Action on forced marriage defended

Date published: 24/10/2007

The Government has not ruled out making forced marriage a criminal offence and admitted the issue is always under review.

Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker defended the Government’s decision to introduce a civil offence for forced marriage, saying it was feared the problem could be driven under ground.

"You always keep these things under review. But we have arrived at the current position as a result of the consultation we had in 2005 and it was felt was the best way was the civil route," he said.

In July, forced marriage became a civil offence which means women or a third party will be able to apply for an injunction in the civil courts to stop them being forced to marry. As a last resort they could claim compensation for damages and injuries.

Anyone breaching an injunction could face jail.

Mr Coaker said he accepted the argument making it a criminal offence would take the pressure off women who were worried about reporting their families and instead put the onus on the police, but believed the problem would be forced underground.

He added: "Only by giving people confidence to bring things out into the open can we actually start to address it. The judgement we made is that the civil route is the best.

"The civil route is actually a powerful tool, it will enable the courts to put protections on people."

Ministers say the exact extent of the problem in the UK remains unknown and four pilot projects are seeking to gain more precise data on its prevalence.

Today (Wednesday 24 October) a two-day conference begins in London where the UK will share its experience with other countries on best practice for dealing with the issue.