Understanding forced marriage and honour-based abuse, recognising the warning signs, and knowing how to access specialist support.
Forced Marriage & HBA is a marriage entered into without the full and free consent of one or both people, linked to so-called honour-based abuse, and a crime in the UK.
Forced marriage is a marriage in which one or both parties do not or cannot give their full and free consent. It is illegal in England and Wales under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. Honour-based abuse (HBA) refers to violence, abuse, or other harm committed by family or community members to protect or defend the perceived honour of the family. Both forced marriage and HBA disproportionately affect women and girls but can affect boys and men too, as well as LGBTQ+ individuals.
Forced marriage and HBA are often carried out with the support or knowledge of multiple family members and may involve significant community pressure. Young people may be taken abroad for a forced marriage or may face abuse, threats, or violence if they resist. Honour-based abuse can include physical violence, emotional abuse, controlling behaviour, forced marriage, and in extreme cases murder. The Forced Marriage Unit provides specialist support and can intervene to prevent forced marriages.
In your child's behaviour
On their device
Know the Forced Marriage Unit helpline
The Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) helpline on 020 7008 0151 provides specialist advice for professionals and individuals affected by forced marriage. The FMU can provide guidance on whether to make a referral and what steps to take to protect a young person at risk.
Contact Karma Nirvana for advice
Karma Nirvana's helpline on 0800 5999 247 provides confidential support for victims and professionals dealing with forced marriage and honour-based abuse. It is free to call and staffed by specialists.
Never attempt to mediate with the family
Unlike some safeguarding concerns, forced marriage and HBA cases must never involve family mediation or bringing the young person and their family together to resolve the issue. This approach is dangerous and could put the young person at serious risk of harm.
In immediate danger: call 999. For non-emergency police matters, call 101.
Concerned about a child but it's not an emergency? NSPCC helpline 0808 800 5000. Childline for young people 0800 1111.
This is practical educational content to support families. For case-specific concerns about a child's safety, contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 or your local safeguarding team.
Myth: Forced marriage is basically the same as arranged marriage.
Fact: An arranged marriage is one both people freely agree to, even though families may take a leading role in introducing the couple. A forced marriage is one where a person doesn't or can't give full, free consent, and pressure or abuse is used to make them go through with it — that's a criminal offence in England and Wales (Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014). Since 2023, no one under 18 can lawfully marry in England or Wales at all, even with parental consent, and causing a child to marry before they turn 18 is itself an offence, regardless of whether any pressure was involved.
Myth: Forced marriage and honour-based abuse are private family matters outside agencies should stay out of.
Fact: Forced marriage is a form of domestic abuse and a criminal offence, and honour-based abuse is treated by police and safeguarding professionals as a child protection matter requiring formal intervention — never as something to be resolved by bringing a young person and their family together. Professionals are specifically trained never to attempt family mediation in these cases, because it can put the young person at greater risk.
Myth: Only girls and women can be affected.
Fact: Forced marriage and honour-based abuse disproportionately affect women and girls, but boys and men can be victims too, and LGBTQ+ young people face particular risk. The Forced Marriage Unit and Karma Nirvana support people of any gender or sexuality.
Forced marriage itself is rare at this age, but the Forced Marriage Unit has supported cases involving children well below their teens, so it isn't purely a teenage issue. There's little to change day-to-day, but if a child mentions being told who they'll marry when they're older, or talk of family honour or reputation worries you, it's worth a gentle conversation and, if you're a professional, a note to your DSL.
Cases involving children this age and younger are recorded by the Forced Marriage Unit every year, so this is a genuine safeguarding age band, not just a teenage issue. Watch for a sudden announcement of an engagement or a long trip abroad timed around school holidays, increased monitoring of the child's phone or movements, or visible anxiety about an upcoming holiday. Contact the Forced Marriage Unit (020 7008 0151) for advice.
In England and Wales, no one under 18 can lawfully marry at all, even with parental consent, so any talk of a wedding for someone this age is a cause for concern, not a legal option. Warning signs include withdrawal from friends and school, talk of 'bringing shame' on the family, or pressure to end a relationship with a partner the family disapproves of. Speak to the young person alone, without family present, and contact Karma Nirvana (0800 5999 247) or the Forced Marriage Unit for specialist advice.
Forced marriage and honour-based abuse continue to affect people into early adulthood — the Forced Marriage Unit and Karma Nirvana support people at any age, not just under-18s. If a young person discloses forced marriage or honour-based abuse, don't contact their family or attempt to mediate, as this can increase the danger. Get specialist advice from the Forced Marriage Unit (020 7008 0151) or Karma Nirvana (0800 5999 247), and consider whether a Forced Marriage Protection Order — which the family court can grant whether or not the family agrees — is needed.
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