What does it take to get the law changed?

On the 27th February 2023, we raised the age of legal marriage in England and Wales from 16 to 18 and made it illegal to do anything to cause a child to enter a marriage, even if that marriage would not be legally valid.

This landmark piece of legislation was brought to Parliament as a Private Member’s Bill by MP Pauline Latham, who saw it through all its legislative stages in the House of Commons.

Watch our interview with Pauline to learn what it takes to get a Bill like this through Parliament and why it was so important to her to change the age of marriage laws in England and Wales.

***

As a part of the work to highlight the impacts of forced child marriage on young people, Pauline worked closely with Payzee Mahmod. Payzee was coerced into a child marriage when she was only 16 and has since campaigned to raise awareness around the issue. Watch our interview with Payzee, and hear her story now:    • I Survived Child Marriage, Now I'm Ch...  

Learn more about the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/le...