FORCED MARRIAGES

That this House acknowledges the excellent work done by the Forced Marriage Unit, the police and local authorities across the country to combat forced marriage and to protect victims of honour-based violence; recognises and welcomes the legal precedent set by Article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights, yet regretfully notes the complete lack of prosecutions of perpetrators under this Act; further recognises that forced marriage is present across many faiths and cultures and is a growing issue in the United Kingdom; finds it disgraceful that there is no specific criminal offence in England and Wales of forcing someone to marry; and urges the Government to introduce legislation that will criminalise the act of forcing a British citizen into a marriage against their will or without their explicit and freely-given consent.