FOREIGN AND COMMOMWEALTH OFFICE - FORCED MARRIAGES UNIT

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

 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.

For more information visit their website