The UK Parliament has recently raised the age of marriage in England and Wales to 18 in the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022. A principal aim of this legislation is to combat forced marriage, by removing the possibility of 16- and 17-year olds marrying with parental consent, i.e. where parents are forcing or pressurising their child into an unwanted marriage (UK Government 2022).
Child marriage, defined by UNICEF as ‘any formal marriage or informal union between a child under the age of 18 and an adult or another child’ (UNICEF 2023a) is recognised as a major contributor to the inequality of women worldwide, with early marriage impacting six times more girls than boys (UNICEF 2023a). UNICEF recognises that women:
who marry before 18 are more likely to experience domestic violence and less likely to remain in school. They have worse economic and health outcomes than their unmarried peers, which are eventually passed down to their own children, straining a country’s capacity to provide quality health and education services. (UNICEF 2023a).
There are additional deleterious consequences for the health of young women who become pregnant at a young age (ibid).
The vast majority of early marriages take place in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and East Asia and the Pacific (UNICEF 2023b, 5). However, though it may not be a major contributor to the global phenomenon, Scotland is now an outlier in the developed world, in that early marriage (and civil partnership) remains possible from 16 (Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 s1), without parental consent.
One argument for retaining early marriage in Scotland is that 16 and 17 year-olds in Scotland are not children, and to prevent their marriage/civil partnership would be a violation of their autonomy (Norrie 2023). Norrie points out (ibid.) that young persons could continue to be protected by cohabitation legislation (Family Law (S) Act 2006) even if prevented from marrying / civil partnering. He also draws attention to the centrality of different-sex marriage and the impact on young women as constituting the main problem of early marriage, which means that protective legislation for women is not straightforwardly applicable to same-sex relationships.
The case law from Scotland – Mahmood v Mahmood 1993 S.L.T. 589; Mahmud v Mahmud 1994 S.L.T. 599; Sohrab v Khan 2002 S.L.T. 1255; Kaur (Singh) v Singh 2005 Fam LR 42; B v D 2021 S.L.T. (Sh Ct) 347; C v T 2022 Fam. L.R. 39 – though governed by different law over time, indicates that forced marriage is a phenomenon relating to families whose ethnic origins are South Asian (in these cases, India and Pakistan). Most of these cases have to do with the forced marriage of women, in different sex marriages, with the exception of Mahmud v Mahmud 1994, where the petitioner was a man in a different sex marriage. (There is one anomalous case: Buckland v Buckland [1968] P. 296.)
This PhD will investigate early marriage and civil partnership in Scotland, by means of library-based research and qualitative research data generated by the student, to understand people’s reasons or other drivers for marrying / civil partnering at a young age, and the consequences of this. It will consider the situation in Scotland against the global backdrop of early (different-sex) marriage as an oppressive practice that significantly disadvantages young women (Lee-Rife et al. 2012; Parsons et al. 2015; Raj 2010; Mathur, Greene, and Malhotra 2003), and will advance arguments about the retention or raising of the age of marriage/civil partnership in Scotland.
Informal enquiries to Rob Clucas ([Email Address Removed]) in the first instance. You will need to develop your own research proposal based on the advertised post, provide references, and submit through our online system (https://www.napier.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/research-degrees/how-to-apply), making clear you are applying for this funded project.
Interview on Friday 7 July 2023.
Academic qualifications
A first degree (at least a 2.1) ideally in Law or other relevant subject with a good fundamental knowledge of the issue of forced marriage, and children's rights.
English language requirement
IELTS score must be at least 6.5 (with not less than 6.0 in each of the four components). Other, equivalent qualifications will be accepted. Full details of the University's policy are available online Application process (napier.ac.uk).
Essential attributes
- Experience of fundamental legal analysis and social research
- Competent in undertaking a range of research tasks, ideally in Law or a relevant Social Science discipline
- Knowledge of forced marriage as a phenomenon; LGBT+ relationships; human rights; UNCRC
- Good written and oral communication skills
- Strong motivation, with evidence of independent research skills relevant to the project
- Good time management
Desirable attributes
- A good understanding of human rights and qualitative research methods
Continue with Facebook
