The legal minimum age of marriage in England and Wales has now been raised to 18, the government has confirmed.
After years of campaigners calling for change and action to be brought about, the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 has officially come into force in England and Wales today (27 February), according to the government, and it means that 16 and 17 year olds will no longer be allowed to marry or enter a civil partnership – even if they have parental consent.
The Act also means it’s now a criminal offence to exploit vulnerable children by arranging for them to marry, under any circumstances, regardless of whether or not force is used.
The government says the decision to raise the minimum marriage age from 16 to 18 years old is due to that fact that 18 is widely recognised as the age that a person becomes an adult and therefore gains full citizenship rights.
As part of the government’s commitment to the pledge made to the United Nations to tackle violence against women and girls and end child marriage by 2030, ministers say the raising of the minimum marriage age will “crack down on forced marriages” that can cause lasting damage on a child.
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On top of this, those who are found guilty of arranging child marriages now face sentences of up to seven years in prison.
Previously, forced marriage was only an offence if the person uses a type of coercion to cause someone to marry – but now, it’s an offence to cause a child under the age of 18 to enter a marriage in any circumstances, without the need to prove that a form of coercion was used.
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This includes non-legally binding ‘traditional’ ceremonies, which would still be viewed as marriages by the parties and their families, according to the government.
Speaking on the introduction of the new Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 today, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said: “This law will better protect vulnerable young people, by cracking down on forced marriage in our society.
“Those who act to manipulate children into marrying under-age will now rightly face the full force of the law.”
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The change was introduced through a Private Member’s Bill brought to Parliament by Pauline Latham OBE MP, and was supported by campaign organisations within the Girls Not Brides Coalition – which works to end child marriage and ‘honour’-based abuse.
“This is a landmark day for the campaigners who have worked relentlessly for over five years to ban child marriage in this country,” Pauline Latham said.
“Child marriage destroys lives, and through this legislation we will protect millions of boys and girls over the coming years from this scourge.”
Featured Image – Pixabay
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Co-op Live confirms cancellations caused by part of air conditioning unit ‘falling from ceiling’
Daisy Jackson
The Co-op Live arena has confirmed the cause of tonight’s last-minute gig cancellation and subsequent postponement of future shows.
Reports said that an object had ‘fallen from the ceiling’ before doors to the public officially opened.
Co-op Live has now confirmed that ‘a component of the air conditioning system’ separated from the ductwork, and stressed that no one was injured.
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, the artist who was meant to perform tonight, had said that ‘something happened with the venue while I was at soundcheck today’.
Oak View Group, which owns the venue, said that it had ‘made the necessary call to ensure the full safety of all visitors to the venue to postpone the performance’.
Tim Leiweke, Chairman and CEO of Oak View Group said: “The safety and security of all visiting and working on Co-op Live is our utmost priority, and we could not and will not run any event until it is absolutely safe to do so.
“Today was a very unexpected situation but without a doubt the right decision.
“I deeply apologise for the impact that this has had on ticket holders and fans.”
It’s believed that the issue with the HVAC system was an isolated incident ’caused by a factory defect’.
Co-op Live said: “We were not able to verify that all similar nozzles were free of such defects.
“In conjunction with wider stakeholders, Oak View Group has made the necessary call to ensure the full safety of all visitors to the venue, and to postpone the performance.”
The rest of the nozzles inside the huge arena will now be tested for similar defects.
They said in a statement: “We understand the need to reassure fans over future shows. We are working with artist management and promoters to limit the impact on the opening season schedule.
“Where necessary, we will identify alternate dates, and will continually reassess to provide fans with sufficient notice regarding imminent shows.
“Should shows be cancelled or rescheduled, fans will be contacted by their point of purchase and offered a full refund where preferred.”
Olivia Rodrigo’s two Manchester shows at Co-op Live have been postponed
Daisy Jackson
Olivia Rodrigo’s shows at Co-op Live in Manchester have been postponed after a night of drama for the new arena.
The star was meant to bring her GUTS Tour to the city on Friday and Saturday night.
But the huge 23,500-capacity arena has now confirmed that both of these gigs will be postponed.
New dates will be announced as soon as they’re confirmed.
Co-op Live said in a statement: “Due to an on-going venue-related technical issue, the scheduled performances of Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS World Tour on 3rd and 4th May are being postponed.
“Ticket holders can either hold onto their tickets or obtain a refund from their point of purchase.
“We deeply apologise for the significant inconvenience this will cause for many.”
The massive arena was supposed to open for the first time to the public tonight with a performance by A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie.
But it was called off at the eleventh hour, with fans turned away from the doors just minutes before they were meant to open.
Co-op Live has now confirmed that the reason for the cancellation was that a piece of the HVAC (air conditioning) system had ‘separated from the ductwork’.
Rigorous testing on the rest of the system now needs to take place before fans can safely be welcomed inside.
Olivia Rodrigo has yet to issue a statement about her Manchester shows on 3 and 4 May being postponed.