Raising the minimum marriage age from 16 to 18 came into force on Monday in England and Wales, implementing a law passed last year to protect minors from forced marriage, AFP and Agerpres reported.

Even with parental consent, minors are now prohibited from marrying or formalizing their relationship through a civil union, and this also applies to strictly religious or “traditional” ceremonies that have no legal significance.

The law also protects British minors or those living in England or Wales who have married abroad. Until now, marriage was allowed from the age of 16, provided that minors had the permission of their parents.

Although it is difficult to assess the extent of this phenomenon, in 2021 many unions involving children were hidden, 118 cases of minors were referred to the Forced Marriage Unit, which is tasked with counseling and assisting victims of these forced marriages. Girls are the main victims.

According to the UK Ministry of Justice, 119 girls under the age of 18 were forced into marriage in England and Wales in 2018, while the number of married boys was 28.

In England, prison terms are introduced for the forced marriage of minors

“This law will better protect vulnerable young people by taking action against forced marriage in our society,” said British Justice Minister Dominic Raab.

A person who is found to have arranged a child marriage faces up to seven years of imprisonment.

“This is one of the most successful child marriage laws in the world and it protects every child born in this country from the dangers and harm caused by marriage without consent,” said Conservative MP Pauline Latham, who initiated the law. editorial in the Daily Express.

“Today is a really celebratory moment,” Paige Mahmod, an activist who was herself a victim of forced marriage in the early 2000s, told the BBC.

She said she was “very happy and very moved” by the “very important steps this country has taken to protect children.”