Forced Marriage

A forced marriage is where one or both people do not (or in cases of people with learning disabilities, cannot) consent to the marriage and pressure, abuse, threats, violence, coercion or deception is used.

Select any card you feel you need to. Once you've done this, use the "See my options" button to get your advice.
You do not have to select a card from every category. You can also view our general advice.

Victim/Witness

I'm worried I’m going to be forced to marry
You believe that at some point in the future you will be forced to marry someone against your will
I am in a forced marriage
You are married to someone against your will
I am worried about someone else
You are worried that someone else you know may be forced into marrying someone
I am getting married but I'm not sure if its legal?
You are unsure if your marriage is legal and want to know the difference between arranged and forced marriage
Other people know about the marriage
Other people you know were aware of the arranging or of the actual forced marriage
No one else knows
You don't think anyone else knows

Your situation

I’m already abroad
You may already be abroad and fear it is too late to stop a forced marriage
I do not speak English very well
English is not your first language and you may have difficulties discussing your concerns

The person who did this

I know the people involved
You have details of, or know people involved in arranging or carrying out the marriage
I’m related to the people forcing me to marry
You are being forced to marry against your will by people in your family
There are people involved that I don’t know, but I do have descriptions
You have descriptions of what other people involved look like
Someone I know has details about who did this
Someone believes they have information about the person or people who have done this

Evidence

There is video footage, photos or computer evidence
You may have relevant emails or other computer evidence, video or images related to the forced marriage
There are verbal or written comments
Someone involved said something, or wrote something online or sent emails or messages
I don’t know if there is any evidence
You are unsure if there is evidence that can help with the investigation

Concerns

This is affecting my mental or physical health
You would like support following this incident
I don’t want to get my family into trouble
You may be worried that speaking to the police may get your family into trouble
I do not want to go to court
You do not feel comfortable taking part in a trial or hearing
Can people go to prison for force marriage?
You want to know if a person who forces someone else to marry can go to prison
I don’t want to bring shame on my family
You are worried that making a report will bring shame to your family
What if the forced marriage is arranged to help secure a child’s future?
You want to know if the reason behind the force marriage changes how the police views the situation
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RELATED INCIDENTS
Other incidents related to the information on this page:
Honour Based Abuse

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