Every year, around 12 million girls worldwide are victims of early and forced marriage. The number is expected to rise markedly over the next few years as the economic consequences of the pandemic take their toll.

Families are being pushed into poverty. Parents feel they have little alternative but to force their young daughters to marry older men.

With schools closed and restrictions on movement, many at-risk children are not interacting with professionals who would be able to spot the signs and refer them to social services for protection.

UKIP questions whether local authorities are ready for what could be an emergency situation?

Are the social services equipped and ready to safeguard our children?

Are they ready to respond straight away to calls from women and girls at risk of child marriage, honour- based abuse and FGM? Can we be sure that every case is taken seriously and recorded so that adequate resources are in place? From freedom of information requests, it is known that 56% of the departments responsible for children’s social care do not keep records of those at risk of child marriage.

Protection orders must be a priority for the family courts during the pandemic.

UKIP will push for all the above safeguards.

Furthermore, UKIP would scrap the outdated 90 year old law that allows children to marry at 16 with parental consent. Britain set 16 as the minimum age in 1929 when living together or falling pregnant out of wedlock was socially unacceptable.

This law must be reformed. This country cannot allow marriage of children when the recognised age of adulthood is 18.

We are in the 21st Century! Social workers have a vital role to play. Too many young girls are slipping through the net.

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