, the first two U.S. states – Delaware and New Jersey – signed laws ending all marriage before 18.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Feleke |first=Bethlehem |date=2018-05-12 |title=Delaware becomes first US state to fully ban child marriage |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/12/us/delaware-child-marriage-ban |access-date=2026-05-15 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref>"New Jersey governor signs law banning under-age marriage". June 22, 2018.</ref> Also in 2018, American Samoa, a U.S. territory, ended child marriage.<ref name="Radio New Zealand 2018">"Governor Moliga signs into law bill to increase marriage age for girls". ''Radio New Zealand''. September 12, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2018.</ref> Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and the U.S. Virgin Islands followed in 2020, then Rhode Island and New York in 2021, and Massachusetts in 2022. In 2023, Vermont, Connecticut, and Michigan ended child marriage. Washington, Virginia and New Hampshire followed in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Child Marriage in the U.S. |url=https://www.unchainedatlast.org/child-marriage-in-the-u-s/ |access-date=2024-09-13 |website=Unchained At Last |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2025, Washington, D.C., a U.S. district and the nation's capital, also passed legislation to set the marriage age at 18, as did Maine, Oregon and Missouri, bringing to 16 the total number of states that have ended child marriage.<ref>{{Cite web |title=DC Legislation Information Management System |url=https://lims.dccouncil.gov/legislation/B25-0955 |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=lims.dccouncil.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Gov. Mills lets Maine child marriage ban become law without her signature|url=https://wgme.com/news/local/gov-mills-lets-maine-child-marriage-ban-become-law-without-her-signature-legislature-marry-written-consent-parents-guardians|website=WGME|date=2025-05-07|access-date=2025-12-01|language=en|first=Billy Kobin, Bangor Daily|last=News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Gov. Kotek has signed over 100 bills into Oregon law this week. Here's what they are|url=https://www.kgw.com/article/news/politics/new-oregon-bills-signed-kotek-into-law-governor/283-bb8878f1-e156-48eb-85f6-d185331078d1|website=kgw.com|date=2025-05-29|access-date=2025-12-01|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Governor Kehoe signs bill banning child marriage in Missouri|url=https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/governor-kehoe-signs-bill-banning-child-marriage-in-missouri/|work=FOX 2|date=2025-07-10|access-date=2025-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250930020838/https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/governor-kehoe-signs-bill-banning-child-marriage-in-missouri/|archive-date=2025-09-30|language=en-US|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2026, child marriage became illegal in Oklahoma.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Amanda Siew |first= |date=2026-05-14 |title=Bill banning child marriage in Oklahoma becomes law |url=https://www.news9.com/oklahoma-politics/oklahoma-child-marriage-ban-law |access-date=2026-05-15 |website=News9.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Media == Reiss has written several op-eds for outlets like ''The Washington Post'', ''The Star-Ledger'', CNN, ''The Hill'', and ''Refinery29'' (co-authored by Chelsea Clinton).<ref>{{Cite news|last=Reiss|first=Fraidy|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/breaking-the-chains-of-religious-tradition/2012/04/24/gIQA3XaueT_story.html|title=Breaking the chains of religious tradition|date=April 24, 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=March 20, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Reiss|first=Fraidy|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/02/10/why-does-the-united-states-still-let-12-year-old-girls-get-married/|title=Why can 12-year-olds still get married in the United States?|date=February 10, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=March 20, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Reiss|first=Fraidy|url=https://www.nj.com/njv_guest_blog/2012/04/among_nj_orthodox_jewish_women.html|title=Among N.J. Orthodox Jewish women, child custody fears form barrier to freedom|date=April 15, 2012|work=The Star-Ledger|access-date=March 20, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Reiss|first=Fraidy|url=https://www.nj.com/opinion/2017/05/_was_christies_cruel_veto_on_child_marriage_bill_ignorance_or_malice_opinion.html|title=Was Christie's cruel veto on child marriage bill ignorance or malice? {{!}} Opinion|date=May 16, 2017|work=The Star-Ledger|access-date=March 20, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Reiss|first=Fraidy|url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/15/opinions/moore-case-spotlights-risk-to-young-girls-reiss/index.html|title=Child marriage is happening at an alarming rate across the US|date=November 16, 2017|work=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Reiss|first=Fraidy|url=https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/379829-child-marriage-isnt-marriage-and-nearly-18-isnt-18-years-old|title=Child marriage isn't marriage and 'nearly 18' isn't 18 years old|date=March 22, 2018|work=The Hill}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Reiss|first1=Fraidy|url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/03/226273/chelsea-clinton-child-marriage-laws-unchained-at-last-essay|title=Child Marriage Is Still Happening In The U.S. & Around The World|date=March 8, 2019|work=Refinery29|last2=Clinton|first2=Chelsea}}</ref> In 2017, ''Forbes'' named Reiss one of five women who are tackling some of the world's "most urgent issues".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hartz|first=Marlena|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/marlenahartz/2017/12/11/fearless-female-founders/#5cfd51a073ba|title=5 Fearless Female Founders To Follow In 2018|date=December 11, 2017|work=Forbes}}</ref> Reiss was featured in Great Big Story's "Defenders" series about fearless, headstrong, undeterred women fighting for change in the spirit of Ruth Bader Ginsburg,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.greatbigstory.com/stories/defenders-arranged-marriage-fraidy-reiss?playall=1988|title=State by State, Crusading to End Child Marriage|website=Great Big Story}}</ref> and was one of the titular "gutsy women" featured in Hillary and Chelsea Clinton's 2019 book, ''The Book of Gutsy Women'' and subsequent Apple TV+ docuseries, ''Gutsy''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-08 |title=Watch Gutsy Women Are Rebel Hearts - Gutsy (Season 1, Episode 4) {{!}} Apple TV+ |url=https://tv.apple.com/us/episode/gutsy-women-are-rebel-hearts |access-date=2022-11-07 |website=Apple TV |language=en-US}}</ref>

Reiss lent her expertise to the A&E documentary, ''I Was a Child Bride: The Untold Story'', with Elizabeth Vargas, in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://play.aetv.com/specials/i-was-a-child-bride-the-untold-story/full-special|title=I Was a Child Bride: The Untold Story|website=A&E TV}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== * [https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/why-fraidy-reiss-founded-unchained-at-last/2017/02/11/83a10b52-f095-11e6-a100-fdaaf400369a_video.html Why Fraidy Reiss founded Unchained At Last - a Washington Post interview with Fraidy Reiss] *[http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/1/22/how-a-bride-forcedtomarrybecameunchainedatlast.html How a bride forced to marry became ‘unchained at last’ - Al Jazeera America] *[https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/21/us/woman-breaks-through-chains-of-forced-marriage-and-helps-others-do-the-same.html Woman Breaks Through Chains of Forced Marriage, and Helps Others Do the Same - The New York Times] *[https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/02/10/why-does-the-united-states-still-let-12-year-old-girls-get-married/ Why can 12-year-olds still get married in the United States? - a Washington Post op-ed by Fraidy Reiss] *[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/01/opinion/sunday/child-marriage-delaware.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region&region=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region An American 13-Year-Old, Pregnant and Married to Her Rapist - a New York Times op-ed by Nicholas Kristof] *[https://njmonthly.com/articles/jersey-living/unchained-at-last-fraidy-reiss-arranged-marriages/ Unchained at Last Aims to End Child and Forced Marriages - a NJ Monthly profile]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reiss, Fraidy}} Category:Living people Category:Former Haredim Category:Jewish American atheists Category:American atheists Category:Activists from Brooklyn Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:21st-century American women Category:Activists against child marriage Category:American children's rights activists Category:Child marriage in the United States