Forced marriage is a marriage in which one or both parties to the marriage do not (or cannot, in the case of minors or particularly vulnerable persons) consent to the marriage. Instead, they are coerced through physical, psychological, financial, sexual or emotional pressure. Usually, this pressure will come from parents or other family members. According to international law, forced marriage is a human rights abuse.
While the government’s Forced Marriage Unit handles around 400 cases of forced marriage each year in the UK, it has been estimated that forced marriages affect between 5,000 and 8,000 persons in the UK every year. While forced marriage occurs in a diverse range of communities, in the UK it is most common in Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian communities.
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