ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the issue of consent in distinguishing between forced and arranged marriages, difficulties in estimating prevalence and the legal framework including the background to the recent creation of a criminal offence of 'forced marriage'. In 2005, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Home Office established a new Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) to lead on policy, outreach and people and professionals needing support. Forced Marriage Protection Orders (FMPO) are similar to injunctions and were introduced as part of the Forced Marriage Act 2007. There are three broad approaches to state intervention in forced marriage: regulation, working with communities and supporting people under threat of forced marriage. In 2003 a controversial change was made which the government argued might reduce the number of forced marriages, sometimes referred to by the shorthand 'age policy', because it raised from 16 to 18 the age at which a person could sponsor a partner to enter the UK for marriage.
