Background Part 10: Forced marriage
37.The Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 inserted a new Part 4A in the Family Law Act 1996 which provides a specific civil remedy – the forced marriage protection order – against forced marriage in England and Wales. A forced marriage protection order may contain as many provisions as the court deems necessary to protect a person who is at risk of forced marriage or who has already been forced into a marriage. This could include, for example, provisions not to threaten, harass or use force against the person concerned; to surrender the person’s passport or other travel document; and not to enter into any arrangements for the engagement or marriage of the person to be protected, whether civil or religious, in the UK or abroad. Breach of a forced marriage protection order could otherwise only be dealt with as a contempt of court punishable with a fine or a custodial sentence of up to two years’ imprisonment.
38.On 10 October 2011, the Prime Minister announced the Government’s intention to make the breach of a forced marriage protection order a criminal offence. A consultation published in December 2011(16) sought views on how the new offence should be framed, specifically on a proposal to use as a model the existing offence of breaching a non-molestation order which a court may make to protect a person from domestic violence. That consultation also sought views on whether forcing someone to marry against their will should become a criminal offence, or whether the existing civil remedy, set out in Part 4A in the Family Law Act 1996, was sufficient. A majority were in favour of the creation of a new offence and the Government concluded that criminal offences were necessary, in addition to the civil regime, to act as an effective deterrent, to properly punish perpetrators, and to fulfil the United Kingdom’s international obligations under the Istanbul Convention signed in 2012. The Prime Minister announced on 8 June 2012 that forced marriage would be criminalised.(17) A summary of responses to the consultation was published in June 2012.