FORCED to say “I DO”
The children and adults at risk of forced marriage in the UK
ACROSS the UK more than three people a day sought help about forced marriage from a specialist unit last year - with some potential victims aged as young as two and as old as 100.
The Forced Marriageg Unit (FMU) is a joint ventureenture between the Foreignign Office and the Homee Office.
It advises and supports potential victims of forced marriage - which is a criminal offence in the UK.
Forced marriages are those where are least one person does not consent to the marriage, and physical, emotional or psychological abuse or any other form of coercion is involved. In 2017, some 1,196 potential victims were given support through the FMU - or more than three a day. While still an alarming figure, it is actuallyy the lowest on record. It wawas highest in 2010, when somsome 1,735 victims were susupported through the FFMU. However, forced marriage is a hidden crime, and this drop does not represent a ddecrease in prevalence of forced marriage in the UKUK. A worrying report from the FMU highlighted that potential victims as young as two and as old as 100 were targeted last year.
In total, there were 186 potential victims aged under 15, and 169 aged between 16-17.
Some 214 people between the ages of 18 and 21 were also deemed to be at risk. That age range had the highest prevalence of cases.
There were 139 people aged 22-25 and 124 aged 26-30 identified as potential victims of forced marriages.
Some 88 people were aged between 31-40, and there were 49 potential victims aged 41 and older.
The data also showed a further 208 children and 10 adults whose ages were unknown - as well nine people where it was unknown if they were an adult or a child.
People can contact the FMU on behalf of a potential victim. In fact, almost eight in every 10 calls about cases were made by people other than the potential victim last year.
Often forced marriage has a country of focus other than the UK. This could be where the forced marriage is due to take place or the country where the spousep is currently living.
More than a third of casesases (439) had Pakistan as a focus country - which the FMU’s report puts down to the UK’s large Pakistani population.
Other countries with high numbers of potential victims includee Bangladesh (129), Somaliaia (91), and India (82). A spokesperson from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “We know that forced marriage is often a hidden crime and so it is essential that when victims have the confidence to come forward to get the help they need. “This is why we have introduced lifelong anonymity for victims of forced marriage through the Policing and Crime Act 2017. “In 2014, forced mmarriage became a ccriminal offence to not only better protect victims, but also to send a clear signal to perpetrators tthat its practice is tototally unacceptable and offenders will be punpunished accordingly.”