Forced Marriage

In an arranged marriage, both participants give their full consent and enter the marriage willingly.

In a forced marriage, one or both participants enter the marriage without giving their consent. They go through with the wedding under duress from their families.

Sometimes, what starts out as an ‘arranged’ marriage can quickly escalate to a forced marriage. It is not uncommon for one of the participants to change their mind, even on the wedding day, only for their families to force them to go through with it.

If your family is threatening you with violence if you don’t go through with a forced marriage, you should contact the police immediately. They will be able to assess your situation, advise you, and also refer you to support organisations.

If you are concerned you will be forced into marriage when abroad, contact us. Once you leave the UK, it is much harder to get help. However, there are steps you can take to improve your situation. Before you go, make sure you have:

• Contact details for a trusted friend, and also for the British Embassy or High Commission in the country you’re visiting
  
  
• Money, both in sterling and in the local currency
  
  
• A spare mobile phone
  
  
• A photocopy of your passport and your tickets

If you are abroad and are being forced into a marriage, you or someone you trust should contact the nearest British Consulate, Embassy or High Commission. They will contact the Forced Marriage Unit in the UK and arrange help.

If you are still abroad and want to return to the UK, but you don’t have a passport, please contact us. Provided you are a British National, an emergency passport can be issued. If possible, take note of your passport number before you leave.

The Forced Marriage Unit will make arrangements for you to come back as soon as possible. However, if you do have to stay abroad for any length of time, the British Embassy will help you. If you can’t afford to come home, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office will cover the airfare back to the UK.

If you were forced into a marriage overseas and then return to the UK, you may be worried that your spouse will follow you here. In this situation, you should contact the Forced Marriage Unit.

This depends upon whether or not your marriage is legally recognised in the UK.

If you had a religious ceremony only, then you may not need to take legal action to end your marriage, however, you may need legal advice on a range of other issues.

If the marriage took place abroad then you may need to take legal action depending upon whether the marriage is legally recognised in that country and in the UK.

If you had a civil marriage in the UK, then you will need to take legal action to end the marriage.

The most common way of ending a forced marriage that is legally recognised is annulment. Annulment is different to divorce and if your marriage is annulled it will put you back to the position you were in before the marriage took place. This can be important if for religious or cultural reasons you do not want to get divorced.

For more information about annulment speak to our Independent Advocates or a solicitor. If your marriage is annulled, you will have the same rights to matrimonial finances and property as if you were getting divorced.

You can also get divorced if you would like to end your marriage.

Everyone responds differently to abuse – so whatever someone feels is a valid response. But, for lots of people, it can have a long-lasting impact on their feelings and wellbeing.

If you have experienced forced marriage of any kind – whether it was recently or a long time ago – HERSANA is here for you. We will listen to you, believe you and create a safe space for you.

If someone you know is at risk contact the FMU. If you know someone who’s been taken abroad to be forced into marriage.

Give as many details as you can, for example:

• where the person has gone
  
  
• when they were due back
  
  
• when you last heard from them

The FMU will contact the relevant embassy. If they’re a British national, the embassy will try to contact the person and help them get back to the UK if that’s what they want.

Forced Marriage Unit
fmu@fcdo.gov.uk
Telephone: 020 7008 0151
From overseas: +44 (0)20 7008 0151
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Out of hours: 020 7008 5000