Sarah Anticoni quoted by the Mail Online on the implications of the Marriage and Civil Partnership Bill on child marriage
Sarah Anticoni has been quoted by the Mail Online on the implications of the Marriage and Civil Partnership Bill on child marriage.
Commenting on the Bill, Sarah said:
"It’s important to remember that even 16-18 year olds can be vulnerable children. Cross party consensus to protect such teenagers by lifting the minimum age for marriage moves the bill to committee stage, and will be welcomed by family law practitioners across the country.
"The number of children marrying at present is low, but anything that can be done to protect physical and mental health of under 18s is something worth doing."
She added: "However, the Bill does not extend to religious only marriages, which means some children whose families arrange religious only marriages may still not be protected. In England if a couple are not married in accordance with civil law they are treated as all cohabitants who still don’t have one comprehensive, cohesive law addressing the division of finances if the relationship breaks down.
"The progress made today in Parliament will no doubt be a clear sign that child marriage is something which needs to be tackled, this is seen as a priority in the UK and hopefully will be a signal on an international level."
