Young Lawyers - Mandeep Dhami: Is it time to criminalise forced marriages?

The Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 has only been in force since 25 November 2008 and already the government are saying that it is not achieving it's aim and that forced marriages should be criminalised as they are "on the increase".

In the news on Tuesday the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee said that a positive and clear message would be sent if forcing or participating in forcing an individual to marry became a criminal act. MPs complained that schools were not acting in forced marriages cases as was required under the Act and teachers had not been trained to respond properly. MPs also highlighted that there were immigration abuses in that victims are often under pressure to take steps for their spouses to be given indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

Committee Chairman Keith Vaz MP has said that there should be "zero tolerance" of forced marriages.

So is it really...

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