Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Bill
The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 is a Private Members Bill advocated for by former Conservative Home Secretary Sajid Javid.[1][2] The bill is sponsored by fellow Conservative MP Pauline Latham.[3][4]
The Act received royal assent on 28 April 2022.
Background
The proposed bill will criminalise child marriage, which is prevalent in the UK particularly in British Asian communities.[5] The age of marriage will be raised from 16 to 18.[6] Data from The Observer shows that 2,377 contacts were made about child marriage to the UK's national forced marriage helpline.[7]
The law is supported by children's charities Girls Not Brides and Barnardo's.[8]
The bill is co-sponsored by Labour MP and Chair of the International Development Select Committee Sarah Champion.[9]
Second reading of the Bill in the House of Commons took place on 19 November 2021 when it received Government and Opposition support.[10]
References
- ^ Hymas, Charles (11 June 2021). "Minimum legal age for marriage to be raised to 18 as forcing 16-year-olds to wed is 'child abuse'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ "Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) (No.2) Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament". bills.parliament.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ "MP Pauline Latham's bid to criminalise child marriage under 18". BBC News. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ Mann, Tanveer (6 September 2018). "Minimum age for marriage in UK should be raised to 18, MP says". Metro. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ "'No parent who loves their child would force a 16-year-old to marry', says emotional caller". LBC. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ "Under-18 marriages 'thriving' in UK and should be banned, say charities". BBC News. 4 May 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ "Child, Early and Forced Marriage". dx.doi.org. 5 April 2018. doi:10.14217/8dd40278-en. S2CID 240592175. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ "Back bill to ban marriage for under-18s in England and Wales, MPs urged". the Guardian. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ "Sarah Champion and Pauline Latham: We must end child marriages in the UK". Politics Home. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ This article incorporates text published under the United Kingdom Open Parliament Licence: Barton, Cassie; Fairbairn, Catherine; Lipscombe, Sally (23 February 2022). "Commons Library analysis of Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Bill 2021-22". House of Commons Library. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
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