A new law came into effect in England and Wales on Monday, February 27, which raises the legal age for marriage to 18 years, and puts in place safeguards to prevent vulnerable young people from being coerced into marriages against their will.
Prior to this, individuals aged 16 or 17 were able to get married with the consent of their parents as there was no regulation against 'ceremonies' for younger children who were not registered as vulnerable with their local councils.
The implementation of this new law has been welcomed by charities that have been campaigning against forced marriages, as this issue has predominantly affected certain South Asian and African communitie in the UK.
“This law will better protect vulnerable young people, by cracking down on forced marriage in our society,” said Dominic Raab, UK Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Justice.
“Those who act to manipulate children into marrying under-age will now rightly face the full force of the law,” he said.
Individuals who are found guilty of arranging child marriages can now face sentences of up to seven years in prison under the new law. This legislation will also cover so-called ‘traditional’ and non-legally binding ceremonies that are viewed as marriages by the parties and their families, which are conducted within some minority communities.
The UK government has stated that the age of 18 is widely acknowledged as the age at which an individual becomes an adult and gains full citizenship rights. Previously, forced marriage was only considered an offence if coercion, such as threats, were used to compel someone to get married.
However, the new legislation now deems it an offence to force a child under the age of 18 to enter into a marriage in any circumstance, without needing to provide evidence of coercion.
“The change to legislation on child marriage is a huge victory for survivors. It is a huge leap forward to tackling this usually hidden abuse and will provide a greater degree of protection to those at risk,” said Natasha Rattu, Director of the Karma Nirvana charity, which supports forced marriage victims.
“Last year, the national honour-based abuse helpline supported 64 cases of child marriage, representing only a small picture of a much bigger problem. We hope that the new law will help to increase identification and reporting, affording greater protection to children at risk,” she said.
The UK government said the legal amendment upholds its promise to the United Nations to eradicate child marriage by 2030.
The enactment of the new Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022, which received royal assent in April of last year and takes effect this week, was the outcome of a private member’s Bill introduced in Parliament by Conservative Party MP Pauline Latham.
The Bill received support from various advocacy groups, including the Girls Not Brides Coalition, who strive to end child marriage and related abuses in the name of honour.
“This is a landmark day for the campaigners who have worked relentlessly for over five years to ban child marriage in this country. Child marriage destroys lives and through this legislation we will protect millions of boys and girls over the coming years from this scourge,” said Latham.
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UK Minister for Safeguarding Sarah Dines added: “Forced marriage is an abuse of human rights, which denies vulnerable children the freedom to learn, grow and thrive. Like all other forms of abuse, I’m committed to stamping out this exploitative practice.
“In addition to this welcome new legislation, we are also continuing to provide training and guidance to equip the police, social workers and other frontline professionals to support and safeguard victims.”
The implementation of the new legislation solely impacts England and Wales, as marriage laws are under the purview of the devolved administrations in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Nonetheless, it is anticipated that increasing the legal age of marriage to 18 in England and Wales will set a positive precedent that may eventually inspire similar reforms in other regions of the United Kingdom.
