Nusrat Ghani, MP for Wealden, is supporting the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Bill, which has been backed by MPs and moved onto the next stage of becoming law.
Under the existing law in England and Wales, people can enter a marriage or civil partnership at the age of 18, or at 16-17 with parental or judicial consent. However, there is no legislation against religious or cultural ceremonies which are not registered with local councils taking place under this age.
This new Bill would make all marriages and civil partnerships under 18 illegal, including religious or cultural ones, to stop vulnerable children being forced to wed. Furthermore, children would not face penalties, but adults could face up to seven years in jail and a fine for facilitating the marriage.
Nusrat Ghani said: “Child marriage is child abuse. I was an early sponsor of this Bill when it was proposed by the current Health Secretary The Rt Hon Sajid Javid in June 2021 and I have raised the matter repeatedly since 2015 within the context of domestic violence. I’m pleased that this important Bill has Government and cross-party support and it will now continue its process through Parliament to become law.”
