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
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, and of the committee that was involved in considering the Forced Marriage etc (Protection and Jurisdiction) (Scotland) Bill, I know only too well what effects forced marriage can have on an individual and their family.
I thank my fellow members of the Justice Committee for their scrutiny of the LCM and for their comments, which have all been made in the interests of the victims of forced marriage. I also thank the minister for her speech and her assurances that stakeholders will be consulted on the guidelines that are to be developed and that awareness-raising campaigns will be carried out in communities.
With regard to Elaine Murray’s point about those who have recommended that the UK ratify the convention, I should point out that they included a group of violence against women stakeholders, which was very much in favour of the UK’s becoming a signatory, and the Scottish representatives on the UK joint committee on women, who have recommended that the UK Government pick up on that point.
The fundamental and overriding issue is article 37 of the Istanbul convention on tackling violence against women, which requires forced marriage to become a criminal offence. Unfortunately, existing legislation does not meet the requirement in article 37; the legal advice that the Justice Committee received confirms as much. That is one of the most important aspects of the issue. I believe that by agreeing to the LCM we will not only meet our international obligations but retain our own forced marriage protection orders under civil legislation. I firmly believe that those orders, which will not be removed, will provide an additional safeguard to protect those who are at risk. Victims will still be able to choose between going down the civil route or going to the police.
As my time has been cut short, I will conclude by pointing out that a black and minority ethnic women’s support organisation that is based in Edinburgh has made it clear that we should
“adhere to the letter as well as the spirit of the Istanbul Convention”
because doing so will strengthen support and preventative work. It was also felt that the approach to forced marriage should be in line with approaches to other abusive practices within the family, such as domestic violence and sexual abuse.
Mark Ballard, head of policy at Barnardo’s Scotland, has said:
“We believe that creating an offence under Scots law of forcing someone into marriage would be the right step to take in order to tackle this very serious issue.”
17:21
As a member of the Justice Committee, to which consideration of the LCM fell, and of the committee that was involved in considering the Forced Marriage etc (Protection and Jurisdiction) (Scotland) Bill, I know only too well what effects forced marriage can have on an individual and their family.
I thank my fellow members of the Justice Committee for their scrutiny of the LCM and for their comments, which have all been made in the interests of the victims of forced marriage. I also thank the minister for her speech and her assurances that stakeholders will be consulted on the guidelines that are to be developed and that awareness-raising campaigns will be carried out in communities.
With regard to Elaine Murray’s point about those who have recommended that the UK ratify the convention, I should point out that they included a group of violence against women stakeholders, which was very much in favour of the UK’s becoming a signatory, and the Scottish representatives on the UK joint committee on women, who have recommended that the UK Government pick up on that point.
The fundamental and overriding issue is article 37 of the Istanbul convention on tackling violence against women, which requires forced marriage to become a criminal offence. Unfortunately, existing legislation does not meet the requirement in article 37; the legal advice that the Justice Committee received confirms as much. That is one of the most important aspects of the issue. I believe that by agreeing to the LCM we will not only meet our international obligations but retain our own forced marriage protection orders under civil legislation. I firmly believe that those orders, which will not be removed, will provide an additional safeguard to protect those who are at risk. Victims will still be able to choose between going down the civil route or going to the police.
As my time has been cut short, I will conclude by pointing out that a black and minority ethnic women’s support organisation that is based in Edinburgh has made it clear that we should
“adhere to the letter as well as the spirit of the Istanbul Convention”
because doing so will strengthen support and preventative work. It was also felt that the approach to forced marriage should be in line with approaches to other abusive practices within the family, such as domestic violence and sexual abuse.
Mark Ballard, head of policy at Barnardo’s Scotland, has said:
“We believe that creating an offence under Scots law of forcing someone into marriage would be the right step to take in order to tackle this very serious issue.”
17:21
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...