Combating forced marriages: a comparative Franco-English perspective

Brigitte Clark and Claudina Richards, School of Law, University of East Anglia. Forced marriages are an extensive problem in Europe as well as in developing countries. It is estimated that some 70,000 adolescents are potentially affected by forced marriage in France, and around 1,000 British citizens are victims of forced marriage every year. The two jurisdictions have developed different legal methods of combating the issue and this article analyses the two approaches. The author considers why the criminalisation of forced marriage has been rejected by the legislature in both countries, with civil law being preferred as a more effective means of eradicating the practice, including, in England, the proposal of creating a civil offence with civil penalties. For the full article see June [2007] International Family Law.

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