Under-18 marriages thriving in UK and should be banned, say charities
By Ellie Price
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Campaigners have written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson warning of the invisible but thriving issue of marriage by parental consent in the UK.
Charities including Barnardo s claim it contributes to sexual violence and domestic abuse, and want to ban under-18s marrying in England and Wales.
Currently, 16 and 17-year-olds can marry if they have parental consent. In Scotland the legal age to marry is 16.
The government said all couples must enter into marriage freely by law.
A spokesperson added the government was listening carefully to the debate on the legal age of marriage .
Coronavirus pandemic puts girls from ethnic minorities at greater risk of forced marriage asiaone.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from asiaone.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Coronavirus puts girls from Hong Kong, Britain’s ethnic minorities at greater risk of forced marriage Photo: AFP
The coronavirus pandemic is putting girls from ethnic minorities in Hong Kong and Britain at greater risk of being forced into marriage. This story is part of a series on women s issues in China and Asia to coincide with International Women s Day.
Jani , a 17-year-old Briton of Bangladeshi descent living in the United Kingdom, has spent the past year in constant dread. I fear that I will be taken abroad and never let back. (And that) I will be raped, she said.