McAlister Family Law

Tag: forced marriage

Forced Marriage Protection Orders, what are they and who can apply for one?

Posted on by McAlister Family Law

Forced Marriage Protection Orders, what are they and who can apply for one?

A marriage should always be someone’s choice, but sometimes people are forced into marriage. In his latest blog for McAlister Family Law, Sereyvudd Pheanouk looks at Forced Marriage Protection Orders and explains who can apply for one.

What is a Forced Marriage?

A forced marriage is where one or both parties do not, or cannot, consent to the marriage.

Forced marriages can occur with anyone from all backgrounds, nationalities, males and females, and does not just happen to young people, but adults as well. Forced marriages are not to be confused with arranged marriages, in which both parties have a say and agree to the union.

Forced Marriage Protection Orders

The Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 provides the Court the ability to grant Force Marriage Protection Orders (FMPO) to protect the victim from coming into any further harm, in relation to the forced marriage.

An FMPO acts as a deterrent for perpetrators to approach the victim, similar to a non-molestation order or injunction. The purpose of the FMPO is to protect the victim from being forced to marry; however, it can also restrict the perpetrator from doing certain acts such as taking the victim out of the country, making marriage arrangements, contacting the victim directly/indirectly, and it can protect the victim from violence.

Powers of arrest can be attached to the order and if breached, the perpetrator could face imprisonment under contempt of Court.

Who can apply for a FMPO?

You can apply for an FMPO if you are:

  • Being forced into a marriage; or
  • Already in a forced marriage

A relevant third party of any victim with permission from the Court can make an application for a FMPO on their behalf.

Local Authorities can also apply for a FMPO on behalf of the victim if they consider the victim to be vulnerable or under 18.

An FMPO can be made without notice; however, this is on a case by case basis. This means that the respondent will not be notified that an application for an FMPO has been made. The respondent will receive notice once an order has been granted.

There is no court fee for making an application and legal aid is available for applications subject to a means test.

If you or someone you know is affected by the issues raised in this blog post, we can provide you with advice and assist you in applying for an FMPO. For more information, please get in touch with our specialist team at hello@mcalisterfamilylaw.co.uk

The long-awaited change in safeguarding children from Forced Marriage

Posted on by McAlister Family Law

The long awaited change in safeguarding children from Forced Marriage

A forced marriage is where one or both people do not or cannot consent to the marriage and pressure or abuse is used to force them into the marriage. Here, Chelsea Taylor discusses the new legislation which protects children, where one or both parties are under 18 years of age, from being forced into unwanted marriages.

To many, child marriage is a violation of human rights as children cannot express their full and free consent. It is a global problem that needs tackling urgently as it can have harmful consequences on children such as slavery, domestic abuse and discrimination.

The introduction of the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 which came into effect on 27th February 2023 raises the age of marriage and civil partnership to 18 in England and Wales. The new legislation also covers non-legally binding ceremonies including where the child marriage is planned to take place outside of England and Wales.

Previously, children who were 16 and 17 could marry with parental consent which was a major legal loophole in UK law.  This left many children’s right to marry exploited.

The law also now makes it a criminal offence to cause or arrange a child to marry before they turn 18 under any circumstances, with a sentence of up to 7 years imprisonment.

Whilst positive, the changes highlighted above only apply to England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland, still allow children to marry at the age 16. The latter requiring parental consent.

The Office of National Statistics data shows that between 2007 and 2017, there were 3096 marriages registered in England and Wales involving children aged 16 and 17. It is worth highlighting that this troubling data does not even capture those marriages not registered and children taken out of the UK and forced into marriage abroad, so the figure may be considerably higher.

This new law should be praised for being a major step forward in protecting and safeguarding the rights of children in England and Wales.  Let’s hope this will have a rippling effect across the world including our neighbouring countries. If others follow suit hopefully this will deal with the scourge of forced marriages.

If you need advice on this topic, or any other matters concerning forced marriage, please get in touch with our team at McAlister Family Law.

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