'Forced marriages must end' (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

'Forced marriages must end'

6:16am Friday 22nd February 2008 in News By Newsdesk

Conservative leader David Cameron brought his shadow cabinet to Bradford yesterday as he regards the city as "vital" in his party's battle to win the next General Election. Here, he tells Telegraph & Argus readers exclusively why a future Tory government would pledge to stamp out the "evil" of forced marriages.

Yesterday, I visited a community centre in Bradford to listen to people who had been forced into marriage, and to the Police, voluntary bodies and other agencies that try to help them.

Listening to these stories only increased my determination to stamp out the evil of forced marriage in our country. This has nothing to do with arranged marriages - which are voluntary and often successful.

But it has everything to do with the bullying and even kidnapping of young girls - and sometimes boys - into a marriage they don't want. It's absolutely unacceptable that this goes on in Britain - but it does.

Some 300 cases of forced marriages are reported to the Forced Marriage Unit every year. But as I heard at first hand yesterday these 300 cases are really just the tip of the iceberg. Many more cases come to the attention of the police and social services. And many more go unreported.

How can we stop them? First, we need a law enforcement response. Nearly all the methods used in forced marriages - assault, rape, kidnap and murder - are already crimes.

We need to use existing laws to arrest the people behind them and lock them up where necessary. This won't happen unless our police are genuine crime-fighters instead of form-fillers. That's why I've put such high importance on police reform.

We'll also need some new powers too. If current laws fail to stop forced marriages, the Conservative Party will consider making it a specific criminal offence.

Some argue that this will make the practice of forced marriage go further underground and make victims less willing to speak out. We don't apply this argument to domestic violence - so why should it apply to forced marriage?

Where we definitely will act is in making sure both parties have agreed to a marriage - and that they are old enough to have made that decision. A Conservative government will increase the minimum age for any spouse coming to Britain, and their British partner, to 21. And we will hold separate, private interviews for both groom and bride.

To stop the practice of getting people to travel abroad and then forcing them to marry someone, the Conservatives will introduce a marriage registration scheme. If you intend to marry abroad, you have to register before you leave with the name of the partner and a deadline by which the marriage must be done. If you don't, the marriage won't be recognised for immigration purposes.

But we will not end forced marriage simply through more laws. We need to open a second front - the cultural response.

That's because it's cultural beliefs - not religion - that explain why they happen. Beliefs such as the importance of keeping face, strengthening caste ties, preserving family wealth and challenging the influence of Western culture. In all these cases, there are some who claim that it is acceptable to force your child into marrying someone of your choice.

We must challenge these cultural opinions. And for that, society must step up. MPs have been told that in 2006, in Bradford, some 250 schoolgirls under the age of 16 simply disappeared from school-rolls. Nobody knows where they are and what has happened to them - yet there has been little investigation.

That's not good enough. Forced marriages are a matter of basic human rights and child protection. We cannot shrug our shoulders and do nothing. We've got to confront the issue.

This means engaging with those communities where forced marriage is most common, kick-starting discussions and getting the message out that they are wrong. It also means local authorities, social services and schools all playing their part in looking out for it - and acting when they suspect it.

A Conservative government would make sure schools were made aware of what to do when they think a forced marriage is happening. And we would also give local authorities the power to make an application for a Forced Marriage Protection Order on behalf of the child.

On a much deeper level, the fact that forced marriage exists in Britain shows how far we've got to go in creating a society that is inclusive, strong and united in common values and a common identity. That's why I want to make sure British history is taught in schools, that all immigrants can speak English and that we give real power back to local communities - so people feel part of a common purpose.

Forced marriages have no place in modern Britain.

And it is the challenge of each and every one of us - from the government and the police, to schools, local authorities and local communities to make sure we stamp out this evil.