Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 22 January 2014
22 Jan 2014 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill
Forced marriage is, thankfully, not an issue that affects the majority of people in Scotland. However, it is a blight on those communities where it still happens and it can have a devastating effect on the lives of victims. I am sure that, whatever our views on this matter, we can all agree that everyone in Scotland who is eligible to marry or enter into a civil partnership has a right to do so freely and without coercion. Forcing someone to marry against their will is an abuse of their human rights. It disenfranchises victims by removing from them the opportunities that should rightly be available to all.
The Forced Marriage etc (Protection and Jurisdiction) (Scotland) Act 2011 introduced forced marriage protection orders, and criminalised the breach of those orders. The act is working well, and seven FMPOs have been granted.
As members know, we are now seeking to go further in the protections that are available for victims by creating a new criminal offence of forced marriage through this legislative consent motion on the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently going through Westminster. The Justice Committee has taken evidence on the legislative consent memorandum, and I am grateful to the committee and, in particular, its convener for their close and thoughtful consideration of this sensitive issue.
This LCM has been controversial. I fully acknowledge that. There are valid concerns on the part of some stakeholders, which they ably explained in their written and oral evidence to the committee. Committee members themselves have reservations, which I am sure they will raise in their speeches during this debate.
I believe that those concerns focus on several issues: the lack of consultation by the Government; whether existing criminal law provides sufficient protection; the chosen route of an LCM on a Westminster bill, rather than stand-alone Scottish legislation; and whether criminalisation might make victims less willing to seek help.
It has also been questioned why we have taken this step at this time, given that our own act on the issue is comparatively new. We have done so because the UK Government became a signatory to the Istanbul convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. Article 37 of that convention requires forced marriage to be a criminal offence. It is our view that existing criminal offences in Scotland are not adequate to meet the requirements of article 37, and I note that that view was backed by the Justice Committee.
The Forced Marriage etc (Protection and Jurisdiction) (Scotland) Act 2011 introduced forced marriage protection orders, and criminalised the breach of those orders. The act is working well, and seven FMPOs have been granted.
As members know, we are now seeking to go further in the protections that are available for victims by creating a new criminal offence of forced marriage through this legislative consent motion on the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently going through Westminster. The Justice Committee has taken evidence on the legislative consent memorandum, and I am grateful to the committee and, in particular, its convener for their close and thoughtful consideration of this sensitive issue.
This LCM has been controversial. I fully acknowledge that. There are valid concerns on the part of some stakeholders, which they ably explained in their written and oral evidence to the committee. Committee members themselves have reservations, which I am sure they will raise in their speeches during this debate.
I believe that those concerns focus on several issues: the lack of consultation by the Government; whether existing criminal law provides sufficient protection; the chosen route of an LCM on a Westminster bill, rather than stand-alone Scottish legislation; and whether criminalisation might make victims less willing to seek help.
It has also been questioned why we have taken this step at this time, given that our own act on the issue is comparatively new. We have done so because the UK Government became a signatory to the Istanbul convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. Article 37 of that convention requires forced marriage to be a criminal offence. It is our view that existing criminal offences in Scotland are not adequate to meet the requirements of article 37, and I note that that view was backed by the Justice Committee.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (John Scott)
Con
The next item of business is a debate on motion S4M-08797, in the name of Shona Robison, on the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill, which is Unit...
The Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport (Shona Robison)
SNP
Forced marriage is, thankfully, not an issue that affects the majority of people in Scotland. However, it is a blight on those communities where it still hap...
Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh Northern and Leith) (Lab)
Lab
Is it not the case that the UK Government has signed but not ratified the convention, and that it becomes legally binding only when ratified? If the minister...
Shona Robison
SNP
We are clear that, in order to ratify the convention, forced marriage requires to become a criminal offence. The Istanbul convention was, in effect, a game c...
Elaine Murray (Dumfriesshire) (Lab)
Lab
Only one part of the legislative consent memorandum is contentious and that is the proposals on forced marriage.In starting, I think that it is important to ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Con
Thank you for your brevity.17:15
Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
The Justice Committee report on the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill legislative consent memorandum did not make a recommendation on the provis...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Con
We move to the open debate. If members could speak for not too long, that would be helpful.17:18
Sandra White (Glasgow Kelvin) (SNP)
SNP
Thank you, Presiding Officer. I will try to keep my speech as short as possible.As a member of the Justice Committee, to which consideration of the LCM fell,...
John Pentland (Motherwell and Wishaw) (Lab)
Lab
The LCM’s proposals on forced marriage proved very contentious. The shortcomings of the process were such that the committee decided not to recommend support...
Christine Grahame (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP)
SNP
The Justice Committee requested time for the debate, and I thank the Parliamentary Bureau for allowing us to have it. All members of the committee were conce...
Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh Northern and Leith) (Lab)
Lab
In 2005, I introduced a consultation on forced marriage and listened to the views of violence against women organisations, such as Scottish Women’s Aid, Hema...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Con
We move to the closing speeches. I call Margaret Mitchell—four minutes, please.17:30
Margaret Mitchell
Con
This debate, which is an unusual one, was triggered by the Justice Committee’s decision not to make a recommendation on the inclusion of forced marriage with...
Elaine Murray
Lab
A number of important points have been brought out in this very brief debate. Sandra White made the point about the need to treat forced marriage as we do ot...
Shona Robison
SNP
I thank everyone for their contributions to the debate. Although we might not all agree on the details, I have a strong feeling of the commitment that member...
Margaret Mitchell
Con
The point is that there is time, especially given the information that Malcolm Chisholm supplied, to look again and see whether a Scottish solution can be fo...
Shona Robison
SNP
I find that comment slightly ironic, given the UK Government’s clear position. As for Malcolm Chisholm’s point about ratification, the UK cannot ratify the c...
Malcolm Chisholm
Lab
There is disagreement on the legal advice, because that is not the legal advice that Scottish Women’s Aid has received. However, if the minister takes that v...
Shona Robison
SNP
We are looking at forced marriage today. We are clear that, to ratify the convention, we require to criminalise forced marriage. The other articles are anoth...