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New Laws against forced marriage in the UK
F
Laws to prevent forced marriages and protect those who have already fallen victim have been introduced in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.The laws mean anyone convicted of trying to force someone into marriage could be jailed for up to two years.A victim, friend or police can apply for a Forced Marriage Protection Order.These court injunctions will forbid families from actions such as taking people abroad for marriage, seizing passports or intimidating victims.Penalties for breaching an order include up to two years' imprisonment.The legislation is the first to specifically target the problem of forced marriages.Previously the issue had been dealt with through existing measures, such as those contained in the Children's Act, and immigration laws.'Clear message'Justice minister Bridget Prentice said: "This new law is a powerful tool that will help ensure that no-one is forced into marriage against their will and those already in such marriages will receive protection."A Forced Marriage Protection Order could also require family members to reveal a person's whereabouts.Alan Campbell, Home Office minister, said: "We are determined to do all we can to support victims of forced marriage, prevent others from becoming victims and provide police and other agencies with the tools and powers they need."The new legislation was welcomed by Shaminder Ubhi, director of the Ashiana Network, which supports South Asian, Turkish and Iranian women who are experiencing domestic violence."Understandably, not all people will want to seek legal redress, but certainly this act sends a clear message that forced marriage will not be tolerated and perpetrators will be held accountable".Shazia Qayum, who now works for a charity, Karma Nirvana, to help Asian women, was forced into marriage in 1998, when she was 17.She told BBC Radio 5 Live she was strongly in favour of the new legislation."The victims who come to our organisation quite clearly say that they would use this act," she said."I would have certainly used it, because I know it would have been a deterrent for my parents to stop forcing me into marriage, knowing that they could be imprisoned up to two years."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7747267.stmthis will make fuck all difference.
A
It's just a court order. It'd be easy to get around most likely. Just have them going out of the country on a "vacation" or something. And bam. You're married.
J
I think it is a good thing that this law has comeNote: Didn't read the article in full
C
now wife dont have to divorce anymore, just send thier husband to jail by playing the role of victim in force marriage.
L
There are actually very few forced marriages taking place in Britain. The vast majority of forced marriages involving 'British' citizens are carried out abroad, so this law will do fuck all to help. A far bigger problem in Britain is marriages being entered into for the sole reason of getting the right to live in our country.
S
Replying to #6
Citation needed.
I just get all suspicious when people say things like that and then segue into something vaguely related that is a strong issue for them - not that I'd call you a xenophobe per se, maybe nationalist would be a better term?
Replying to #7
what tends to happen is the person is taken off to another country (usually the country their family originates from) and is married there. its usually a country where arranged/forced marriage is socially acceptable and/or law enforcement is rather lax. The reasons for this are partly to do with avoiding the authorities in this country (obviously the person being forced into marriage may be able to alert the police somehow were it to take place in this country) and partly to put the person being forced in a position of weakness (unfamiliar environment, lack of support etc). Also if duress is necessary for the marriage to go ahead then the perpetrators are more likely to get away with applying it.
Because the marriage takes place in a foreign country, the UK law against forced marriage is thus irrelevant because UK law does not apply outside of the UK. By the time the newly wedded couple return (if indeed they do) the wedding has taken place and there ain't shit the UK authorities can do about it. It may not even be possible for the pair to be divorced as that may have to be done in the country that the wedding took place in.
I am a nationalist, and while I agree that forced marriage is wrong, its simply a situation that the UK authorities can do very little about. This government (and the previous) seem to think that they can simply legislate problems away and it just doesn't work like that. Preventing forced marriages would require co-operation of authorities in other countries (and the ones involved don't have much interest for whatever reason) and ultimately a culture shift in the cultures that practice it.
I'm not disputing that. I'm disputing your claim that not many forced marriages take place in the UK and am requesting some numbers to back that up. Evidently they're great enough to warrant a change in legislation or it wouldn't have gone through.Will it change the whole "do it in another country" problem? Of course not, but that's not the issue it was drafted to address.In any case, you missed almost the entire point. Glad to see you didn't continue on the whole subject of immigration though, must have been mighty hard for a stand-up nationalist such as yourself.
L
I think we're all missing the real point here. Those god damn Muslims dude.
S
Replying to #10
Nah man, that's loony's point
It's always loony's point
uh... wasn't this legislation passed in 2007? Why are we even discussing it. Anyway it protects the person from conduct within and outwith the UK, so the whole argument of "they'll just take them abroad" is bollocks. People should try reading the
act first before commenting.
http://www.familylawweek.co.uk/site.aspx?i=ed28744
the wording of the 'act' is irrelevant, UK law cannot be enforced abroad. Neither can US law, despite their best attempts to do so, and that is the way it should be. International law is distinct from national laws for a good reason.
Suiseiseki · #9I'm not disputing that. I'm disputing your claim that not many forced marriages take place in the UK and am requesting some numbers to back that up. Evidently they're great enough to warrant a change in legislation or it wouldn't have gone through.
Every media report I've ever seen regarding an instance of forced marriage has involved the woman being taken out of the country. Interestingly I've never seen a report of a male being forced into marriage, only women. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen, but does suggest its rare enough to stay off of the radar.
As for being 'great enough to warrant legislation' I wouldn't be so sure on that point. We have hundreds of new laws passed every week (admittedly most of them by the EU). Are there really that many problems needing legislation, or are they just passing laws for the sake of it? I'm much more inclined to believe its the latter.
Replying to #13
Oh,
anecdotal evidence. Look man, I'm slightly drunk and I've been working all day, so can you do me a favour and make a smartass remark at yourself in my stead regarding your evident ineptitude in the field of being able to debate in a valid manner?
Replying to #13
Oh oh, I'll do this too. Are governments really passing laws to address issues that don't affect anyone at all, or is there a know-it-all Pom with an unused IT degree sitting in a chair somewhere in Britain thinking he knows how to run a country better than people who have trained their entire lives to do so?
I'm much more inclined to believe it's the latter.
Man you Brits really fucking hate Muslims, don't you?
H
Littlekill · #10I think we're all missing the real point here. Those god damn Muslims dude.
agreed they never listen either my way or their fake god crap that bores hell out of u
Replying to #16
same could be said of just about any monotheistic religion.
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