UK Criminalizes Forced Marriages Parents will be punished

UK Criminalizes Forced Marriages Parents will be punished

UK government criminalizes forced marriages in UK

Parents who force their children to marry can be punished by up to seven years in prison.
Law will give victims the confidence to come forward and protect thousands of people each year.

It will apply if people are forced into marriage in England and Wales, as well as to UK nationals at risk of being forced into marriage abroad.

Last year, the government's Forced Marriage Unit dealt with 1,302 cases.
Some 82% of victims were female and 18% male while 15% were under the age of 15.

The cases involved 74 different countries with 43% relating to Pakistan, 11% to India and 10% to Bangladesh.

According to British government only few countries internationally have criminalized forced marriage
According to a British government consultation paper from 2012 Germany, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, and Malta has criminalized the forced marriage

Home Secretary Theresa May said the government's Forced Marriage Unit, set up in 2005, last year gave advice or support related to possible forced marriages to more than 1,300 people, although it was likely the numbers did not reveal the scale of the problem.

Earlier research suggested there was between 5,000 to 8,000 cases of forced marriages in England annually.

Forced marriage criminalization under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 - was "a further move by the government to ensure victims are protected by the law and that they have the confidence, safety and the freedom to choose".

Under the new law, breaching a forced marriage protection order - which can be issued by courts to prevent people being married against their will - has also been criminalised.

It now carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

The Home Office says a forced marriage "is one in which one or both spouses do not consent to the marriage but are coerced into it" by means including "physical, psychological, financial, sexual and emotional pressure".

It says that "in the cases of vulnerable adults who lack the capacity to consent to marriage, coercion is not required for a marriage to be forced".

To stop the child marriage in what Indian Government has done in last 65 years
Did you ever thought?

Do you think Child Marriage is also a force marriage?

Just think

Suggested Reading –

Forced marriage law sends 'powerful message'



Reality views by sm –

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Tags – Force Marriage