Forced marriages and arranged marriages: the grey area

Edward Flood, 1GC | Family Law

Is there a grey area separating marriages arranged traditionally and unacceptable forced marriages? The article examines how the courts have dealt with the challenging issue of whether there is a grey area and how this should be considered. Within the arena of forced marriages, this is a highly sensitive subject. As said by one judge, there must be a guard against stereotyping. The system must be careful to ensure our understandable concern to protect vulnerable people does not lead us to interfere inappropriately and unjustly with families, merely because they cleave to mores and cultural beliefs more or less different from what is familiar to those who view life from a purely Euro-centric perspective. Nevertheless, the issue often has to be grappled with in these cases, in examining whether or not it is right to make a Forced Marriage Protection Order. FMPOs come with intrusion and interference into private and family life, but must be made in the right cases.

Read the full article here.