What is a forced marriage? The Government's definition is: "A marriageconducted without the valid consent of both parties, where duress is afactor." This is unlike an arranged marriage, where the families of bothparties may take a leading role in arranging a prospective marriage butthe young people decide whether or not to accept the situation.
And what is valid consent? Consent that is freely given, while duresscan refer to actions ranging from assault to undue emotionalpressure.
Forced marriages can take place anywhere, and some involve childrenunder the age of 16, the age at which young people may legally marry inthe UK.
How many marriages are we talking about? We can only work from the casesthat come to the attention of officials each year (about 250), butresearch suggests that the numbers of forced marriages involving youngpeople are increasing. Though most affect south Asian families, therehave been cases concerning families from east Asia, the Middle East,Europe and Africa.
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