This is a Bill aimed at preventing individuals from being forced into marriage against their will. The Bill was introduced on November 16 by Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Lib Dem). 

There is currently no specific criminal offence of ‘forcing someone to marry’. Often perpetrators are prosecuted for offences such as threatening behaviour, harassment, assault, kidnap, rape, and in some cases, murder.

The issue was last discussed at some length in a debate on immigration control at the beginning of November 2006. During this debate Janet Dean (Lab, Burton) called on the government to take further step to protect young people and Ann Cryer (Lab, Keighley), who first raised the issue in 1999, paid tribute to the forced marriages unit, which is paid for and staffed by the Home Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Discussing his Bill, Lord Lester of Herne Hill said: “The serious social evil which the Bill seeks to combat and remedy is the forcing of children and young adults to marry against their will.” 

Lord Lester of Herne Hill added that it is crucial that “the Bill is not misused or misrepresented politically as a way of demonising British Asians or resisting much-needed reform.” 

“It is also important to make it clear that the Bill is about forced marriage, and not arranged marriage. The distinction lies in an individual’s right to choose,” said Lord Sheikh during the debate.  

Constitutional affairs minister Baroness Ashton of Upholland responded to the debate on behalf of the government.  

“The Forced Marriage Unit needs to think about and work carefully through the Bill to consider its implications. Most of the people it deals with want to get back to their families and find a way through. That needs to be recognised and has to be considered in that context,” she said.

Junior justice minister Bridget Prentice opened second reading debate (it was adopted as a Government Bill to facilitate its progress through the Commons).

An important aspect of the Bill, Prentice said, is that it “enables third parties to apply for orders on behalf of victims. Many people have asked me about the point that many victims are afraid to come forward. The Bill recognises that and includes an essential provision that offers protection to women who fear making an application because of intimidation, or even because they have been imprisoned against their will.”

Shadow attorney general Dominic Grieve expressed support for the Bill, adding the merit of including criminal sanctions is that it will “encourage people who have been forced into marriages to come forward, and…[allow] the courts much greater flexibility to look in the round at what is going on”. 

For the Liberal Democrats, Jo Swinson said she was “delighted” to give Liberal Democrat support to the Bill. The offence of forced marriage should be tackled from a civil route, she added. “It is vital not to discourage people from coming forward, which could happen if they felt that they were effectively criminalising members of their family. Although the Bill does not create a criminal offence, we must recognise that it provides for powers of arrest, so effective action can be taken if a forced marriage protection order is broken.”