Provisions to be included in Crime and Policing Bill
Under the Crime and Policing Bill, announced in the Queen’s Speech, forced marriage will become a criminal offence, as will a breach of a forced-marriage protection order.
The decision to create a specific offence of forced marriage was announced by Theresa May, the Home Secretary, in June 2012 following a 12-week consultation which took views from the public, victims, charities and frontline agencies. The new law will be accompanied by a range of measures to increase protection and support for victims with a continuing focus on prevention.
The Forced Marriage Unit released statistics in March which showed that it gave advice or support related to a possible forced marriage in 1485 cases in 2012.
SOURCE: Family Law Week
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