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In this section:
1. What is forced marriage? |
2. How to report forced marriage |
3. Forced marriage support organisations |
A forced marriage is where one or both people do not, or cannot, consent (agree) to the marriage.
Forced marriages can happen to anyone from any background and nationality, and can affect both males and females. It doesn’t only happen to young people, it can happen to adults too.
It's different to an arranged marriage where there's a choice and both people agree to it.
Forced marriage is often linked to honour-based abuse, although this isn't always the case.
It's illegal in the UK to force someone to marry, this includes:
You have the right to choose who you marry, when you marry or whether you want to get married or not.
It’s possible that your parents or family are forcing you to marry because they think it’s the best thing for you. Or some families may see forced marriage as part of their religion or culture.
They might be putting pressure on you in the following ways:
If you've already been forced into a marriage this abuse might still be happening.
Forced marriage could be happening to someone you know.
Some signs that someone could soon be (or is already) a victim of forced marriage: