Fraidy Reiss is a

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

–based activist against

forced marriage Forced marriage is a marriage in which one or more of the parties is married without their consent or against their will. A marriage can also become a forced marriage even if both parties enter with full consent if one or both are later force ...

child marriage Child marriage is a practice involving a marriage or domestic partnership, formal or informal, that includes an individual under 18 and an adult or other child.* * * * Research has found that child marriages have many long-term negative co ...

, and teenage marriage.

Life

Reiss was raised Haredi Jewish in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. At age 19, she entered an arranged marriage to a man she had known for three months. 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. Reiss says she only realized that she was experiencing domestic violence when she spoke with a therapist outside of her community. Nonetheless, her family encouraged her to stay with her husband. After one violent episode, Reiss applied for a

temporary restraining order An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable reme ...

, the first woman in her community to do so. 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, and was eventually able to go to college, get a job, support her family, and divorce her husband. Reiss graduated at 32 from

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

, and was commencement speaker. 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. Reiss subsequently left Judaism, and became an atheist. Reiss has not spoken to her family since then, save for her sister on occasion. In 2016, it was announced that Reiss would become the subject of a documentary by production company Women Rising. Sara Hirsh Bordo will direct the documentary, and production on it was scheduled to begin in fall of 2016.

Activism

In 2011, Reiss founded the non-profit organization Unchained At Last, to support people who wish to leave arranged and forced marriages. Helping minors is difficult, but Unchained does what it can, including changing laws to prevent minors from being legally entered into marriage in the United States. The organization is incorporated in New Jersey. Unchained At Last serves people from various communities. The organization tailors services to each client's background. 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. 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. Reiss also collaborated with

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

senator

Loretta Weinberg Loretta Weinberg (born February 6, 1935) is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as a member of the New Jersey Senate from 2005-2022, where she represented the 37th Legislative District. She also served as Senate Majority Leader ...

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. As of 2024, the organization has assisted over 1,000 survivors. 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. Also in 2018, American Samoa, a U.S. territory, ended child marriage."Governor Moliga signs into law bill to increase marriage age for girls". ''Radio New Zealand''. September 12, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2018. 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, bringing to 13 the total number of states that have ended child marriage. 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 of 2025, several other states have introduced similar legislation to end marriage under the age of 18.

Media

Reiss has written several op-eds for outlets like ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', ''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...

'',

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

, '' The Hill'', and ''

Refinery29 Refinery29 (R29) is an American multinational digital media and entertainment website focused on young women. It is owned by Sundial Media Group. History Justin Stefano, Philippe von Borries, Piera Gelardi, and Christene Barberich co-founded Ref ...

'' (co-authored by

Chelsea Clinton Chelsea Victoria Clinton (born February 27, 1980) is an American writer. She is the only child of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, a former U.S. Secretary of State and U.S. Senator. Clinton was born in Little Rock, Ar ...

). In 2017, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' named Reiss one of five women who are tackling some of the world's "most urgent issues". 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 Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; Bader; March 15, 1933 – September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until Death and state funeral of Ruth Bader ...

, and was one of the titular "gutsy women" featured in

Hillary Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

and Chelsea Clinton's 2019 book, '' The Book of Gutsy Women'' and subsequent

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

docuseries, ''Gutsy''. Reiss lent her expertise to the A&E documentary, ''I Was a Child Bride: The Untold Story'', with

Elizabeth Vargas Elizabeth Anne Vargas (born September 6, 1962) is an American television journalist who is the lead investigative reporter/documentary anchor for A&E Networks, and was the host for Fox's revival of '' America's Most Wanted'' (2021). She began he ...

, in 2019.

Life

Activism

Media

See also

References

Further reading