Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Bill [HL]

We need to define what we mean by ““forced””, because there is a distinction between ““arranged”” and ““forced””. If you look at the marriage ceremony itself, strictly speaking consent must be obtained from both the bride and the groom. The minister conducting the marriage ceremony asks the bride as well as the groom if they consent. It is difficult to establish whether force has been applied. We need to be clear about this because in certain religions consent is essential for the marriage to be valid.