UK moves to outlaw forced marriages

Posted June 09, 2012 06:17:24

British prime minister David Cameron has announced a new law making forced marriage a criminal offence in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Parents could face jail if they are found guilty under the new laws.

An estimated 8,000 young women are forced into marriages in the UK every year.

Mr Cameron has described forced marriage as little more than slavery and completely wrong.

He says criminalising it will act as a deterrent.

"It's an absolutely abhorrent practice," he said.

"You're taking 15, 16-year-old British citizens ... marrying them with someone against their will, that is a crime and it should be a crime.

"For too long in this country we have sort of thought 'well, it's a cultural practice and we just have to run with it'. We don't."

The new law is expected to differentiate between forced and arranged marriages based on consent.

Topics: marriage, laws, united-kingdom