First reading by Pauline Latham MP on Bill to End Child Marriage
Payzee Mahmod, a survivor of forced marriage who also lost her sister, Banaz, to an 'honour' killing, is now campaigning to raise awareness of the importance of criminalising child marriage in England and Wales.
Watch the VIDEO of the formal introduction of Sajid Javid's Private Member's Bill to #EndChildMarriage
'Speakers include Minister for Safeguarding Victoria Atkins, Domestic Abuse Commissioner Nicole Jacobs and Pauline Latham MP. Survivors from the Karma Nirvana Ambassador panel Farhana and Nour Norris will share the courageous stories related to Honour Based Abuse. The event is also supported by Nimco Ali OBE, Dr Charlotte Proudman and our founder Jasvinder Sanghera CBE.' - Karma Nirvana on YouTube
'A Bill to revoke parental or judicial consent which permits the marriage or civil partnership of a child and to criminalise child marriage or civil partnership under the age of 18; and for connected purposes.'
Access the text documents from previous stages of the Bill's journey here
Our current laws in England and Wales permit child marriage with parental consent and this is exploited by parents who force our children into child marriage.
We need to safeguard all of our children in England and Wales now.
EMAIL YOUR MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT (MP) NOW.
Ensure that your MP is backing this Bill and further explain to them why ending child marriage in England and Wales, and ensuring no child is coerced into marriage, is important to you and to your loved ones.
'Karma Nirvana is an award-winning National charity supporting victims of honour-based abuse and forced marriage. Honour crimes are not determined by age, faith, gender or sexuality, we support and work with all victims.We run a national helpline offering direct support and guidance to victims and professionals. Karma Nirvana provides training to the Police, NHS and Social Services. We act as expert witnesses in court, speak out in schools and attend awareness raising events nationally and internationally. In addition, our team lobby government and after ten years of campaigning, forced marriage became a criminal offence in 2014.'
Karma Nirvana: Child Marriage Report 2020
Karma Nirvana have produced a report on child marriage. This report covers:
'IKWRO was founded (as the Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation) in 2002 by our Executive Director, Diana Nammi. Since our foundation, as testament to the success of our work and in response to the need for culturally specific support, advocacy and counselling for women from the Middle East and Afghanistan, our services have been extended to several vulnerable communities in the United Kingdom.'
'Child marriage is “any formal marriage or informal union between a child under the age of 18 and an adult or another child” (UNICEF). Parliament has recognised, by raising the minimum age for leaving education or training to eighteen, that childhood should be safeguarded as a time for learning and personal development.' (IKWRO).
'Child marriage is a hidden form of child abuse, so it is important to look to a range of sources for prevalence. In 2018 a third of cases (33%, 574) dealt with by the UK’s Forced Marriage Unit involved children aged 17 and under.' (IKWRO).
IKWRO has a vast selection of accessible resources in varying formats to assist your understanding of the urgent need to end child marriage in the UK.
'Contact the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) if you’re trying to stop a forced marriage or you need help leaving a marriage you’ve been forced into.'
'A trained professional will give you free advice on what to do next. They can also help you:
fmu@fcdo.gov.uk
Telephone: 020 7008 0151
From overseas: +44 (0)20 7008 0151
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Out of hours: 020 7008 1500 (ask for the Global Response Centre)