The U.S. record on protecting our children is abysmal. We try them as adults. Child marriage is still happening. So is corporal punishment and child labor.
The United States is the only United Nations member country that has not ratified the international treaty on children’s rights. Most people might think this isn’t such a big deal because our country is good to children. But it turns out we aren’t, and our state laws don’t help.
A new Human Rights Watch report card grades all 50 states on their laws related to child marriage, child labor, juvenile justice and corporal punishment. We gave 20 states a failing “F” grade, and 26 a “D.” Not a single state received a “A” or even a “B.” New Jersey, Ohio, Iowa and Minnesota were the only states to receive a “C” grade. Mississippi, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Georgia and Washington came out at the bottom of our ranking.
