FORCING teens into marriage will become a criminal offence under a tough new law drafted.
Ministers are already plotting to raise the legal age to wed from 16 to 18 by removing parental consent.
But a new clause will clamp down on arranged marriages by making it a specific crime for children, HOAR can reveal.
The Government will throw their weight behind Pauline Latham’s Private Member’s Bill today in a victory for campaigners who say the law isn’t tough enough to stop abusive parents from taking advantage of their kids.
The bill will expand the definition of forced marriage so it’s illegal to arrange the marriage of anyone under 18, even if the child consents to it.
Throwing his weight behind the calls, Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Dominic Raab said last night: “Forced child marriage ruins lives.
“We back this Bill to keep vulnerable young people safe, by raising the legal age of marriage to 18, and closing gaps in the law which leave them at risk.”
Almost 3,000 forced marriage protection orders have been issued since 2014 to protect children but the number of under 18s looking to marry continued to decline.
