A positive step for child protection has been taken as the minimum age of marriage in England and Wales is raised to 18 under new marriage law which received Royal Assent in April last year. This Act has ended the archaic law that has allowed children aged 16 and 17 to be married with the consent of their parents, even though they are legally considered to be children.
This means that 16 to 17-year-olds will no longer be able to marry or enter a civil partnership under any circumstances, including with parental or judicial consent from 26 February 2023. Therefore, it will not be possible for anyone under 18 to marry or enter a civil partnership after this date.
What was the marriage law before?
Before the Act, forced marriage was only an offence if the person used a type of coercion, for example threats, to cause someone to marry, or if the person lacked capacity to consent to marriage under the Mental Capacity Act. The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act will therefore also expand the criminal offence of forced marriage in England and Wales to make it an offence in all circumstances to do anything intended to cause a child to marry before they turn 18. It will therefore now be an offence to cause a child under the age of 18 to enter a marriage in any circumstances, without the need to prove that a form of coercion was used. The forced marriage offence will continue to include ceremonies of marriage which are not legally binding.
Why has the marriage law changed?
The Marriage Act 1949, which was in place before this Act, legitimised child marriage in England and Wales. Although it was designed to be a precaution against child marriage, the system of parental consent that was in place under this law has frequently turned out to be a weapon for parental abuse.
Campaigners have long argued that the current law has made it possible for children between the ages of 16 and 18 to be forced into marriages against their will and without their consent. They have cited numerous instances of young people who have been victims of domestic violence, some of whom have suffered lifelong harms, as well as missed out on opportunities for education, employment, and personal development.
The change was introduced through a Private Member’s Bill brought to Parliament by Pauline Latham OBE MP and was supported by campaign organisations within the Girls Not Brides Coalition, which work to end child marriage and honour based abuse.
Below are a number of statements from involved MPs outlining the importance of this new marriage law.
Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Dominic Raab MP:
- “This law will better protect vulnerable young people, by cracking down on forced marriage in our society".
- "Those who act to manipulate children into marrying under-age will now rightly face the full force of the law”.
- “This is a landmark day for the campaigners who have worked relentlessly for over 5 years to ban child marriage in this country".
- "Child marriage destroys lives and through this legislation we will protect millions of boys and girls over the coming years from this scourge”.
- “Forced marriage is an abuse of human rights which denies vulnerable children the freedom to learn, grow and thrive. Like all other forms of abuse, I’m committed to stamping out this exploitative practice".
- "In addition to this welcome new legislation, we are also continuing to provide training and guidance to equip the police, social workers and other frontline professionals to support and safeguard victims”.
- “The change to legislation on child marriage is a huge victory for survivors. It is a huge leap forward to tackling this usually hidden abuse and will provide a greater degree of protection to those at risk”.
- “Last year, the national Honour Based Abuse helpline supported 64 cases of child marriage, representing only a small picture of a much bigger problem. We hope that the new law will help to increase identification and reporting, affording greater protection to children at risk”.
What is the full scope of the new marriage law?
The new law has made it an offence for a person to aid, abet or encourage any child under 18 to enter into any form of marriage. Furthermore, it will make it a criminal offence for a responsible person (i.e. a parent or guardian) to fail to protect a child from entering into any form of marriage. The law applies to religious and cultural marriages, as well as those registered with the local authority.
These offences will now be punishable by up to 7 years in prison.
Evidence of a Global Issue:
In 2016, UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund) and the United Nations population fund launched a joint initiative to tackle the problem of child marriage globally. With the implementation of the new law, Parliament is finally honouring the government’s commitment to the pledge made to the United Nations to end child marriage by 2030.
Statistics show that in 2018, 28 boys married under the age of 18 compared with 119 girls. Additionally, in 2021, the government’s Forced Marriage Unit provided advice or support in 118 cases involving victims below the age of 18. The courts have also issued 3,342 Force Marriage Protection Orders between their introduction in 2008 and September 2022 which prevents someone from using threats, violence or emotional abuse as a way to force a person into marriage.
Therefore, it is evident that this change in law has been long awaiting and demonstrates a step towards more protection for young women and vulnerable individuals. It is important to note that the minimum age of marriage remains 16 in Scotland and Northern Ireland, with parental consent required if the individual is under the age of 18 in Northern Ireland, but not in Scotland.
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