David Cameron has announced he wants to see forced marriage be made a criminal offence in its own right. But not all those who support the victims agree with the idea When David Cameron announced on Monday that he wanted to see forced marriage made a criminal offence in its own right some pointed to a leaked Downing Street email earlier this summer that listed the move as one of many that could be used to boost the coalition's flagging appeal to women voters. The leaked memo said the principal reason in favour of making the announcement was that the "signal sent out by opting not to criminalise is a bad one". But behind that decision actually lies a finely balanced argument among those who work to support the victims of forced marriages and in Whitehall. At the heart of the debate is the question of whether a new criminal offence will actually encourage the girls and young women involved to disclose the nature of the abuse and coercion they have suffered mostly at the hands of their own families. Until now the Home Office had set itself against the idea of a criminal offence. In July it told the Commons home affairs select committee that existing offences such as kidnapping, people trafficking and abduction were more than enough to deal with the problem and a new offence would be difficult to define and difficult to enforce. Only three weeks ago, Home Office minister Lynne Featherstone said it wasn't even on the department's agenda. When Cameron signalled that the policy had changed this week he seemed to acknowledge some of the problems. He said he would first introduce criminal penalties for those who breached forced marriage prevention orders and then ask the home secretary to consult on making forcing someone to marry a criminal offence. He specifically said he wanted to make sure "that such a step would not prevent or hinder them from reporting what has happened to them." However the most recent study by Dr Aisha Gill at Roehampton University seems to indicate that this is by no means straightforward. Responses from 74 organisations and community groups supporting victims of forced marriages showed little appetite for a specific new offence, arguing that its creation would lead to the political temptation to declare that criminalisation has dealt with the problem of forced marriages. Instead they argued that investing in prevention, protection of victims and the provision of support services may well offer better results. Crucially the report concludes: For many victims it is crucial that seeking help does not prevent future reconciliation with their families, especially their parents. In this regard, criminalisation may actively discourage many victims and potential victims from speaking out about the abuse/coercion they are are facing. In particular many of those involved in this field believe that many families would continue find ways around the legislation, especially by the simple expedient of taking the potential victim abroad. In opposition, Cameron often complained about the 3,000 new criminal offences that Labour had created since 1997, many of them never used. The promised consultation on criminalising forced marriage is going to have to recognise these problems of enforcement if it is not simply to become the 3,001st new offence on that list. Forced marriage Crime UK criminal justice Alan Travis guardian.co.uk © 2011 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds