Forced marriage cases dealt with by an official outreach unit fell 10% in a year, figures show, although the number remained close to the average for the past decade.
A forced marriage is one in which one or both spouses do not or cannot consent to the marriage, and violence, threats or any other form of coercion is involved. It is a criminal offence.
The forced marriage unit (FMU), a joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Home Office division that takes the lead on the government’s forced marriage policy, outreach and casework, gave advice or support in 1,355 cases in 2019, down from 1,507 in 2018, an annual report shows.
The Home Office said the number of cases in 2019 was in line with the average of 1,359 a year since 2011. The previous year was the highest on record, and officials believe there may have been broader awareness as a result of media coverage of high-profile cases such as a couple convicted for tricking their teenage daughter into travelling to Bangladesh in an attempt to force her to marry her first cousin.
Children aged 15 and under made up 15% of cases (205) in 2019, and nearly a third (363 cases) related to children aged under 18. The biggest proportion, 22% (298 cases), related to victims aged 18 to 21.
London was the UK region with the highest number of cases dealt with by the FMU in 2019 (292 cases, 22% of the total), followed by the north-west (186 cases, 14%).
The majority of cases – 1,080 or 80%, involved women, while 262 cases (19%) involved men as victims. Gender in the remaining 1% was unknown.
The country with the highest number of forced marriage cases was Pakistan, with 559 or 41% of the total, followed by Bangladesh (144). A total of 72 cases had no overseas element, with the potential or actual forced marriage taking place entirely in the UK.
The report emphasises that forced marriage is not a problem specific to one country or culture, and since 2011 the FMU has handled cases relating to more than 110 countries across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and north America.
The report provides information on the number of cases reported to the FMU via its public helpline and email from 1 January to 31 December 2019. There was often a spike around the school holidays, with higher figures in January and July.
Most referrals came from professionals and other third parties such as NGOs. Victims accounted for about 18% of callers, which the report says reflects the hidden nature of forced marriage.
