Forced marriage to become offence in gender and violence strategy

A specific offence of forced marriage will be created by the end of 2017 as part of the Government’s Second National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence 2016-2021.

The strategy, building on the predecessor that ran to 2014, sets out a range of actions to tackle what Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald called “pernicious evils”.

A major part of the strategy will see it become an offence to “lure” an adult or a child to another country in order to force them to enter into a marriage.

The strategy also incorporates new education and training provisions for public sector staff and legal professionals.

The Law Society of Ireland will make relevant resources available online for the public and practitioners, while King’s Inns has announced it will update its Diploma in Legal Studies and Barrister-at-Law degree course by the third quarter of this year.

The Bar Council of Ireland has already introduced new modules for quarters 1 and 2 of 2016.

The Courts Service, Probation Service and An Garda Síochána will be expected to develop and deliver education and training programmes for staff under their own aegis.

Training for Garda personnel who deal with domestic violence and sexual assault survivors will be rolled out from the first quarter of 2018.

The Courts Service will provide training for staff involved in the administration of family law by the end of 2017, and the Probation Service will continue to provide relevant training to its staff.

The strategy also addresses “gaps in academic and professional education” for service providers in the community and voluntary sectors will also be addressed.

Ms Fitzgerald said: “My aspiration is that this campaign will have a significant impact by making a real and substantial difference to people’s lives, offering hope and support to those affected by these despicable crimes and that it will send an irrefutable message to perpetrators that this violence is totally unacceptable in Ireland and that it must stop.”

The full Second National Strategy Action Plan can be downloaded from the Department of Justice website.