Updated: Update to the The Domestic Programme Fund (DPF).
Overview
A forced marriage is where one or both people do not (or in cases of people with learning or physical disabilities, cannot) consent to the marriage and pressure or abuse is used.
The pressure put on people to marry against their will can be physical (including threats, actual physical violence and sexual violence) or emotional and psychological (for example, when someone is made to feel like they’re bringing shame on their family). Financial abuse (taking your wages or not giving you any money) can also be a factor.
This guide provides information for professionals protecting the victims of forced marriage. It also gives details of financial support for charities and awareness-raising publications. Information for people directly affected by forced marriage is also available.
Forced Marriage Unit
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) is raising awareness about forced marriage across the public sector. We provide expert advice to professionals, especially those confronted by forced marriage for the first time:
we do a broad programme of public speaking and outreach work – email for more information
if a personal visit isn’t possible, we can send you copies of our publications to help you give presentations yourselves.
we can train your staff in how they can help victims of forced marriage
we have started an awareness-raising programme for registrars
we have produced multi-agency guidelines for the police, children and adult social care, health, housing and education professionals
Statistics on forced marriage for 2012
(PDF, 154KB, 1 page)
Guidance for professionals
Practice guidelines for professionals provide step-by-step advice for frontline workers. The forced marriage multi-agency guidelines cover:
the responsibilities and obligations of different agencies working with victims
information on protecting, advising and supporting victims
information on making referrals to other agencies and where to turn to for help
advice and information for practitioners assisting both male and female victims of forced marriage
These guidelines complement the statutory guidance that came into force with the launch of the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act) in 2007, which explains the broader responsibilities of senior managers in dealing with forced marriage locally. In 2010 the Forced Marriage Unit conducted a
review
(PDF, 342KB, 50 pages)
of the implementation of the Statutory Guidance on forced marriage across public agencies in England and Wales.
Forced marriage and learning disabilities: multi-agency practice guidelines
These practice guidelines have been developed to help professionals dealing with forced marriage of people with learning disabilities.
The guidance was developed (in English and Welsh) with learning disability charities the Ann Craft Trust and the Judith Trust. It is designed to help raise awareness of the issue and support practitioners in identifying the warning signs of this complex and often hidden practice. The guidelines also explain what practitioners should do in these cases.
eLearning training
The FMU has designed an e-learning training package to support professionals, including education, social and health care professionals, police officers, housing officers, the voluntary sector and others dealing with forced marriage in the course of their work.
Using real life case studies, the training gives professionals a basic understanding of the main issues surrounding forced marriage, how cases can present and how to respond appropriately. This tool complements the multi-agency practice guidelines for professionals and should be read alongside the training. You can access the tool on the Forced marriage eLearning website
Warning signs
Young people rarely feel able to disclose their feelings about forced marriage. However there are some warning signs that may indicate the possibility of an impending forced marriage:
extended absence from school/college, truancy, drop in academic performance, low motivation, excessive parental restriction and control of movements, and history of siblings leaving education early to marry
poor attendance in the workplace, poor performance, parental control of income and limited career choices
evidence of self-harm, treatment for depression, attempted suicide, social isolation, eating disorders or substance abuse
evidence of family disputes/conflict, domestic violence/abuse or running away from home
A young person demonstrating any of the above may not be necessarily at risk, but if you feel concerned about a potential forced marriage you should contact us on 020 7008 0151.
Examples of Best Practice
Choice
On 16 November 2007, Cleveland Police set up the CHOICE helpline – a dedicated helpine to give advice and assistance to anyone who may be suffering from honour based violence, or has been, or may be forced into marriage. All the helpline staff have been trained in cultural awareness around honour based violence and forced marriage and treat all calls in the strictest confidence.
On 3 December 2008, the helpline was expanded with the help of Northumbria Police and Durham Constabulary to become a regional helpline for the North East of England. The organisers regularly feed in to the Multi-Agency Risk Assesment Conference (MARAC) and in high-risk cases hold emergency MARACs. They have built local protocols with housing authorities in the area and refuges. In May 2009, CHOICE employed a forced marriage support worker with funding from Stockton Primary Care Trust to deliver training on honour based violence and forced marriage to police, voluntary and statutory agencies as well as in schools.
Sebiya
Sebiya came to the UK from Sudan following a forced marriage. When she arrived, she was prevented from leaving the house, she was discouraged from learning English and she was subjected to appalling abuse from her husband and his extended family.
On one occasion after her husband had beaten her, she attended the local hospital – as usual her husband went with her. Fortunately, the consultant she saw spoke the same language as Sebiya. He asked the husband to leave but as usual he refused. The consultant then managed to get Sebiya to follow him into another room, whereupon he closed the door leaving her husband outside. He asked Sebiya if she was OK and Sebiya told him everything.
In the middle of a busy morning clinic, he dropped everything, phone the police and social care services. They collected her from the hospital and found her a place in a refuge. To this day, Sebiya genuinely believes the consultant saved her life.
Sajid
Sajid is 22 and has severe learning disabilities and autism. For the past three years he has been living in a residential care home because the local authority had applied for Guardianship Order – there had been concerns that Sajid would be forced to marry. When the order expired the local authority decided not to renew it, as they felt he was no longer under threat because during the three years, Sajid’s family had only been to see him once.
Soon after Sajid’s family visited him, they told him he was to go to Bangladesh to be married. Sajid did not understand the concept of marriage or the concept of starting a family. Following a strategy meeting, the police decided to take immediate action and apply for a Forced Marriage Protection Order to prevent Sajid from being taken out of the country and forced to marry.
The only evidence available to present to the judge was a note on his case papers made by a member of staff, stating, after a meeting between Sajid and his father, Sajid had come running out of the room saying he was going to get married and that his wife could live with him in the residential home. The judge granted an indefinite forced marriage protection order with a power of arrest.
Animated documentaries on forced marriages
The British High Commission in Islamabad has commissioned short animated documentaries on the issue of forced marriages in Pakistan in an attempt to raise awareness of this human rights violation, the consequences of which include domestic abuse, divorce, honour killings, child abduction, abandonment, isolation, and family break-ups.
Sara’s story
Sara’s story
Farzana’s story
Farzana’s story
Shazia’s story
Shazia’s story
Guidance for Members of Parliament and constituency offices
In July 2008, the government published its response to the Home Affairs Committee inquiry report on Domestic Violence, Forced Marriage and Honour Based Violence and the UK Border Agency published its report Marriage Visas: The Way Forward.
In both of these reports we committed to establish a system allowing concerns about forced marriage issues to be raised more readily with government officials. In particular we said we would provide information on how Members of Parliament (MPs) can raise concerns about forced marriage cases.
We are keen that MPs and their staff are aware of how best they can work to support constituents who may be facing forced marriage. The FMU has published the guide Forced Marriage Case Handling Guide for MPs and Constituency Offices, which has been sent to all MPs, provides background information on forced marriage and describes best practice for supporting victims and dealing with their families.
Domestic Programme Fund
The Domestic Programme Fund (DPF) provides funding to charities for small projects in the UK. The FMU recognises that protecting victims and ending forced marriage can only be achieved if all partners across government, non-governmental organisations and statutory agencies work collectively.
The DPF supports this joined-up approach by encouraging and enabling voluntary organisations to contribute further to protect victims and end the abusive act of forced marriage.
Who is eligible?
Project implementers must be registered charities – please note that small charities are also welcome. Partnership with other NGOs or statutory bodies is also strongly encouraged; however the lead organisation must be a registered or small charity.
Applications led by local government organisations will not be considered under any circumstances. We will consider part-funding larger projects – don’t be afraid to alert us of funding you are receiving from other sources.
If you have previously received funding from the DPF, you will be ineligible to bid for further funding if you have failed to submit your final evaluation report to the FMU.
Bidding process
The DPF bidding round for 2013/14 is now closed. Please check this page next year for details on how to apply the next round of funding.
Our publications
The FMU has a number of free publications. These range from leaflets and posters to statutory and practice guidelines. If you would like to order hard copies of these publications, please email your request stating:
which publications you would like (please see list below)
how many of each
your full postal address and a contact number
Outreach programme
If you are ordering our publications for use at an event, you may be interested to know that we run an outreach programme across the UK. We can speak about forced marriage at conferences or run training workshops for large groups. If you would like us to attend your event, or would like to find out more about events happening in your area, please fill out a speaker request form and email it back to us.
While there are no set limits on how many copies you can order, we ask that you think realistically about how many you need. If we are unable to send you part of your order, we will contact you to let you know. We aim to dispatch all requests within 10 working days. Alternatively, you can download copies:
Leaflets
What is a forced marriage?
What is a forced marriage in the LGBT community?
Forced Marriage Protection Orders
Forced Marriage Protection Orders: how can they protect me?
Cards
Marriage: it’s your choice:
(PDF, 231KB, 2 pages)
these are business-card sized and contain contact details for the FMU. They can be given to any potential victim. They are small enough to be placed in wallets/purses
Forced Marriage posters
Poster (English, A3)
Poster (English and Arabic, A3)
Poster (English and Bengali - size A2)
Poster (English and French, A3)
Poster (English and Gujarati, A3)
Poster (English and Hindi, A3)
Poster (English and Kurdish, A3)
Poster (English and Punjabi, A3)
Poster (English and Somali, A3)
Poster (English and Swahili, A3)
Poster (English and Urdu - size A2)
Handbook
Forced Marriage: A Survivors Handbook
Guidance
The right to choose: multi-agency statutory guidance: an A4-size booklet intended for chief executives, directors and senior managers in agencies involved with handling cases of forced marriage. It covers issues such as staff training, developing inter-agency policies and procedures, raising awareness and developing prevention programmes through outreach work.
Handling cases of forced marriage: multi-agency practice guidelines (English)
Handling cases of forced marriage: multi-agency practice guidelines (Welsh) (not available to order in hard copy)
Forced Marriage and Learning Disabilities: multi-agency practice guidelines (English)
(PDF, 586KB, 32 pages)
Forced Marriage and Learning Disabilities: multi-agency practice guidelines (Welsh) (not available to order in hard copy)
(PDF, 350KB, 25 pages)
Additional resources
But It’s Not Fair by Aneeta Prem, is a fictional account of different perspectives on forced marriages that’s useful reading for school children and teachers.
Contact
FCO Forced Marriage Unit:
Telephone: 020 7008 0151
Email: mailto:fmu@fco.gov.uk
Email for outreach work: fmuoutreach@fco.gov.uk
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