Forced Marriage and 'Honour' Killings in Britain by Christina Julios

Author:Christina Julios [Julios, Christina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Criminology, Law, Public
ISBN: 9781317134169
Google: dK61CwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2016-03-09T06:01:36+00:00

The Criminalisation of Forced Marriage: The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014

On 16 June 2014, the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 came into force (Hansard, 2014). Under provisions included in Part 10 of the Act, forced marriage became a criminal act in England and Wales; anyone knowingly in breach of a FMPO would therefore be ‘guilty of an offence’ (Hansard, 2014: 84). The Act states:

121 Offence of forced marriage: England and Wales

(1) 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. (Hansard, 2014: 86)

The Act allows for law enforcement agencies to pursue perpetrators overseas, for it makes ‘forcing a UK national into marriage outside the UK an offence under domestic law for the first time. The offence is triable in courts in England and Wales’ (Gov.uk, 2014b). Victims of forced marriage will be able ‘to pursue a civil or criminal option’ as ‘the new criminal offences will work alongside existing civil legislation [that is FMPOs]’ (Gov.uk, 2014b). The new law also stipulates the different penalties applicable: ‘on summary conviction’ those found guilty would be liable ‘to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to a fine or both’ and ‘on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years’ (Hansard, 2014: 86).

To mark the historic occasion of criminalising forced marriage, the Home Office together with the FMU, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the Police and Freedom Charity released a video entitled #Freedom2Choose aimed at raising awareness of the landmark legislation (Freedom Charity, 2014). In the short film, the Home Secretary, Theresa May said:

Forced marriage is a fundamental breach of human rights that robs people of the opportunity to choose their own future. It can lead to abuse, rape and even murder in the most tragic cases. That’s why forced marriage is now a crime. Everyone should have the freedom to choose. (Freedom Charity, 2014)

Echoing her words, the Crime Prevention Minister, Norman Baker, in turn added:

Forced marriage is an appalling form of abuse which crosses borders and cultural boundaries … Legislation is the next key step in solving this problem and builds on the hard work already being done by the government and third sector organisations … The message from the coalition government is clear – forced marriage is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated. (Gov.uk, 2014b)

The official announcement regarding the new legislation was well-received across the board, particularly as many stakeholders had long campaigned to achieve this outcome. However, the deep-seated ideological divisions between those advocating criminalising forced marriage and those opposed to it were once more laid bare. Khanum reminds us of how ‘forced marriage is universally condemned, even by the perpetrators. Few people openly support force in a marriage’ (Khanum, 2008: 8).

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