Plan to outlaw forced marriage in North

Forced marriage should be outlawed in the North along with England and Wales, Northern Secretary Peter Hain said today.

He said the inclusion of the province would be sought in the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Bill.

The bill seeks to protect those faced with being forced into a marriage, under duress and without consent.

Once it is law people will be able to apply to court to have an injunction made to prevent others forcing them into a marriage, or being taken out of the country to be married abroad.

Mr Hain said: “Forced marriage is a human rights abuse that causes misery to its victims.

“It is expressly prohibited by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and I strongly support the added protection that the Forced Marriages Bill will provide.”

So far there have been no identified cases of forced marriage in the North but Mr Hain said it was important that potential victims in the province should receive the same level of protection as those elsewhere in the UK.

Inclusion of the North, together with other aspects of the bill, will be considered by the Grand Committee of the House of Lords next Thursday.

Forced marriage involves duress and is totally different to an arranged marriage where both parties give consent freely.

The government is stressing forced marriage is not a Muslim or South Asian issue – freely given consent to marriage is a pre-requisite for Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh marriage.