Forced marriage officials could face charges

Last updated at 11:01 05 September 2005


Imams and other clerics who carry out forced marriages could be charged with a criminal offence under proposals unveiled today.

The Government published a series of options which would make forcing someone into marriage a specific crime for the first time.

One option would catch all those who "facilitated a marriage, including those who solemnised the marriage or otherwise conducted the ceremony", providing they were aware that the bride or groom were unwilling participants.

The offence could carry up to five years'

imprisonment.

Today's consultation paper said there were a number of serious drawbacks with introducing the new offence, and stressed ministers had not yet made up their minds on the issue.

Criminalisation could dissuade victims from seeking help because they would fear their parents being jailed, it suggested.

"Some potential victims might rather go through with a forced marriage than risk the possibility of being seen as responsible for their parents' prosecution," said the paper.

It could also drive the practice underground and lead to more parents taking children overseas in their early teens or younger, until they have been forced to wed and had children.

A special Government unit has dealt with more than 1,000 cases of forced marriage since it was set up in 2000.

It has also rescued and repatriated to the UK about 200 young people from overseas.

Most cases of forced marriage originate from South Asia, but British officials have also seen examples from East Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

About 15% of cases involve male victims.

Making the practice a specific criminal offence could have a strong deterrent effect, help change views about whether people should be forced into marriage and make it easier to take action, said the paper.

The proposals were launched by Home Office Minister Baroness Scotland and Foreign Office Minister Lord Triesman this morning.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: "Forced marriage is a form of domestic violence and an abuse of human rights which the Government is determined to tackle."

A version of the document is being translated into Arabic, Bengali, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu.

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