Teens Fleeing Polygamist Communities Could Get More Legal Protection

From TIME:

Teenagers fleeing polygamous communities would get more legal protection from parents who could expose them to sexual abuse or forced marriage under a proposal approved Friday by a panel of Utah lawmakers.

If teenagers run away from home, anyone they run to must inform their parents within eight hours, said Rep. Walt Brooks said Friday. In some cases, that’s allowed adults to take teenagers back to polygamous communities even when they did not want to return.

“We’re a family friendly state, so we want them to be with families, but not if the family is going to hurt them,” said Brooks, a Republican from St. George, located near a well-known polygamous community on the Utah-Arizona state line.

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