Clause 16 - Sections 10 to 15: marriage exception
Sexual Offences Bill [Lords]
10:45 am
Ms Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset and North Poole, Liberal Democrat)
I welcome the Solicitor-General's comments about a period of reflection. I hope that that means reconsultation with some of the major children's bodies. That is important. We all know about the classic communication gaps that can occur when everyone focuses on one aspect and loses sight of
something else. Perhaps that is what has happened: so many other concerns were addressed in the House of Lords that something was overlooked.
I have been given some reassurance by the Solicitor-General's comments. However, I still have the vision of a 13 or 14-year-old child who is in a marriage in this country and living outside her culture being told by her husband, ''This is okay. We are married, so I can do anything.'' That child will not be able to distinguish between the exceptions. How will she know? As the Bill stands, I fear that there is scope for exploitation and abuse because a child does not know what is acceptable. An additional period of reflection is most important, and I hope that there will be some change to the current situation.
Question put and agreed to.
Clause 16, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.