Marriage

I1I22Offence of conduct relating to marriage of persons under 18

1

Section 121 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (offence of forced marriage: England and Wales) is amended as follows.

2

After subsection (3) insert—

3A

A person commits an offence under the law of England and Wales if he or she carries out any conduct for the purpose of causing a child to enter into a marriage before the child’s eighteenth birthday (whether or not the conduct amounts to violence, threats, any other form of coercion or deception, and whether or not it is carried out in England and Wales).

3

After subsection (5) insert—

5A

“Child” means a person under the age of 18 years.

4

In subsection (6)—

a

after “(1)” insert “or subsection (3A)”;

b

for “that subsection” substitute “either of those subsections”.

5

After subsection (7) insert—

7A

A person commits an offence under subsection (3A) only if—

a

the conduct is for the purpose of causing the child to enter into a marriage in England or Wales,

b

at the time of the conduct, the person or child is habitually resident in England and Wales, or

c

at the time of the conduct, the child is a United Kingdom national who—

i

has been habitually resident in England and Wales, and

ii

is not habitually resident or domiciled in Scotland or Northern Ireland.