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New law criminalises forced marriage from today (16 June 2014)

Date: 16/06/2014
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, New law criminalises forced marriage from today

A new law which makes forced marriage a criminal offence in the UK takes effect from today (16/06/14).

The law will take effect in England and Wales – and those who force others into marriage against their will could face a prison sentence of up to seven years.

The Home Office defines forced marriage as a marriage in which “one or both spouses do not consent to the marriage, but are coerced into it” using “physical, psychological, financial, sexual and emotional pressure”.

The law also applies to vulnerable adults who are unable to decide for themselves on whether to marry – in cases where an adult does not have the capacity to decide for themselves whether to marry, evidence of coercion is not necessary for the marriage to be considered a forced marriage.

Forced marriage was previously dealt with by the courts under UK civil law.

The new legislation also means that if a forced marriage protection order issued in the civil court is breached, criminal charges can be brought, with a maximum penalty of five years in jail.

Ministers say that the new legislation – under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 – could save thousands of people from being forced into marriage against their will, including victims of forced marriage who are sent abroad by their families in the UK to marry overseas.

In 2013, the UK government’s Forced Marriage Unit handled 1,302 cases of forced marriage, BBC News reports.

Those who refuse to marry – mainly women – are often seen as dishonouring their families and the issue of forced marriage in some cultures has been highlighted by high-profile cases of honour killings both in the UK and abroad, involving victims who went against their family’s wishes and either refused to marry a partner chosen by their family, or tried to leave them.

Home Secretary Theresa May has said the practice of forced marriage is a tragedy “for each and every victim”.

Of the cases dealt with by the UK government’s Forced Marriage Unit last year, 82% of the victims of forced marriage were female – while 18% of cases involved men.

Figures show that 15% of the cases involved young adults under the age of 15 being forced into marriage against their will by their family.

The overall number of cases involved 74 different countries, however – 43% of the forced marriage cases handled by the unit in 2013 related to Pakistan, while 11% related to India and 10% to Bangladesh.

Recent figures for the children’s charity ChildLine – which deals with cases of child abuse – revealed that the number of children calling the service with concerns about being forced into marriage has tripled in the last three years.

The Home Secretary said that making forced marriage a criminal offence was "a further move by this government to ensure victims are protected by the law – and that they have the confidence, safety and the freedom to choose”.

The new law is not due to take effect in Northern Ireland, however – but the Home Office says that ministers there have the power to introduce their own measures to prevent forced marriage in Northern Ireland.

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