03 January 2008
Family
A new consultation exercise has been launched to establish who should be able to ask the courts to take action to stop a forced marriage. The consultation paper is the first step to implementing the protections afforded by the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 which was brought in last July to protect people forced into marriage—irrespective of age, background, gender, race or religion. Under the Act, courts have a wide discretion to deal sensitively with the circumstances of each case, employing civil remedies that offer protection to victims without criminalising members of their family. The consultation can be found at www.justice.gov.uk.
