Metropolitan Police Authority – forced marriage remains a problem for society

32/06
08 June 2006

“Being forced into a marriage against one’s own will is an abuse of basic human rights” says Aneeta Prem, MPA lead member on honour-based violence including forced marriage.

Following publication of a summary of responses to a government consultation – “Forced Marriage - A Wrong not a Right‘ - which indicates no overall support for the creation of a specific criminal offence of forced marriage, Aneeta said:

“The MPA supported the creation of a specific offence for forced marriage. The argument for specific legislation to tackle forced marriage could be compared to the way racist crime was not specifically legislated against until the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and had to be prosecuted using the then existing legislation, but following the advent of racist - and more recently religiously - aggravated offences there is now wider public awareness of these crimes and more offences are being brought to justice. As it now stands, using existing legislation can only deal with the results of coercion into marriage – beatings, kidnap and, in the worst cases, murder. Introducing a specific law would, I believe, have made a dramatic impact.

“A major concern for me is that without forced marriage being categorised as a specific offence the police are unable to record data accurately and systematically, leaving us unable to quantify the full extent of the problem and in turn leading to difficulties in allocating appropriate resources.

"I strongly believe there needed to be an explicit and unequivocal message to communicate – that forcing an individual into marriage against their will is against the law and will be punished, so I am disappointed that there was no overall support for new legislation.

“I know that there is a will by the police, partners in the criminal justice system and local government and health agencies to tackle the problem, but together with the Met police we feel that there still needs to be a national strategy to ensure consistency of service provision across the country.

“While it is helpful that the Home Office recognises the need to increase awareness and the value of sharing best practice, and has voiced its commitment to ensuring that existing legislation is used more effectively, I am disappointed that by not creating a specific offence of forced marriage we have lost the opportunity to make a real difference –one that would save many more people from unnecessary suffering.”

Notes to editors

1. Aneeta is currently working in collaboration with the Foreign and Commonwealth office to devise a website, primarily aimed at women aged 15 to 40 years, that will publish information for individuals suffering from, or working in the field of, domestic violence issues.

Further media information

For further information, please contact the MPA press office

Send an e-mail linking to this page

Feedback