Press Release
The Ethnic Minority Foundation hosts roundtable seminar at the House of Lords to discuss the issue of Forced Marriage within the context of the Ministry of Justice’s current consultation on the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 – Relevant Third
11 March 2008
As part of EMF’s Policy Seminars for 2008, the Foundation hosted a roundtable discussion at the House of Lords to debate issues relating to the implementation of the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007, as well as exploring ways of eradicating the problem of Forced Marriage in Britain.
Presided by Lord Bhatia OBE, Chairman of EMF, the event featured contributions from Bridget Prentice MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice; Dr Krishna Sarda, EMF’s Chief Executive; and officials from the Forced Marriage Unit at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Justice. Invited guests included members of Parliament, women’s groups, civil servants, the Metropolitan Police, legal professionals, educationalists, researchers and journalists.
Dr Sarda introduced the session by acknowledging the complexity of the issue of Forced Marriage and asserting EMF’s commitment to finding long-term solutions; as he put it:
‘The practice of forced marriage is a violation of an individual’s basic Human Rights and, when involving minors, an infringement of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is wholly unacceptable that such oppression against women and girls continues to be carried out in Britain today. Within this context, EMF fully supports the enactment of the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 and is working closely with government, communities and stakeholders to eradicate this intractable social problem’.
Bridget Prentice MP, in turn, shared the government’s perspective on the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007; as she put it:
"This is really vital work. When you look at the situations some of the people affected by forced marriages will be in, it’s clear that not all of them will be able to apply personally to the courts for protection. And some victims might not want to take court action against members of their own family. Where this happens we want to make sure that other people or organisations can step in on their behalf.
It’s important that the Act gives victims the power to get Forced Marriage Protection Orders from the courts in whatever circumstances they find themselves.
The Forced Marriage Act sends out a strong message that this practice is totally unacceptable. It simply will not be tolerated."
Following a highly stimulating roundtable discussion, EMF and the Ministry of Justice urged participants to respond independently to the consultation on Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 – Third Party before its closing date on the 14th March 2008.
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