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Such marriages can happen in secret and can also be planned by parents taking British children abroad on the pretext of a holiday, or through the intervention of family or religious leaders, and may involve physical, sexual or emotional abuse. These countries have been identified as the largest numbers of cases although the Forced Marriage Unit has also identified more than 110 countries since 2011. The countries with the highest observed rates of child marriages below the age of 18 are Niger, Chad, Mali, Bangladesh, Guinea, Pakistan, India, Somalia, Afghanistan Romania and the Central African Republic. Those who are forced into a marriage, are predominantly children marry much older partners. What Countries Have the Most Child Marriages? Some families also force their gay/ lesbian children who are afraid of going against family orders into heterosexual marriages against their will and this is another form of forced marriage.įorcing someone to marry can result in a prison sentence of up to 7 years. The act of taking someone overseas to force them to marry whether or not the forced marriage takes place is also illegal, as is marrying someone who lacks the mental capacity to consent to the marriage whether they are pressurised or not.
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It is also a criminal offence in Northern Ireland.
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The law came into effect in June 2014 in England and Wales and in October 2014 in Scotland. The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 makes forcing someone to marry (including abroad), a criminal offence. What are Forced Marriages?įorced marriage is when a person faces physical, emotional or psychological pressure to marry so that he/ she is made to feel like they are bringing shame on the family if they act against the orders of their parents for example. The Legal Age of Marriage in the UKġ6-17-year-olds require parental or guardian consent, otherwise, the legal age for marriage without such consent is 18 when a person is considered to have reached adulthood. In this article, Dr Bernard Andonian highlights the problems surrounding forced marriages and distinguishes them from customary arranged marriages.