: Forced Marriage
Introduction
• What is forced marriage?
o Takes place when a citizen is forced to marry without full and free consent.
o Consent is key distinguishing factor between arranged (lawful) and forced marriage.
• Estimates suggest around 1000 women annually are subjected to forced marriage in England or during ‘holiday’ visit to India, Bangladesh or Pakistan.

Civil – Forced Marriage Protection Order
• Provides civil remedies for victims and potential victims by empowering courts to make forced marriage protection orders (FMPOs). Any prohibitions, restrictions or requirements considered appropriate.
• Not sufficiently successful.
• Between November 008 and June 2011 only 339 FMPO’s, only five breaches and only one prison sentence.

Now – Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014
• Breach of forced marriage protection order now criminal offence (section 120)
• Offence of forced marriage (section 121)
o A person commits an offence under the law of England and Wales if he or she—(a)uses violence, threats or any other form of coercion for the purpose of causing another person to enter into a marriage, and(b)believes, or ought reasonably to believe, that the conduct may cause the other person to enter into the marriage without free and full consent.
o Applies even if there is no forced marriage protection order in place

Evaluation
• Positives
o Change views
o Deterrent (up to 7 years)
o Empower victims to negotiate with parents
o Increase awareness
o Easier to prosecute
• Weaknesses
o Victims may not ask for help as risk of family being prosecuted
? Bedfordshire Police Constabulary v RUFHS
o Parents may take children out of country earlier
o Offences already exist (kidnap etc)
o Successful prosecutions no more likely
o Disproportionate effect on certain communities
o Reconciliation with families may be more difficult
• Case – Man sentenced to four years for forcing woman to marry him. Involved repeated rape (both pre and post marriage).
• Case did not concern the family members of the victim. Perhaps cases of family pressure still less likely to come to court? This man could have been dealt with under pre-existing offences such as rape. Sentence was 16 years for the rape. 4 years for forced marriage (to run concurrently)
• Focus has changed from protecting victims to punishing offenders.
• ‘any other form of coercion’ is a grey area –difficult to prove and prosecute?
• Need more victim engagement – perhaps prosecution should only proceed with the victim’s consent?
• Prevention better than prosecution.

Conclusion

Criminalisation of forced marriage will hopefully be more effective than previous civil law alone. Criminalisation will be a greater deterrent (as harsher punishment) and may provide more awareness that it is not acceptable. However, problems with drawing the line between ‘arranged’ and ‘forced’, particularly where non-violent family pressure is placed on the victim. Criminalisation may also have unwanted effect of putting off victims from coming forward for fear that their family members will be prosecuted. Way forward is to encourage more widespread use of FMPO’s (now with criminal enforcement) and to seek the consent of victims prior to prosecution.
Bibliography

M Aqueel, “The Effect of Criminalising Forced Marriages in the United Kingdom: A Step too Far?” (2015) Cov LJ 16

M Chaudhry, “An Introduction to the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007” (2010) JIANL 173

B Clark and C Richards, “The Prevention and Prohibition of Forced Marriages: A Comparative Approach” (2008) ICLQ 501

M Idriss, “Forced Marriages – The Need for Criminalisation?” (2015) Crim LR 687