Forced marriages
What is a Forced Marriage?
In a forced marriage you are pressured into marrying someone against your will. You may be physically threatened or emotionally blackmailed to do so. It is an abuse of human rights and cannot be justified on any religious or cultural basis.
It’s not the same as an arranged marriage where you have a choice as to whether to accept the arrangement or not. The tradition of arranged marriages has operated successfully within many communities and countries for a very long time.
Forced marriage is a form of domestic violence and child abuse.
Are you suffering from forced marriage?
- Are you being pressured to get married but don’t want to?
- Is a close member of your family threatening to hurt you if you don’t accept the marriage?
- Is anyone abusing you verbally or physically and pressuring you to get married?
- Have you already been forced into a marriage?
- Are you being forced to live with a marriage partner you did not choose and you do not want to be with?
- Are you being prevented from going out at all?
- Are you being prevented from going to school or college or from having a job?
- Are you depressed, and isolated?
- Do you feel like wanting to hurt yourself?
- Do you have difficulty eating and sleeping, not looking after yourself, using drugs or alcohol to help you cope?
What can you do?
You have the right to refuse and not accept a marriage
You can look for help and have the right to legal protection against abuse and being forced into a marriage
If you are already married you have the right to legally separate or annul a forced marriage – at present a petition must be made to the court in the UK within 3 years of the marriage
Whatever your situation is, you can talk to someone in confidence about your feelings and find out more about your rights and options before making any decisions.
The Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 came into force on 25 November 2008. The Act enables family courts to make Forced Marriage Protection Orders to protect someone from being forced into marriage. An order can also be made to protect someone who has already been forced into marriage, to help remove them from the situation. The Act sends out a strong signal that forced marriage will not be tolerated. Those who fail to obey an order may be found in contempt of court and sent to prison for up to two years.
Types of court orders
Each Forced Marriage Protection Order, made by the court will contain terms that are designed to protect the victim in their particular circumstances. Examples of the types of orders the court may make are
- to prevent a forced marriage from occurring
- to hand over passports
- to stop intimidation and violence
- to reveal the whereabouts of a person
- to stop someone from being taken abroad
The Act also enables the court to respond to emergency situations, by making orders without notice to the respondent (s).
How they can protect me leaflet in English (pdf, 936 Kb)
How they can protect me leaflet in Arabic (pdf, 191 Kb)
How they can protect me leaflet in Bangali (pdf, 156 Kb)
How they can protect me leaflet in Farsi (pdf, 282 Kb)
How they can protect me leaflet in Punjabi (pdf, 148 Kb)
How they can protect me leaflet in Urdu (pdf, 1.36 Kb)
If your decision is to leave home you can access help to find alternative accommodation and be offered practical support
Help and advice is available if you are about to be taken abroad for the purpose of a forced marriage
If a person has been taken abroad for the purpose of a forced marriage, help is available to protect her/him against further abuse and to get back to UK
There are many agencies who can help you to deal with what is happening to you.
Email: fmu@fco.gov.uk
Email for outreach work: fmuoutreach@fco.gov.uk
They will need to talk to you on the phone to work out a plan of action. Their caseworkers deal with around 400 cases a year and are fully trained to deal with the emotional, cultural and social issues surrounding forced marriage.
Anything you tell them will be treated with complete confidentiality.
Other agencies that can help.
Bengali speaking advisor - 0800 096 7714
Guajarati speaking advisor - 0800 096 7715
Hindi speaking advisor - 0800 096 7716
Pujabi speaking advisor - 0800 096 7718
Urdu speaking advisor - 0800 096 7718
Karma
Karma Nirvana’s staff and most of its 18 volunteers are survivors of forced marriage and 'honour'-based violence.
Website: www.karmanirvana.org.uk
Kiran Asian Women's Aid
Provides safe, temporary accommodation for Asian women and their children escaping domestic violence. Also provides advice, outreach work and resettlement support. Click here for more information.
Forced Marriage.net
This website provides advice, information and essential contacts to help people out of a forced marriage.
http://www.forcedmarriage.net/
Common
I’m frightened I might be forced into marriage during a family visit overseas, what should I do?
Call the Forced Marriage Unit on 020 7008 0151 before you go.
And you should think about whether you really want to go. Once you’re there you may:
- be isolated
- face emotional pressure
- be watched all the time
- have no money
- not have your passport or ticket
- be a long way from a telephone.
If you still decide to go you should make sure you leave the following with a trusted friend:
- full address and telephone number of where you are going to stay abroad
- your passport details
- all your flight details there and back.
Find out where the nearest embassy is and keep the phone number with you at all times.
If you can, take some money with you.
My sister/cousin /friend has not returned from a visit overseas and I’m worried she might have been forced into marriage, what should I do?
Contact the Forced Marriage Unit on 020 7008 0151. It will help them if you can give us as many details as you can such as:
- where the person has gone
- when they were due back
- when you last heard from them.
They will contact the relevant embassy on your behalf and they will then try to make contact with the person.
I was forced into a marriage overseas, can the Forced Marriage Unit refuse my spouse a visa to come here?
The Forced Marriage Unit may be able to but you must be willing to state publicly that you do not want your spouse to join you in the UK.
Re
Help lines
- National helpline
(24 hrs)
0808 2000 247 - Oxfordshire domestic abuse helpline
0800 731 0055 - Police
(non emergency)
101 - Victim support
0845 450 3883 - Kiran Asian
women’s aid
0208 558 1986 - Men's advice line
0808 801 0327 - Broken Rainbow
(LGBT)
020 8539 9507 - Elder abuse
0808 808 8141 - Childline
0800 1111
