Foreign and Commonwealth: Forced Marriage Unit

Information for forced marriage victims

The Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) is dedicated both to preventing British nationals being forced into marriage overseas and to assisting anyone in the UK faced with the prospect of being forced into a marriage. If you are worried that you might be forced into a marriage or are worried about someone else who may be you should contact us or email us on details shown.

We'll need to talk to you on the phone to work out a plan of action. Our caseworkers dealt with over 1468 cases in 2011 and are fully trained to deal with the emotional, cultural and social issues surrounding forced marriage.

Anything you tell us will be treated in complete confidence.

What is a forced marriage?

In a forced marriage you are coerced into marrying someone against your will. You may be physically threatened or emotionally blackmailed to do so. It is an abuse of human rights and cannot be justified on any religious or cultural basis.

It’s not the same as an arranged marriage where you have a choice as to 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.

Guidance for professionals

Practice guidelines for professionals provide step-by-step advice for frontline workers. The forced marriage multi-agency guidelines cover:

  • the responsibilities and obligations of different agencies working with victims
  • information on protecting, advising and supporting victims
  • information on making referrals to other agencies and where to turn to for help
  • advice and information for practitioners assisting both male and female victims of forced marriage

Outreach programme

If you are ordering our publications for use at an event, you may be interested to know that we run an outreach programme across the UK. We can speak about forced marriage at conferences or run training workshops for large groups. If you would like us to attend your event, or would like to find out more about events happening in your area, please fill out a speaker request form and email it back to us.

Who to contact

Telephone
0207 008 0151 0207 008 0151 Calling from overseas: 0044 20 7008 0151 Calling from overseas: 0044 20 7008 0151
E-mail
Website
https://www.gov.uk/.../forced-marriage#forced-marriage-unit
Social Media
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Where to go

Postcode
SW1A 2AH
View SW1A 2AH on a map Get directions to SW1A 2AH

Other Details

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Last Updated

Last updated: 17/08/2020

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