The Wall_Spring 2023_Issue 9

Artwork: Naomi Annetts, S9

Yeva Kebabdjian, (she/her), LVI, reports straight after the announcement of the groundbreaking change to mari tal law, hoping that it will progress to protecting young girls in Britain.

age.The loophole which ensured that the marriage could only take place with “parental consent” was a major part of the problem as that meant that the majority of marriages with 16 year old children, had been approved by their parents and thus is a clear case of marriage enforced by their parents due to cultural, religious and personal beliefs. In the vast majority of cases, these marriages led to abusive, controlling relationships whereby these young girls suffered from domestic abuse.The DoH makes a direct link between domestic violence and forced marriage, in fact, conceptualising forced marriages as a form of domestic violence in itself. No matter the reasoning behind forced marriages, people who are aged 16 are still children under British law and it is undeniably wrong to force anyone into a relationship which they (in the very vast majority of cases) don’t want to be in.The law now states this act as child abuse and the fight to make child marriages illegal is finally over thanks to Pauline Latham, the Conservative MP who spearheaded the law’s passing.

and threats.This meant that many went unreported as the young victims were trapped and too afraid to make a case when the law was not on their side. However, with this new law in place, any organised marriage under the age of 18 is illegal and constitutes as a forced marriage and therefore, a punishable criminal offence.This is also the case with traditional ceremonies which are not legally binding.The law is now protecting those who are at risk of being forced in marriages which they do not want to be in. Britain prides itself to give everyone a right to freedom and this law frees many young people, especially young women who would have feared an arranged marriage which could have led to a life they didn’t desire. One without higher education, without choice, without a future and without liberty, begging the question: why wasn’t the law passed sooner? The fight for women’s rights is continous, even in the 21st century.This law which aims to protect children is a huge step forward however, it will only make a real change if the government sees this as a warning to take action in other areas of society because quite often, the victims of many loopholes within the law are women- and that is quite clearly saying something.

The legal age of marriage in the United Kingdom is something which has often been debated and disputed by journalists, politicians and the general public. Up until last week, the legal age of marriage with parental consent was 16 which has raised concerns that the law is in fact, on the side of abusive and coercive parents who have ambitions to “marry off” their children. Unfortunately, the main victims of this are young teenage girls as the act of arranged and forced marriages is accepted by many cultures. Evidence that this was and still is an active issue is that In 2021, the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) gave advice and support in 337 cases related to a possible forced marriage and/or possible female genital mutilation (FGM). It also responded to 868 general enquiries.Therefore, after a 5 year campaign against a law which allowed young, vulnerable teengers to get married, the government has announced that in England andWales the new legal age to get married is in fact 18. How did the old law encourage forced marriages? With the previous law in place, many young girls were being forced into marriages, often with men twice their

What’s next?

Previously, forced marriages could only be constituted as illegal if the victim could show proof of coercion

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