Government Pledges To Raise Legal Age Of Marriage To 18
In his latest blog Family Law Solicitor, Adrian Rose, talks about the Governments pledge to raise the legal age of marriage to 18 in England and Wales….
Those of you who have seen my blogs before will know that I often talk about what happens when couples separate and divorce and about the legal consequences.
What is sometimes forgotten is that a marriage is a legal process itself and one that comes with a host of regulations about who can marry and where and when the wedding or ceremony can take place. These formalities are, thankfully, left to be dealt with by the Registrars or Religious Officials leaving the more exciting and romantic parts to the couple and their families.
Whilst restrictions have been eased in recent years to reflect changes in society and how we live now, these legal formalities have existed for centuries. They have often been put in place to protect one of the couple or the other. For example, weddings used to have to take in daylight hours to ensure you could see who you were about to marry to make sure an imposter had not been substituted at the last minute!
On a more serious note, although we can now marry in a whole variety of places and almost whenever we want, regulations are still necessary to protect the vulnerable.
The Government has announced that the legal age to marry will be raised to 18 in England and Wales. This follows campaigns by a large number of children’s and other charities for a change in the Law. At the moment, children aged 16 and 17 can marry with parental consent. This has led to concerns about children being abused and forced or coerced into marriage and the associated impact that has on the child not only for their mental health and wellbeing but also for opportunities that will be lost to them, possibly forever. New Criminal Laws will make it illegal to marry for those under 18 and perhaps for adults who aid, abet or procure marriages for children whether here or overseas.
This change in the Law was first introduced into Parliament by one of our local MPs, Pauline Latham, last year who is said to be thrilled at the government’s response to her calls to end child marriage . The change is to be brought into force just as soon as possible and will ensure that vulnerable children and young adults have the protection they deserve.
Pauline Introduces Bill to End Child Marriage | Pauline Latham OBE MP
Adrian Rose
July 2021