Written Question · S3W-11547 · Session 3
Whether it plans to address the issue of forced marriage.
The question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to address the issue of forced marriage.
The answer
The Scottish Government is committed to addressing forced marriage and in 2005 the previous administration along with the UK Government undertook a consultation on whether forced marriage should be criminalised. The majority of respondents felt that creating specific criminal legislation would not be the most effective way of tackling this very serious issue.
Many reasons were given for this, including the potentially negative impact of legislation on victims; concern that children could be hidden overseas to escape the law, and that crimes would be difficult to define. But the biggest concern was over racial segregation and that this might be seen as a minority law.
However, we are going to consult on whether civil legislation should be introduced to protect those who may be affected. This consultation will link with the work currently underway within communities to raise awareness of forced marriage.
Members of the Forced Marriage Network are key to this activity and the network will reconvene in the next few months to further develop the Scottish Government''s work in this area.
It is not known how many cases of forced marriage have been reported in Scotland, as this information is not collected centrally. However, from January 2008 the Forced Marriage Unit has started to collect information, on a regional basis, on the number of enquiries they have received. To date eight enquiries from Scotland have been received.
Many reasons were given for this, including the potentially negative impact of legislation on victims; concern that children could be hidden overseas to escape the law, and that crimes would be difficult to define. But the biggest concern was over racial segregation and that this might be seen as a minority law.
However, we are going to consult on whether civil legislation should be introduced to protect those who may be affected. This consultation will link with the work currently underway within communities to raise awareness of forced marriage.
Members of the Forced Marriage Network are key to this activity and the network will reconvene in the next few months to further develop the Scottish Government''s work in this area.
It is not known how many cases of forced marriage have been reported in Scotland, as this information is not collected centrally. However, from January 2008 the Forced Marriage Unit has started to collect information, on a regional basis, on the number of enquiries they have received. To date eight enquiries from Scotland have been received.
In the Official Report
2 contributions mention S3W-11547-
24 Mar 2009Race Equality Statement
I refer you to question S3W-11547, by the late Bashir Ahmad.
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24 Mar 2009Race Equality Statement
No—you tell me the answer first.The question concerned forced marriages. In his reply, Stewart Maxwell stated:"But the biggest concern was over racial segregation and that this might be seen as a minority law." Official Report, Written Ans…