FOREIGN AND COMMOMWEALTH OFFICE - FORCED MARRIAGES UNIT

 

The Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) is dedicated to preventing British Nationals being forced into marriage overseas. 

Figures released by the Government’s Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) on 2 July 2009 show a welcome increase in the number of people willing to come forward to seek protection from forced marriage.  The specialist unit, a joint body of the Foreign Office and Home Office, has already received 770 calls or emails to its helpline about suspected forced marriages so far this year – an increase of 16% in the same period last year.

Cases of forced marriage dealt with by the Forced Marriage Unit have almost trebled since 2005, from 152 cases to 420 last year as more people come forward to seek help. However the true scale of the problem remains unclear. The very nature of forced marriage means that it is likely that a number of cases go unreported.

The FMU is preparing for its busiest time of year as young people raise concerns with teachers before the school summer holidays.

FCO Minister for Consular Affairs Chris Bryant, said:
"Nobody should be forced into marriage against their will or without their free and open consent. It is depressing that this practise does still continue, for whatever reason, and as a Government we are determined to do everything we can to put a stop to it and to protect the vulnerable. There is no culture in which this is acceptable in a modern world."

Home Office Minister Alan Campbell, said:
"These guidelines offer clear, step by step guidance to front line professionals about what to do when dealing with suspected cases of forced marriage. By working together we can ensure that all victims of forced marriage receive sympathetic, effective and joined up support and also challenge the culture of acceptance."

DCSF Minister for Young People and Families, Delyth Morgan said:
"All children have the right to grow up safe from harm. As the end of the school year nears it’s vital that we get the message out that forced marriage is totally unacceptable and where children are subjected to this practice, the impact on their education and their future is devastating."

Latest 2009 figures show that the majority of reportings to the FMU involve families of Pakistani (70%) and Bangladeshi (11%) origin, with smaller percentages of those of Indian, Middle Eastern, European and African origin. Victims in 14% of cases are male, 33% of all assistance cases are under 18 and 14% are under 16 years of age.

New Government research, Forced Marriage – Prevalence and Service Response, has also been published on 2 July 2009. The research, which looked at the prevalence of and responses to forced marriage, shows that although there are examples of good practice, local agencies need to get better at working together to identify and prevent forced marriage. The findings of the report have helped to inform today’s new guidelines.

The Forced Marriage Unit has published a revised set of multi-agency practice guidelines for frontline professionals (such as teachers, police officers, social and health care professionals, housing officers) to help them to work more closely together and to better identify and protect children and adults at risk of forced marriage. The revised guidelines replace the existing individual guidelines which were tailored for specific professionals and now brings these together into one single document.
 

The Forced Marriage Unit runs a public helpline that provides advice and support to both practitioners handling cases of forced marriage and to victims themselves.

Call 020 7008 0151 between 9am-5pm Monday to Friday or email fmu@fco.gov.uk 

For out of hours emergency advice call 020 7008 1500 and ask for the FCO Global Response Centre.

 

FO visit to Pakistan in February

Foreign Office Minister Gillian Merron, who is responsible for Consular Affairs including Forced Marriage, visited Pakistan on February 25-27 on her first trip to the country. The visit was an opportunity to see firsthand the work the British High Commission is doing in partnership with the communities, police service and government of Pakistan to tackle forced marriage. During the visit Gillian Merron delivered a speech about this work.

Gillian Merron said, "We can only help victims here because of the excellent co-operation we get from the local authorities in Pakistan. Without the help of the police we would not be able to help those at risk get back to safety. Without the understanding of local community leaders we would not be able to raise awareness of the help available to victims. And without the support for the Government of

Pakistan we would not be able to successfully help people escape the terrible future they face." For a full transcript of her speech on 27 February, click on this link.

 A Forced Marriage: 

• is one where people are coerced into a marriage against their will;
• involves duress - physical, emotional or financial;
• is an abuse of human rights;
• cannot be justified on any religious or cultural basis;
• is not an arranged marriage. In an arranged marriage, individuals have a CHOICE as the whether to accept the arrangement or not. The tradition of arranged marriages has operated successfully within many communities and countries for a very long time.

The Forced Marriage Unit sees around 300 cases a year. "There used to be confusion between forced and arranged marriages," explains a member of unit staff. "They were seen as being part of a certain culture. But that's changing now. Forced marriage is not a religious or cultural issue - it is a global human rights abuse".  Forced marriage means just that - where a victim (one was 13 years old) is told they have to get married and they don't want to.

So far this year the Forced Marriage Unit has either allocated or spent £25,237 on developing awareness-raising materials. These include work with the Department for Children, Schools, and Families to develop new materials for schools, development of bilingual posters in Urdu, Bengali, Hindi, Kurdish and Arabic and development of materials for a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender audience.

Its High Commission in Islamabad has allocated a further £25,000, including awareness raising at airports and on airlines as well as projects targeting the Mirpur region, where most of the cases originate. Its High Commission in Dhaka has also allocated £22,600 for a publicity campaign to raise awareness of forced marriage in Bangladesh.

For more information visit their website