What is Forced Marriage?

Forced marriage refers to situations where a person or has been forced to marry without giving their consent freely for example:

·         physical, emotional, or financial duress;

·         deception (by family members, the spouse, or others);

·         force, threats or severe pressure.

A marriage can also become a forced marriage if both parties enter with full consent but one or both are later forced to remain married against their will.

Arranged marriage is distinguished from forced marriage by the presence of consent of both parties. However, these marriages can become forced marriages where coercion exists, for example including exchange or trade-off marriages, servile marriages, and levirate marriages.

Exchange marriages involves an arranged, reciprocal exchange of spouses between two groups (tribes, families etc). It includes sister exchange, where two sets of siblings marry each other. In order to marry, a man must persuade his sister to marry his bride's brother. These bride exchanges often help settle debts or avoid bride price or dowry.

This kind of ‘trade off’ marriage, can also happen more overtly – a bride is provided to pay off a debt.

Servile marriage is listed in United Nations’ Conventions as “a practice similar to slavery.” Servile marriage involves a person being sold, transferred or inherited into a marriage. A young woman might be sold for money or other payment, or could be sold on to someone else or be inherited by another person if her husband dies. They are sometimes forced to marry wealthy, often older, men to become sexual and domestic slaves. (A levirate marriage is where the brother of a deceased man and the man's widow are obliged to marry.)

Anti-Slavery International points out that a form of servile marriage is practiced in Ethiopia: a man rapes an underage girl, then goes to her father and demands the girl as his wife. Both father and rape victim must agree, as supposedly no other man will marry her.

Forced marriage disproportionately affects women in the UK. Men account for 26% of victims, and are particularly represented in cases where the victim has mental capacity concerns (57% of males).