Victims of forced marriage in Scotland will benefit from greater protection now that the Forced Marriage (Protection and Jurisdiction) (Scotland) Act 2011 has come into force.
Scottish courts now have the power to issue Forced Marriage Protection Orders, which offer increased protection for both men and women who are affected by forced marriage.
The legislation is the first in the UK to make it a criminal offence to breach an Order, leading to a two year prison sentence, a fine, or both.
Courts can tailor the terms of the Protection Order according to the specific needs of the victim, for example, to ensure people are taken to a place of safety or help those in danger of being taken abroad for marriage.
Existing powers to annul a forced marriage have also been reformed to make the process easier.
Visiting Amina, the Muslim Women's Resource Centre, in Glasgow to mark the introduction of the legislation, Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said:
"All people in Scotland who are eligible to marry or enter into a civil partnership should have the right to do so freely without coercion.
"We know people who refuse are often subjected to threats, assault, captivity or worse at the hands of their own family.
"The introduction of this legislation will help us ensure that forced marriage has no place in 21st century Scotland, by providing flexible legal support to allow victims to get their lives back on track.”
