Education system urged to be alert for forced marriages
Schools are to be issued advice on how to recognise warning signs that a child is being pushed into a forced marriage.
The guidelines for teachers come as part of the formal re-launch of the Forced Marriages Unit (FMU), which deals with about 250 suspected cases a year.
Coercing a person into marriage is not a specific offence in the UK and charges of kidnap, false imprisonment or rape are the only options available to someone forced into a marriage.
But the Government is now considering making forced marriages illegal in their own right.
The Foreign Office, which initially set up the FMU and now runs it jointly with the Home Office, explained that the re-launch should lead to “closer links across government”.
It added that forced marriage “is a domestic and overseas issue, which needs to be tackled from all angles”.
As part of the changes under consideration, the age at which a foreigner can enter the country as a spouse may be raised from 16 to 18 in an effort to protect vulnerable youngsters from manipulation.
Until then, however, the FMU is calling on secondary school teachers to help them protect children by being more aware of the warning signs and better equipped to deal with the issue of forced marriages.
Home Secretary Charles Clarke said: “The compulsory practice of forced marriage represents a disregard for individual citizens, their dignity and the contribution they have made to society and that is why the Government is taking determined action to combat it.
“The new joint Home Office and Foreign Office Forced Marriage Unit is a further step in improving the assistance we can offer to those confronted by this abuse. In particular it is intended to be a clearly identifiable and well-known ‘one-stop shop’, providing information and assistance both to potential victims and to concerned professionals.”
