Forced marriage
Advice
If under any duress/threat you get yourself to a place of safety and dial the Police on 999
Forced marriage refers to when a person is made to get married to a particular partner against their will. This could involve elements of physical, psychological or sexual threats from those forcing the marriage. This is to make sure the victim gets married in the way that they have predetermined for them.
Marriage could also be treated as forced if either the bride or groom lacks the mental capacity to decide whether or not to get married. In cases where a potential victim's mental state is doubtful, it could still be treated as forced marriage even where the victim was not explicitly forced into a decision. Forced marriage in any context is a criminal offence and carries a prison sentence of up to seven years. If you or someone you know may be a victim of a forced marriage you should contact the Forced Marriage Unit (see the base of this page).
Potential victims in forced marriages can apply for a forced marriage protection order from a county court. This order can prevent those who are pushing the marriage from doing several things. These include.
- Forcing the marriage;
- Relocating abroad for forced marriage;
- Removing or revoking victims' passports; and/or
- Using physical violence (or the threat of) or mental intimidation.
The forced marriage protection order
You can get an order to protect you immediately if you are under threat of being forced to marry (see form FL401A), you will need to write a witness statement detailing what happened, that you want the forced marriage protection order to be made and why the court should deal with the application without notifying the person you’re making the order against. You will need to take/send the form to your local Family Court (find your local one here - https://www.find-court-tribunal.service.gov.uk/).
If you can physically take your claim form there (or just get there and they will probably print the form out for you), there is a good chance that they may help you complete it while you wait. If you do not want to take this step then you should consider contacting: -
Forced Marriage Unit
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London SW1A 2AH
Tel: 020 7008 0151 (Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 5.00pm)
Out of hour’s Tel: 020 7008 1500 (ask for the Global Response Centre)
Email: fmu@fcdo.gov.uk
Website: www.gov.uk/stop-forced-marriage
How we can help
To receive our assistance, you will need to create a case by clicking on the link at the top of this page, activated by the link at the top of the page, should you wish to start a case the caseworker will send you the suitable payment link.
Please note your caseworker can only give generic advice, their role is to prepare your details for handling by our legal team and to act as your point of contact, they will also issue you with your Password and PIN, these will be needed to log onto your client dashboard. From your dashboard you will be able to manage and view every aspect of your case, upload documents, images, files etc.