Fraidy Reiss

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"Unchained At Last" redirects here. For the 1980's album, see Slave (band).

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.[1][2] In an interview, she claimed she was arranged to be married to someone she had known for three months, at 19 years old.[3][4] In a different interview, she claimed she was married to a 27-year-old stranger, at 19 years old.[5] She married the man, and had two children with him.

According to Reiss, in the first week of her marriage, her then-husband showed signs of abusive behavior—which included that he repeatedly threatened to kill her and engaged in other forms of violence [3][1][6] Reiss says she only realized that she was experiencing domestic violence when she spoke with a therapist outside of her community.[7] Her community members nonetheless encouraged her to stay with her husband.[6] After a particular episode of violence, Reiss went to get a temporary restraining order, and was the first woman in her community to do so.[3] However, she says her rabbi sent an attorney (who was also from the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community) to take Reiss to family court, to tell the judge that she wished to drop the order. Reiss was able to go to college and get a job, and thus, she felt that she was able to support her family, and leave her husband and get a divorce.[8] She says she developed a five-year escape plan.[6]

Reiss graduated at 32 from Rutgers University, and was commencement speaker.[9][10] She began work as a journalist. Reiss left her husband after twelve years of marriage, and was shunned by her family and community after doing so. She finally was able to obtain a divorce three years later after leaving him.[11] Reiss subsequently left Judaism, and became an atheist.[3][1] Reiss has not spoken to her family since then, save for her sister on occasion.[3][2][4]

In 2016, it was announced that Reiss would become the subject of a documentary by production company Women Rising.[9] Sara Hirsh Bordo will direct the documentary, and production on it was scheduled to begin in fall of 2016.[9]

Activism[]

In 2011, Reiss founded the non-profit organization Unchained At Last, to support women who wish to leave arranged and forced marriages.[3][1][6][2][8] The organization cannot help minors, although Reiss is working to change United States law so that she is able to.[11] The organization is incorporated in New Jersey.[1] Unchained At Last serves people from various communities. The organization tailors services to each client's background.[2] Unchained At Last offers legal assistance and other direct services for the women. The organization also helps the women with social services, so that they can continue with their lives, as well as mentoring.[3][1][6][7] 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 arranged marriages.[1] 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.[4] As of 2016, the organization has assisted over 250 women.[6]

Upon learning about the widespread 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, due to Unchained At Last's activism and assistance.[12][13] Also in 2018, American Samoa, a U.S. territory, ended child marriage.[14] Pennsylvania, Minnesota and the U.S. Virgin Islands followed in 2020.[14] As of 2020, several other states have introduced similar legislation to end marriage under the age of 18.[15]

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).[16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Reiss has also been interviewed about her personal story and her activism by several major news outlets, including The New York Times, NPR, Al Jazeera America, PBS Newshour, BBC, CBS News, NowThis, and more.[23] In 2017, Forbes named Reiss one of five women who are tackling some of the world's "most urgent issues".[24] 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,[25] and was one of the titular "gutsy women" featured in Hillary and Chelsea Clinton's 2019 book, The Book of Gutsy Women.

Reiss lent her expertise to the A&E documentary, I Was a Child Bride: The Untold Story, with Elizabeth Vargas, in 2019.[26] In 2018, Reiss gave a TED talk at titled, "America's forced marriage problem".[27]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Freedman, Samuel. "Woman Breaks Through Chains of Forced Marriage, and Helps Others Do the Same". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 20 March 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Baer, Reut. "Interview with the Founder of Unchained, Fraidy Reiss". Ma'Yan. Ma'Yan. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "The Joy Of Leaving An Arranged Marriage — And The Cost". NPR. NPR. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "An Orthodox Jewish Woman's Journey From Chained Wife to Advocate". Haaretz. Haaretz. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  5. ^ Ferguson, Sarah. "On the Front Lines in the Fight to End Child Marriage in the U.S." unicefusa.org.
  6. ^ a b c d e f O'Keeffee, Michael. "Unchained at Last helps women, girls escape forced marriages". New York Daily News. New York Daily News. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  7. ^ a b Bronis, Leeor. "Freedom from the bonds of unholy matrimony". The Times of Israel. The Times of Israel. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  8. ^ a b Reiss, Fraidy. "Fraidy Reiss: Breaking The Chains Of Religious Tradition". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  9. ^ a b c "Women Rising Announces Fraidy Reiss As Next Documentary". PR Newswire. PR Newswire. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  10. ^ https://www.unchainedatlast.org/founder-executive-director/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ^ a b Braunschweiger, Amy. "Witness: Child Marriage in the US". Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  12. ^ "Delaware becomes first US state to fully ban child marriage". CNN. May 12, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  13. ^ "New Jersey governor signs law banning under-age marriage". June 22, 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Governor Moliga signs into law bill to increase marriage age for girls". Radio New Zealand. September 12, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  15. ^ "Child Marriage -- Progress". Unchained At Last.
  16. ^ Reiss, Fraidy (April 24, 2012). "Breaking the chains of religious tradition". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  17. ^ Reiss, Fraidy (February 10, 2017). "Why can 12-year-olds still get married in the United States?". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  18. ^ Reiss, Fraidy (April 15, 2012). "Among N.J. Orthodox Jewish women, child custody fears form barrier to freedom". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  19. ^ Reiss, Fraidy (May 16, 2017). "Was Christie's cruel veto on child marriage bill ignorance or malice? | Opinion". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  20. ^ Reiss, Fraidy (November 16, 2017). "Child marriage is happening at an alarming rate across the US". CNN.
  21. ^ Reiss, Fraidy (March 22, 2018). "Child marriage isn't marriage and 'nearly 18' isn't 18 years old". The Hill.
  22. ^ Reiss, Fraidy; Clinton, Chelsea (March 8, 2019). "Child Marriage Is Still Happening In The U.S. & Around The World". Refinery29.
  23. ^ "Media Highlights". Unchained At Last.
  24. ^ Hartz, Marlena (December 11, 2017). "5 Fearless Female Founders To Follow In 2018". Forbes.
  25. ^ "State by State, Crusading to End Child Marriage". Great Big Story.
  26. ^ "I Was a Child Bride: The Untold Story". A&E TV.
  27. ^ "America's forced marriage problem | Fraidy Reiss | TEDxFoggyBottom".

Further reading[]

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