The Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation has marked the first anniversary of the criminalisation of forced marriage by vowing there will be no respite in the drive to end the crime.
A year ago today (16 June), forcing someone to marry against their will became a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment.
The law, designed to help people in England and Wales but also UK nationals overseas, was part of a move to protect against the devastating effects of forced marriage which can involve physical, psychological, emotional, financial and sexual abuse including being held unlawfully captive, assaulted and raped.
This month saw the first conviction under the new legislation and the government has announced their intention to continue to work alongside police and the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice.
Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation Karen Bradley said:
“We made forced marriage a crime to better protect victims and send a clear message that this brutal practice is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the UK. We also hope that criminalisation will act as a deterrent.
“However, we know legislation alone is not enough and we remain focused on prevention, support, and protection for victims and those at risk of becoming victims.
“The UK is a world-leader in the fight to stamp this out, with our Forced Marriage Unit leading efforts to combat the practice both at home and abroad.”
In 2014, the cross-government Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) provided advice or support in 1,267 cases.
More than one in ten (11%) cases involved victims aged under the age of 16 and nearly a fifth (17%) of cases where age was known involved victims aged between 18 and 21.
However, the full scale of the abuse is not known as many more cases may be going unreported. Research carried out by the then Department for Children, Schools and Families in 2009 estimated that a national prevalence of reported cases of forced marriage in England was between 5,000 and 8,000.
The criminal offence works alongside Forced Marriage Protection Orders (FMPOs), which provide a specific civil remedy to prevent forced marriage and assist victims where a marriage has already taken place.
FMPOs can be made by a civil court against any individuals suspected of trying to force a victim into marriage. In 2014 the breach of an FMPO is a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.
Facts about forced marriage
THE OFFENCE
- Forced marriage was made a criminal offence on 16 June 2014. It can involve physical, psychological, emotional, financial and sexual abuse including being held unlawfully captive, assaulted and raped.
- The legislation was introduced by the government to help people in England and Wales. It also made forcing a UK national into marriage outside the UK an offence under domestic law – meaning any suspect is triable in courts in England and Wales. Forced marriage became a criminal offence in Scotland on 30 September 2014.
- The maximum penalty for committing a Forced Marriage offence is seven years imprisonment.
- The offence works alongside Forced Marriage Protection Orders (FMPOs), which can be made by a civil court against any individuals suspected of trying to force a victim into marriage.
- Breaching a FMPO was also made a criminal offence in June 2014 with a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.
FORCED MARRIAGE UNIT
- The government’s Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) (a joint Home Office and Foreign &Commonwealth Office unit) tackles cases of forced marriage by providing direct assistance to victims and undertaking outreach activity to practitioners and communities to ensure that people working with victims are fully informed of how to handle such cases.
- The FMU operates both inside the UK, where support is provided to any individual, and overseas, where consular assistance is provided to British nationals, including dual nationals.
- In 2014, the FMU gave advice or support related to a possible forced marriage in 1,267 cases.
- The FMU has handled cases involving a total of over 88 different countries including Pakistan (38.3%), India (7.8%), Bangladesh (7.1%), Afghanistan (3%), Somalia (1.6%), Turkey (1.1%), Iraq (0.7%), Sri Lanka (1.1%) and Iran (1.0%). The origin was unknown in 3.5% of cases.
- Around 23% of cases handled by the FMU were domestic and had no overseas element. 135 cases involved victims with disabilities and eight involved victims who identified themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT).
- Within the UK the regional distribution was: London 23%, West Midlands 11.9%, South East 10.8%, Yorkshire and Humberside 8.9%, North West 8.1%, East 4.7%, East Midlands 4.4%, Scotland 2.3%, South West 1.7%, Wales 1.4%, Northern East 1.3% and Northern Ireland 0.7%. The region was unknown in 20% of cases.
STATISTICS
- Research carried out by the then Department for Children, Schools and Families in 2009, estimated that a national prevalence of reported cases of forced marriage in England was between 5,000 and 8,000.
- Where the age was known, 11% of cases involved victims below 16 years, 11% involved victims aged 16-17, 17% involved victims aged 18-21, 14% involved victims aged 22-25, 8% involved victims aged 26-30, 5% involved victims aged 31-40, and 2% involved victims aged 41 or over. 32% involved an adult whose age was not known.
- 79% of cases involved female victims and 21% involved male victims.
