New Provisions in Criminal and Civil Law on Child and Forced Marriage

Brief Description

On 1 July 2014, new provisions in criminal and civil law which strengthen protection against forced marriage and child marriage entered into force. Since then, it is no longer been possible for children to be granted dispensation in order to marry.

In the field of criminal law, penal provisions on coercion to marry and luring a person into travelling abroad for the purpose of a forced marriage were introduced. The penal provisions cover both legally valid marriages and informal marriages whether these are entered into in Sweden or abroad. Informal marriages mean such unions entered into in line with rules that apply within a group and which mean that the parties are considered to be spouses and considered to have rights or obligations in relation to each other and encompass the question of dissolving the union. In practice this refers to different religious or traditional marriages.