"A Wrong Not a Right": The Consultation
In December 2008 the Forced Marriage Civil Protection Act came into force in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In 2005 The Executive linked with the UK Government to undertake a consultation which, as well as considering the benefits and risks of a legislative response to this problem, aimed to get underneath the surface of the issue and hear directly from those who have been affected by it.
A total of 157 responses were received from organisations and individuals across the UK. The highest number of responses came from London and Scotland.
The majority of respondents did not feel that spending resources on creating specific legislation was justified. They suggested that the money could be more usefully spent on tackling the issue through non-legislative routes - such as increased education and awareness-raising, and better support for victims and survivors.
A summary of responses to the consultation on the criminalisation of forced marriage was published on June 7, 2006 by the UK Government's Forced Marriage Unit (FMU), as part of its ongoing programme of work to tackle the issue.