Clause 1
Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Bill [Lords]
10:45 am
Bridget Prentice (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Ministry of Justice; Lewisham East, Labour)
I, too, welcome you to the Chair, Mr. Hood. I hope that you will already have seen the Committee as one in which co-operation and cross-party agreement are much to the fore.
In a way, the set of amendments result in a clause stand part debate as they go to the heart of the Bill, which is about the protection of individuals forced into a marriage that they have no wish to enter and who sometimes have no full understanding of what is happening. It is absolutely essential that the court has regard to the victim’s wishes and feelings. That is the aim of the Bill. In so far as it is possible, it is also essential that the victim has the ability to retain some control over her circumstances. I shall use “her” throughout my contributions to the debate, although such matters also apply to men as it is reckoned that about 15 per cent. of forced marriages involve boys or young men. However, for simplicity, I shall use female terminology.
One of the results of forced marriages is that they take away the victim’s power of control over their own lives. Everyone believes that the Bill is necessary and everyone supports it. It is important that we do not further disempower people, but engage them in the process. A forced marriage is one that victims are entered into without their free and full consent, so it is essential for the court to be able to determine the wishes and feelings of those who are to be protected.
When the victim herself applies for a protection order, obviously the court will hear her wishes and feelings, and determine what is best to give her protection and to avoid the complete breakdown of her relationship with her family. On Second Reading, several hon. Members were concerned that we ensure that that does not happen. It is particularly important that the court can understand and protect the wishes and feelings of a vulnerable person. In the case of young victims who have not reached the age of majority, there are several ways in which their wishes and feelings can be known. For example, a function of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service is to safeguard and to support the welfare of children. It can give advice to the court about an application made within family proceedings. It can also make provision for the child to be represented and provide support when necessary.
In the cases of adults who might not have litigation capacity or the capacity to marry, the Official Solicitor can be appointed as a next friend or guardian ad litem to investigate the issue of capacity. In that context, he would be able to help the court to ascertain the wishes and feelings of the adults.
Steps can also be taken to ascertain the wishes and feelings of a vulnerable adult who is out of the jurisdiction. That point was raised by the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire. In the case of SK in 2005, the High Court used its inherent jurisdiction to direct that an adult victim who was thought to be at risk of being forced into marriage was seen by an official at the high commission Dhaka in Bangladesh for the purposes of establishing her true wishes. Again, such powers could be used under the Bill.
There is already law allowing for measures akin to the special measures available in criminal proceedings under the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 to be used in family matters. Forced marriage protection orders will fall under family law, so those measures are available under the inherent power of the court to control the evidence before it. Intermediaries have been used in family proceedings when that power has been activated, so it is not unusual for intermediaries to be brought before the court to act as protection and support for the vulnerable victim.