A final full stop to forced marriages?

The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022; new law now in force raising the legal age of marriage and civil partnerships in England and Wales to 18 years old. 

The new law came into effect on Monday 27 February 2023, replacing the law that allowed marriage from the minimum age of 16years old with the consent of a parent or guardian. 

Many would agree in finding the Act to be long overdue, raising the age of marriage and civil partnerships in England and Wales to protect children from forced marriage, defined as a marriage where one or both people do not, or cannot, consent to the marriage and pressure or abuse is used to force them into the marriage’ and the mental and physical abuse associated. 

Conservative MP Pauline Latham, one of the driving forces behind the change said, “Child marriage destroys lives and through this legislation we will protect millions of boys and girls over the coming years from this scourge.” 

We are hopeful the new law will provide guidance to other countries in support of the United Nations Sustainable Goal for global action to increase the age of marriage around the world by 2030, eliminating child marriages. 

However it remains to be seen whether the new law has any impact on the practice of forced marriages generally. 

Under the new law it will be an offence to cause a child under the age of 18 to enter a marriage (including religious ceremonies, and those not legally binding in the UK) in any circumstances, without the need to prove that coercion was used. This criminal offence carries a sentence of up to seven years in prison.