16 June 2014
A new law on Forced Marriage becomes effective today, Monday 16th June. bto’s Associate John Fotheringham was interviewed by the BBC for the Scotland 2014 program, broadcast last Thursday, discussing the issues arising from this new law that criminalises forced marriage.
You can watch again on the BBC iplayer for the next 3 days here (Starts at 8.30 mins in with John being interviewed at 12 mins).
BBC Political correspondent Lucy Adams also covers the topic of Forced marriage: Families hire bounty hunters to find fleeing victims and quotes John:
But some lawyers and specialist agencies in Scotland have warned they believe this will drive victims underground.
“This is a retrograde step,” said John Fotheringham, family law expert at bto solicitors.
“It will dissuade victims from coming forward because it means criminalising your family.”
“The Scottish government had no choice because the UK government signed the Istanbul Convention which meant forced marriage had to be criminalised across the whole of the UK.”
Read more from John on Forced Marriage on our dedicated Family Law website.