Is Forced Marriage Illegal in the UK? Forced Marriage and Honour-Based Abuse Explained
Yes. Forcing someone to marry is a criminal offence in England and Wales under section 121 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, with a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. Since 27 February 2023 it has also been illegal for anyone under 18 to marry or form a civil partnership in England and Wales, even with their parents’ consent: any such marriage is void, and doing anything intended to cause a child to marry is a crime even if no pressure is used, and even if the ceremony is religious or cultural rather than legally binding. Honour-based abuse is not one single offence, but the conduct it involves is prosecuted under existing criminal law.
On this page
- 1Is forced marriage a crime in the UK?
- 2Is it illegal to marry under 18 in England and Wales?
- 3What is the difference between a forced marriage and an arranged marriage?
- 4What is honour-based abuse, and is it a crime?
- 5What is a Forced Marriage Protection Order?
- 6What does the Forced Marriage Unit do, and how do you contact it?
- 7What are the warning signs of forced marriage for teachers, employers and health staff?
- 8Why should you never contact the family or use a relative as an interpreter?
- 9What should you do if you suspect forced marriage or honour-based abuse?
- 10What training helps staff respond to forced marriage and honour-based abuse?
- 11Frequently asked questions
- A crime since 2014. Forcing someone to marry is an offence under section 121 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, with up to seven years in prison.
- 18 means 18. Since 27 February 2023, nobody under 18 can marry in England and Wales, even with parental consent, and causing a child to marry is an offence.
- No single offence. Honour-based abuse is prosecuted under existing offences; a statutory definition for guidance purposes starts on 7 December 2026.
- Never involve the family. Speak to the person alone, use an independent interpreter, and refer to your safeguarding lead and the Forced Marriage Unit.
This guide is for teachers, safeguarding leads, health and care staff, HR teams and managers in England and Wales, checked against legislation.gov.uk and GOV.UK on 7 November 2026. It covers the law on forced and child marriage, honour-based abuse, the civil orders that can stop a marriage, and how professionals should respond. The wider framework for domestic abuse is covered in our guide to what the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 actually requires, the reporting duty for female genital mutilation in who has to report FGM, and the controlling or coercive behaviour offence in what is coercive control? Examples in this guide are invented. General information, not legal advice. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 999.
Is forced marriage a crime in the UK?
Yes. Before 2014, forced marriage could only be tackled through other offences, such as assault or kidnap, or through the civil courts. Section 121 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 made it a specific criminal offence in England and Wales from 16 June 2014. GOV.UK’s forced marriage guidance notes that the same Act made forcing someone to marry an offence in Scotland too, while Northern Ireland has its own legislation.
The offence has four strands:
- Coercion. Using violence, threats or any other form of coercion to cause someone to marry, where the person doing it believes, or ought reasonably to believe, that the victim may not be giving free and full consent. GOV.UK notes this includes emotional pressure, such as making someone feel they are bringing shame, and financial pressure, such as taking their wages.
- Lack of capacity. Where someone lacks the mental capacity to consent to marriage, any conduct carried out to cause them to marry is an offence, whether or not it involves violence, threats or coercion.
- Deception to take someone abroad. Tricking someone into leaving the UK, intending them to be forced into marriage overseas, is an offence in itself, whether or not the marriage then takes place. A typical example is a “family holiday” that turns out to be a wedding.
- Causing a child to marry. Added in 2023, covered below.
Two details close assumed loopholes. First, “marriage” in section 121 means “any religious or civil ceremony of marriage (whether or not legally binding).” Second, it reaches abroad: it applies where the victim or offender is in, or habitually resident in, England or Wales, or, if both are abroad, where either is a UK national. The maximum penalty is seven years’ imprisonment, and GOV.UK notes that victims have had lifelong anonymity since 2017.
Is it illegal to marry under 18 in England and Wales?
Yes, since 27 February 2023, the date the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 came into force under its commencement regulations (SI 2023/88). Before then, 16- and 17-year-olds could marry with parental consent; that route has gone. Section 2 of the Marriage Act 1949 now reads: “A marriage solemnized between persons either of whom is under the age of eighteen shall be void.” The minimum age for civil partnership was raised to 18 at the same time.
The 2022 Act also inserted a new subsection (3A) into section 121 of the 2014 Act. It makes it an offence to carry out any conduct for the purpose of causing a child to enter into a marriage before their 18th birthday, whether or not that conduct involves violence, threats, coercion or deception. For an adult, the question is whether they freely consented. For a child, consent is irrelevant: it makes no difference that a 17-year-old says she is happy, or that her parents sincerely mean well. Because “marriage” includes unregistered ceremonies, arranging a religious-only wedding for a 16-year-old is still an offence, and conduct abroad is covered where the child or offender has the required connection to England and Wales.
For professionals, this is simple: any plan for a person under 18 to marry, anywhere and in any kind of ceremony, is a child protection concern, with no need to assess pressure first. The 2022 Act extends to England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate law on the age of marriage.
What is the difference between a forced marriage and an arranged marriage?
The difference is consent. The government’s multi-agency statutory guidance on forced marriage, The Right to Choose, describes an arranged marriage as one where the families take a leading role in arranging it, but “the choice of whether to go ahead with the marriage remains the decision of the prospective spouses.” Arranged marriage is lawful and not a safeguarding issue in itself. Treating it as suspicious by default is wrong and pushes families away from services.
A forced marriage is one where one or both people do not, or cannot, consent and pressure or abuse is used. The line can move: an arrangement that begins with genuine choice becomes a forced marriage the moment someone is coerced into going through with it, for example when a young man who has said no is told he will be disowned. For anyone under 18, the distinction disappears.
| Arranged marriage | Forced marriage | Marriage of a child | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who decides? | Families introduce and arrange; both spouses freely choose. | One or both spouses do not or cannot consent. | Consent is legally irrelevant under 18. |
| Pressure involved? | None beyond ordinary family involvement. | Violence, threats, emotional, financial or other coercion. | Not needed for the offence. |
| Lawful in England and Wales? | Yes. | No: an offence under section 121. | No: void, and causing it is an offence under section 121(3A). |
| Includes religious-only ceremonies? | Not applicable. | Yes. | Yes. |
What is honour-based abuse, and is it a crime?
There is no single criminal offence called “honour-based abuse”. The Right to Choose guidance describes it as a range of offences, mainly but not only against women and girls, used to punish someone for breaking what the family or community regards as correct behaviour, for example refusing a marriage or having a relationship the family disapproves of. The guidance is blunt that “there is no honour in abuse”, which is why many organisations put the word in quotation marks.
Because the label describes the motive, not the act, it is prosecuted under whatever offences the conduct amounts to: assault, threats to kill, harassment, false imprisonment, kidnap, controlling or coercive behaviour, female genital mutilation, forced marriage itself, or murder. It will often also be domestic abuse. A GOV.UK news story of 25 February 2026, New laws to protect victims of ‘honour’-based abuse, reported that police in England and Wales recorded nearly 3,000 honour-based abuse-related offences in the year ending March 2025, and said under-reporting means the true scale is likely higher.
The legal position is about to shift, though not through a new offence. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 (royal assent 29 April 2026) contains the first statutory definition of honour-based abuse in England and Wales (section 144) and a power to issue statutory guidance on it to public authorities (section 143). Under the commencement regulations (SI 2026/1158), both sections come into force on 7 December 2026. In outline, section 144 covers abuse of a family member or personal connection motivated, at least partly, by a perception that the victim has brought dishonour on themselves, the abuser, their families or their community. The forms listed include controlling or coercive, economic, psychological and emotional abuse and, unusually, spiritual abuse, which the domestic abuse definition does not name. Public authorities given the guidance will have to have regard to it. That creates a shared definition, but charges will still be brought under existing offences.
What is a Forced Marriage Protection Order?
A Forced Marriage Protection Order (FMPO) is a civil court order, made by the family court under Part 4A of the Family Law Act 1996, that protects someone who is at risk of being forced into marriage or who has already been forced into one. It is one of the most practical tools available because it can stop a marriage or an overseas trip before it happens.
The court can include whatever prohibitions, restrictions, requirements and other terms it considers appropriate. In practice that can mean, for example, terms aimed at stopping the person being taken abroad, or stopping a ceremony being arranged or going ahead. Terms can cover conduct abroad, and can bind people who help or encourage the marriage, not just those forcing it. The court must consider the person’s health, safety and well-being, and their wishes and feelings.
- Who can apply. The person to be protected can apply directly, and so can a “relevant third party”. Local authorities are relevant third parties, so a council can apply without needing the court’s permission. Anyone else needs the court’s permission.
- Emergencies. The court can make an order without notice to the family where it is just and convenient, such as where there is a risk of significant harm; the family is heard later.
- Duration. An order can last for a set period or until it is varied or discharged.
Breaching an FMPO without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence under section 63CA of the Family Law Act 1996, with a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment. So a victim who does not want their family prosecuted can still be protected.
What does the Forced Marriage Unit do, and how do you contact it?
The Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) is a joint Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office unit. It advises people at risk and the professionals working with them, in the UK and overseas, and can help British nationals abroad return to the UK. You can call for advice even if you are unsure whether a case is a forced marriage.
- Telephone: 020 7008 0151 (from overseas, +44 20 7008 0151), Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
- Email: fmu@fcdo.gov.uk
- Out of hours: the statutory guidance gives 020 7008 5000 for emergency consular help.
- Immediate danger in the UK: call 999. Abroad, contact the nearest British embassy, high commission or consulate.
The FMU’s Forced Marriage Unit statistics 2025, published on 28 April 2026, record 1,295 contacts about a possible forced marriage or FGM during 2025, of which 406 were cases where the unit provided tailored assistance. Of those 406 cases, 40% involved victims aged 17 and under, 26% involved male victims, 18% involved victims with mental capacity concerns, and 14% had no overseas element at all. The FMU stresses that these figures “will not reflect the full scale of the abuse,” because they only count cases that reach the unit. They correct two common assumptions: that only girls are affected, and that forced marriage always involves travel abroad.
What are the warning signs of forced marriage for teachers, employers and health staff?
The Right to Choose groups possible warning signs by setting. None proves anything on its own, but a cluster of them, or one alongside something the person says, is a reason for a careful, private conversation and a word with your safeguarding lead.
- In schools and colleges: persistent or unexplained absence, a pupil who does not return from a trip abroad, anxiety or fear about an upcoming school holiday, a sudden drop in performance or engagement, being withdrawn from education or prevented from going on to further or higher education, or a surprise announcement of an engagement. See also our guide to children missing education.
- At work: a drop in attendance or performance, very limited career choices, someone else controlling the employee’s money, wages being paid into another person’s account, or the employee always being escorted to and from work.
- In health and care settings: a relative who insists on attending every appointment, self-harm or attempted suicide, eating disorders, depression, isolation, substance misuse, or an unwanted pregnancy.
- Family history: older siblings who were forced to marry or married very young, self-harm or suicide among siblings, running away from home, or unreasonable restrictions such as being kept at home.
Two cautions. First, avoid stereotyping: forced marriage is not confined to any one religion, culture or nationality, and it affects men, boys and disabled adults as well as young women. Assumptions based on background cause both false alarms and missed cases. Second, think about timing. The guidance lists fear about forthcoming school holidays as a warning sign, because an extended trip overseas is easy to explain away, so a pupil who seems anxious about a holiday deserves particular attention in the weeks before term ends.
Why should you never contact the family or use a relative as an interpreter?
In most safeguarding work, involving the family is normal. In forced marriage and honour-based abuse cases the family is often the source of the risk, so the instinct to “have a word with the parents” can be dangerous. The Right to Choose is explicit: professionals should not approach or involve the family when forced marriage is suspected, and should not initiate or encourage family counselling, mediation, arbitration or reconciliation.
Once a family knows a professional has concerns, they may deny everything, bring the wedding forward or move the person abroad sooner. It records that people have been murdered by their families during mediation. The same reasoning rules out family group conferences, unsupervised family contact and placing a young person with relatives or community members.
Interpreting is a specific trap. If someone needs an interpreter, use an independent, professional one, never a relative, friend, neighbour or community leader, and never another child. A community member may know the family, pass information on, or change what is said. As good practice, check that the interpreter does not know the person or their family, and consider whether a telephone interpreting service based outside the local area would be safer. The same applies to advocates: use an independent one.
All of this sits under the “one chance” principle in the statutory guidance: staff may only get one opportunity to speak to a potential victim, Our Domestic Abuse Act 2021 guide covers how that principle shapes safe disclosures generally; the points above are specific to forced marriage and honour-based abuse.
What should you do if you suspect forced marriage or honour-based abuse?
The exact route depends on your procedures, but the expected steps are consistent:
- Act on immediate danger first. If the person is at risk of harm now, or is about to be taken abroad, call 999. Imminent travel is an emergency.
- See them alone, somewhere private and safe. Do not let a relative or companion stay in the room.
- Listen, believe and be honest about confidentiality. Do not promise to keep everything secret. Explain what you will share and why, and agree a safe way to contact them again, checking whether their phone or post is monitored.
- Record what they said, in their own words, with the date and what you did, and keep it secure.
- Tell your safeguarding lead the same day. In a school this is the designated safeguarding lead; elsewhere, your named safeguarding lead.
- Refer on. For anyone under 18, a forced marriage concern is automatically a child protection matter and goes to children’s social care and the police, following the procedures in our guide to safeguarding children. For an adult with care and support needs, refer to adult social care. Otherwise, the police and the FMU are the main routes, with consent where possible.
- Get specialist advice. Call the FMU for advice at any stage, and consider whether an FMPO or emergency child protection measure is needed.
- Share information lawfully and record your reasons. Share with consent where possible, without it where needed to prevent significant harm or a crime, and record decisions not to share.
| Situation | First call | Then |
|---|---|---|
| Immediate danger, or travel abroad is imminent | 999 | Your safeguarding lead; the FMU |
| Concern about a person under 18 | Your designated safeguarding lead, the same day | Children’s social care and the police; the FMU for advice |
| Concern about an adult with care and support needs, or who may lack capacity | Your safeguarding lead | Adult social care; the police; the FMU |
| Concern about another adult, such as an employee | Your safeguarding lead or HR, with the person’s agreement where safe | The FMU and the police, with consent where possible |
| Someone already taken abroad | The FMU (020 7008 0151, or 020 7008 5000 out of hours) | Police and children’s or adult social care as appropriate |
Example: a sixth-former tells her tutor, almost in passing, that she is “going to get engaged” on a long family trip this summer and will not be back for Year 13. The tutor does not phone home. She talks to the student alone, explains she must tell the safeguarding lead, writes down the student’s words and passes them on that day. Because the student is under 18, the safeguarding lead makes a child protection referral and calls the FMU about whether an FMPO is needed before the trip.
What training helps staff respond to forced marriage and honour-based abuse?
Three Nexis CPD courses cover this ground:
Together they cost £18 rather than £27 under the pay-for-2-get-3 offer, and employers training 5 or more staff pay £6 a course place on the team plan. These are awareness-level CPD courses, not regulated qualifications, and they do not replace your organisation’s safeguarding procedures, multi-agency training from your local safeguarding partnership, or specialist advice from the FMU. If you take one, start with Forced Marriage and Honour-Based Abuse: 20 questions, 80% to pass, and an instant certificate.
Forced Marriage and Honour-Based Abuse
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Frequently asked questions
Is forced marriage illegal in the UK?
Yes. Forcing someone to marry is a criminal offence in England and Wales under section 121 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, with a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. It covers religious ceremonies that are not legally binding and taking someone abroad to marry. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own legislation.
Can you get married at 16 or 17 with parental consent in England?
No. Since 27 February 2023, the minimum age for marriage and civil partnership in England and Wales is 18, with no exception for parental consent. A marriage involving anyone under 18 is void, and doing anything intended to cause a child to marry is a criminal offence, even without pressure.
What is the difference between forced marriage and arranged marriage?
Consent. In an arranged marriage, families help arrange it but both people freely choose whether to go ahead. In a forced marriage, one or both people do not or cannot consent and pressure or abuse is used. An arranged marriage becomes a forced marriage if anyone is coerced into it.
Is honour-based abuse a criminal offence?
Not as a single offence. Honour-based abuse is prosecuted under existing offences such as assault, threats to kill, coercive control, kidnap or forced marriage. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 adds a statutory definition and a power to issue statutory guidance, both in force from 7 December 2026, but does not create a new offence.
Should I speak to the family if I suspect forced marriage?
No. Government guidance says professionals should not approach or involve the family, or attempt mediation, because this can increase the risk, speed up the marriage or lead to the person being taken abroad. Speak to the person alone, use an independent interpreter, and refer to your safeguarding lead.
How do I contact the Forced Marriage Unit?
Call 020 7008 0151 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) or email fmu@fcdo.gov.uk. From overseas, use +44 20 7008 0151. The statutory guidance gives 020 7008 5000 for emergency consular help out of hours. If anyone is in immediate danger in the UK, call 999.
General information, not legal advice. This guide reflects section 121 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022, Part 4A of the Family Law Act 1996, sections 143 and 144 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026, the government’s statutory guidance The Right to Choose, GOV.UK forced marriage guidance and Forced Marriage Unit statistics 2025, as checked on 7 November 2026. It applies to England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate law. Nexis CPD courses are CPD-accredited awareness training, not regulated qualifications, and they do not replace your organisation’s safeguarding procedures, specialist advice or multi-agency training.