A British girl is influenced into marriage every three days

WARSI

Research by the Conservatives has found that the British High Commission in Pakistan has had to deal with 124 cases of influenced marriage involving British citizens in the past year alone.

The figure comes from the British High Commission in Islamabad’s End of Year Review for 2008/9, gained through a Freedom of Information Request.

The Government may face accusations of complacency after the report concluded that progress on forced marriages in Pakistan was ‘on track.’

The problem was graded ‘amber’ under the Foreign Office’s ‘traffic light’ system of red, amber and green ratings. Amber means that ‘there may be issues… but these issues are manageable and if addressed should not prevent deliver of the objective.’

Commenting, Shadow Communities Minister Baroness Warsi said:

“Forced marriage ruins lives. It can lead to rape, abuse, and unwanted pregnancies. This is a serious problem, and these figures are just the tip of the iceberg.

“Forced marriages have no place in Britain today. The Government’s current approach is clearly failing vulnerable people who need our help. It is now time for the Government to consider making forced marriage a criminal offence.”