As we have seen in the previous article, for many British women today marriage is a free and happy choice. However, this is not always the case.It is very important to distinguish between a forced marriage and an arranged marriage. Arranged marriages are common in many cultures, and refer to situations in which the parents of a young man or woman, or a third party, introduce them to someone thought to represent a suitable spouse. The important thing is that the couple concerned have a choice regarding whether they wish to go ahead with marriage arrangements. Forced marriages, on the other hand, are those in which at least one of the participants is denied the right to refuse the prospective spouse and can occur in any culture.
Although forced marriage is among the acts prohibited under an EU law adopted by Britain in 2013, the legal provision has not been translated into policy. Many legal experts believe that the crime of forced marriage is also one of modern slavery, and as such should be should also be capable of prosecutions under the Modern Slavery Act of 2013. At present, it is not listed by the Home Office as an indicator of modern slavery.
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