Law criminalising forced marriage comes into effect

Forcing someone to marry against their will has become a crime today, with offenders facing up to seven years in prison.

New legislation introduced by the government is designed to help people in England and Wales. It will also apply to UK nationals overseas who are at risk of becoming the victim of a forced marriage.

Around 1,302 cases were reported last year by the government’s Forced Marriage Unit. Some 82 percent of victims were female and 18 percent male while 15 percent were under the age of 15.

Home Secretary Theresa May said that the criminalisation – 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.

The Home Office described a forced marriage as “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”.

Campaigners and activists across the country are hailing the move as a “huge step forward”.

Freedom Charity founder, Aneeta Prem, said the law sent out a “powerful message that this indefensible abuse of human rights will be not be tolerated”.

She added that in the most tragic cases, people forced into marriage become domestic slaves by day and sexual slaves by night.

Jasvinder Sanghera, the founder of the charity Karma Nirvana which supports victims of forced marriages and honour crimes, said she was “extremely pleased it’s finally here”.

Ms Sanghera, a victim of forced marriage herself, told BBC Radio 4’s Sunday programme: “I was 14 years old when my mother sat me down and presented me with a photograph of the man I was to learn I was promised to from the age of eight.”

“My mother was a god-fearing Sikh woman; she also said it was part of my religion, part of my tradition to have to do this.

“Saying no meant my family took me out of education when I was 15-and-a-half and I was held a prisoner in my own home until I agreed to the marriage.

“I agreed, purely to plan my escape, and I ran away from home when I was 16 years old.”

The report added that the new law will be introduced in Scotland at a later date and Northern Ireland will have its own legislation regarding this offense.