Domestic Violence And The Criminalization Of Forced Marriages

Domestic violence as a definition has developed significantly over time, previously this behaviour was limited to just physical violence, however the current definition has branched out to include emotional, financial, sexual and psychological abuse. The Home Office defines this as being ‘any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse.’ There is no doubt that the law has evolved over time to generate an increased awareness of domestic violence, whilst also offering a wide range of resources and protective measures for the victims. One of the main focal points stemming from the Family Law Act 1996 , is the topic of forced marriage and forced marriage protection orders. This in turn brings
about the discussion of coercive control, honour killings, police response and the options a victim has in relation to the current law. The criminalisation of forced marriage in 2014 and the breach of an FMPO has been widely debated as either being a hindrance or a positive change in law, by a range of academics and officials. Some academics such as Idriss , Washbrook and Julios argue that the criminalisation of forced marriages has had a combination of positive and negative impacts for victims.
They believe that criminalisation is necessary as an important signal that the law takes it seriously, but it also puts victims in a difficult position to bring forth proceedings against their families where honour is concerned. Others, such as the Home Office secretary Theresa May , focus on the advantages of criminalising the breach of an FMPO, giving reference to the FMU statistics on the decline in cases they had to deal with in recent years. Moreover Theresa goes on to discuss the criticisms in the police responses in general domestic violence situations which is a significant point to deliberate.
One of the most critical aspects from the criminalisation of forced marriages, is the lack of police support and collective effort from Frontline officials to take the matter seriously. Forced marriage is an important factor in the FLA 1996, and Frontline officials need to be up to date and readily equipped to deal with these cases. It is noteworthy to point out that the Home Office Secretary Theresa May, who was focusing on the improvements the government had taken, still managed to highlight that these officials had deficiencies in their
basic policing on domestic violence. She makes it clear that in 2013 there was poor victim care, arrest rates were widely varied from 45% to 90% and police officers in general failed to see domestic abuse as a serious crime. This consultation was written in 2014 and infers that not only has there has been a wide negligence in policing over the years, but it took this long for the information to be exposed and to act on it. In 2008, police representatives stated that there was no ‘single risk tool available to guide all the agencies’ and that they were trying to take a consistent approach to domestic violence. There has been criticisms prior to 2014 that were not correctly addressed or even recognised by the government, failure by the police to assess the risk of harm to the victim can result in homicide that might have been prevented. A report in 2014 on inspecting policing in the public interest , recognised the key areas that need to be improved on and how the victims felt during the process. This report came to the conclusion that the front counter staff or enquiry desks in police stations had limited to no domestic abuse training, and did not have the knowledge to deal with the victims effectively . Even though over the past 15 year’s knowledge of domestic abuse has risen, officers need to be aware that the first contact between a victim and the police needs to be taken seriously and not just brushed away if the situation does not include physical violence . Additionally, this report found in their survey, that only 66% of victims felt safer as a result of the initial response, even more alarming was the 36% who felt the police did not take the matter seriously and 31% said the police were not sympathetic. There needs to be sufficient understanding of the risk a victim faces and the wide range of domestic abuse that can be encountered. Failing to do so leaves the victim with a lack of hope, and can lead to a greater risk as they might be withdrawn from reporting abuse based on their experiences. Essentially, it seems that criminalisation is not the root of the problem, while criminalisation itself does deter offenders and promotes awareness, there are other factors such as the policing that requires attention. On the whole, victims feel safer if the police response is quick and they are equipped to deal with the matter urgently, whilst also sympathising towards the victim. It is a positive sign that the government does acknowledge this and take it seriously to consider it in a consultation. However, it goes to say that over recent years, some feel that not enough was taken on board where policing makes a pivotal impact on the victim’s approaches and outcomes.
Over the past 15 years the law has advanced to introduce an outlet for victims who are subjected to or forced into marriage.
From 2005 a real concern over forced marriage was looked into by the government and was classified as being an abuse of human rights, which can’t be justified on cultural or religious grounds , however they did not issue an offence at this time. The Forced Marriage Act in 2007 provided a civil remedy in the form of an FMPO which attempted to prevent the perpetrator and instil a deterrence factor rather than isolate the victims altogether. Following this, recently in 2014 the breach of an FMPO was finally criminalised due to concerns that not enough was being done to tackle the problem of forced marriages. Following the consultation in 2011, 54% were in favour of the creation of a new offence, and a noteworthy 80% felt that the current civil remedies and criminal sanctions were not being used effectively . A number of academics and articles are in conjunction that criminalisation is needed to recognise and increase awareness, throughout the public and overseas. Academics such as Gilmore note that, since most European countries such as Denmark, Austria and Belgium had already criminalised forced marriages , that this takes a firm stance and raises awareness internationally on this matter. David Cameron himself was quoted as saying ‘forced marriage is abhorrent and little more than slavery. To force anyone to marry against their will is simply wrong and
that is why we have taken decisive action to make it illegal.’ This will allow victims to have more ways of protection under civil and criminal routes, which broadens the meaning and definition of forced marriage and promotes a serious stance from the government. The end result of criminalisation, allows the police to arrest someone who has breached an FMPO without the need for the court to attach a power of arrest order .