The Nottingham child marriage case shows why UK law had to change. Since February 2023, under-18 marriage has been a criminal offence in England and Wales, including some overseas and religious ceremonies, even where coercion is not proved.
Since 27 February 2023, it has been a criminal offence in England and Wales to cause a child under 18 to enter a marriage, including a religious or traditional ceremony, even where no coercion is proved. That is the central point in the Nottingham case. A child cannot be married through parental approval, family expectation, religious formality or overseas arrangement. The law now starts with the child’s protection.
A husband and wife from Nottingham received suspended prison sentences after arranging for their two teenage sons, both under 18, to be taken to Pakistan for marriage. The Crown Prosecution Service said the couple were sentenced after pleading guilty to carrying out conduct for the purpose of causing a child under 18 to enter into a marriage.
The parents cannot be named for legal reasons. The children must not be identified.
The facts reported by the CPS are stark. The court heard that one bride was originally intended for one brother. When he did not like her, she was married to the other brother in a Nikkah ceremony. The couple received two-month prison sentences, suspended for 12 months, and each was ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.
This is not just a court report. It is a safeguarding warning.
The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 came into force on 27 February 2023. It raised the legal age of marriage and civil partnership to 18 in England and Wales. It also removed the previous position that allowed 16 and 17-year-olds to marry with parental or judicial consent.
The Act did something else that matters deeply. It expanded the criminal offence so that it is now an offence to do anything intended to cause a child to marry before they turn 18. For a child, prosecutors no longer have to prove coercion. The offence can also include ceremonies that are not legally binding, including community, traditional or religious ceremonies.
That change closed a dangerous gap. Child marriage is not only about a civil certificate. It can be created through family pressure, social expectation, religious ceremony, migration plans, silence and fear.
The most important legal point is also the most human.
A child should not have to prove threats, violence or force before the law protects them from marriage.
Children rarely describe abuse in legal language. They may say they agreed. They may fear their parents. They may think they have no right to refuse. They may worry about shame, siblings, immigration status, family reputation or being cut off. They may not understand that what is happening is unlawful.
The law now recognises that under-18 marriage is harmful even where there is no obvious violence. That is a major safeguarding shift.
The Nottingham case involved travel to Pakistan. That matters because some families still believe an overseas ceremony sits outside UK concern.
It does not.
The CPS said the defendants disregarded the law’s protection by taking the boys to Pakistan to be married, and that “the law applies wherever the offending takes place”.
That sentence should be understood in every school, college, social work team and police safeguarding unit. A child cannot be taken abroad to avoid the law. A Nikkah, engagement or traditional ceremony must not be used to disguise child marriage.
This case involved boys. That is one of its most important lessons.
Public discussion about forced marriage and child marriage often focuses on girls. Girls remain at serious risk, and that must never be minimised. But boys can also be controlled, pressured and placed into marriages they are too young to understand or resist.
A boy may be expected to comply because he is male. He may be told marriage will keep him away from the “Western world”. He may feel shame about objecting. He may not be recognised as a victim because professionals are not looking for him.
Safeguarding fails when it only sees the expected victim.
The judge’s remarks about the bride should not be softened. They exposed the power imbalance at the centre of the case.
The court recognised her as another victim. The judge said:
“One must not forget the other victim here, the bride.”
The court also observed that, after being rejected by one son, she became available to the other “as if she were a piece of chattel”, meaning property.
That language is uncomfortable, but it is necessary. These cases can harm more than one person. The child taken from the UK may be a victim. The spouse overseas may also be a victim. A young woman moved between men, families and expectations is not a neutral participant in a private arrangement.
The court heard that concerns were raised by a place of education. That detail should not be lost.
Schools and colleges often see the warning signs first. A child may become anxious before travel. Attendance may change. A teacher may hear a passing comment about marriage. A friend may raise concern. A young person may say they are going abroad to meet someone, but not yet have the words to describe risk.
Safeguarding cannot wait for a perfect disclosure. It needs professional curiosity, careful recording and timely escalation.
In this case, education appears to have mattered.
Professionals should be alert where a child or young person:
None of these signs proves a crime on its own. Together, they may show risk.
The worst response is to wait until the child has left the country.
Parents need to understand the law plainly.
A child under 18 cannot be caused to enter a marriage. Parental consent does not make it lawful. A religious ceremony does not make it harmless. Taking a child overseas does not remove the risk. Saying there was no violence does not answer the legal point.
This is not an attack on arranged marriage. A lawful arranged marriage between consenting adults is different from child marriage or forced marriage. The distinction is age, consent and freedom.
A child’s future cannot be decided by family honour, parental preference or community expectation.
I founded Freedom Charity because children and young people were being failed by silence, fear and misplaced cultural sensitivity. Forced marriage was too often treated as a private family matter. It was not. It was a safeguarding issue, a children’s rights issue and a human rights issue.
Freedom Charity’s work has always focused on prevention: education in schools, practical support, helpline access, the Freedom Charity app, and resources that help young people understand pressure before harm escalates.
The Nottingham case shows why that work still matters. Law is essential, but law does not protect a child unless someone notices risk and acts.
The message is clear.
Child marriage is not protected by culture. It is not excused by parental ignorance. It is not made lawful by religious ceremony. It is not less serious because the child is male. It is not beyond reach because it happens overseas.
The law changed because childhood matters.
Now every professional, parent and community leader must understand it.
Child marriage law UK means that a person under 18 cannot marry or enter a civil partnership in England and Wales. It is also a criminal offence to cause a child under 18 to enter a marriage, including some religious or traditional ceremonies.
No. Since 27 February 2023, 16 and 17-year-olds can no longer marry or enter a civil partnership in England and Wales, even with parental or judicial consent.
No. Where the person is under 18, the offence can apply even where coercion is not proved.
It can. The expanded offence can include ceremonies that are not legally binding, including community, traditional or religious ceremonies.
No. The Nottingham case shows that families can be prosecuted where children are taken overseas for marriage. The CPS said the law applies wherever the offending takes place.
Aneeta Prem MBE is a UK safeguarding campaigner, author and founder of Freedom Charity. Her work focuses on forced marriage, FGM, dishonour abuse, children’s rights, education and early intervention. Through Freedom Charity, she has worked with schools, professionals and policymakers to help protect children from abuse hidden behind pressure, silence, fear or cultural excuse.
A Child Cannot Consent to Marriage. The Nottingham child marriage case shows why UK law had to change. Since February 2023, under-18 marriage has been a criminal offence in England and Wales, including some overseas and religious ceremonies, even where coercion is not proved.
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