Most online dating involves people choosing each other freely. Sometimes, though, a proposal of marriage, or a suggestion to travel overseas to meet a partner’s family, is backed by pressure from the person, relatives or others. GOV.UK carries guidance on forced marriage from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Home Office, and it is written for anyone who is facing such pressure, is worried about someone else, or is a professional. This guide summarises those pages. It is general information, not legal advice. Anyone in immediate danger should call 999.
What forced marriage is
GOV.UK’s guidance for professionals says a forced marriage is one where one or both people do not or cannot consent and pressure or abuse is used to force them into it. It also covers anything done to make someone marry before they turn 18, even with no pressure or abuse. The guidance calls forced marriage a form of domestic abuse and a serious abuse of human rights.
The public page on stopping forced marriage says a person has the right to choose who they marry, when they marry or whether they marry at all. It lists physical pressure, such as threats, physical violence or sexual violence, and emotional and psychological pressure, such as being made to feel that one is bringing shame on the family. The professional guidance adds that financial abuse, for example taking someone’s wages, may also be a factor. Guides on this site on coercive control and economic abuse describe overlapping patterns.
What the law says: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
The GOV.UK guidance says the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 made it a criminal offence in England, Wales and Scotland to force someone to marry, and that it is a criminal offence in Northern Ireland under separate legislation. The offences include:
- taking someone overseas to force them to marry, whether or not the forced marriage takes place;
- doing anything intended to cause a child to marry before their eighteenth birthday, whether or not coercion is used; and
- causing someone who lacks the mental capacity to consent to marry to get married, whether or not they are pressured.
Forcing someone to marry can result in a sentence of up to 7 years in prison. The public page states that forced marriage is illegal in England and Wales. The professional guidance adds that, since 2017, victims of forced marriage have had lifelong anonymity.
Forced marriage protection orders
GOV.UK says victims or people at risk can apply to the family court for a forced marriage protection order (FMPO), a civil measure. The application page says an order can be sought if the applicant or someone else is being threatened with a forced marriage or is in one, and that it is designed around individual circumstances, for example to stop someone taking the person out of the UK. The public page gives other examples: a court may order someone to hand over a passport or reveal where a person is. Applying is free, and legal aid is available.
In an emergency, an order can be made without notice to the other person. The applicant fills in form FL401A, writes a witness statement with a statement of truth, and takes both to a family court. GOV.UK says disobeying an FMPO can result in a sentence of up to 5 years in prison. The application page describes the family court process; for Scotland, the public page links to a separate page on support for victims in Scotland.
The Forced Marriage Unit
The Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) is a joint FCDO and Home Office unit. GOV.UK says it operates inside the UK, where support is provided to any individual, and overseas, where consular assistance is provided to British nationals, including dual nationals. Its public helpline, on 020 7008 0151 (from overseas, +44 20 7008 0151) Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, with an out-of-hours number of 020 7008 5000, gives free advice. Email is [email protected]. GOV.UK says the FMU can help people:
- find a safe place to stay;
- stop a UK visa if they have been forced to sponsor someone (the “reluctant sponsor” cases); and
- where possible, with repatriation of victims held against their will overseas.
GOV.UK says a person who thinks they are about to be taken abroad to marry against their will should contact the FMU, and that someone already abroad should contact the nearest British embassy. Anyone who knows of someone taken abroad should give the FMU as much detail as possible, such as where the person has gone, when they were due back and when they were last heard from.
Where this meets online dating
Pressure for a quick marriage or an overseas trip, or a request to sponsor a partner’s UK visa that the person does not want to make, can connect with this guidance. The guide to marriage and visa sponsorship romance scams covers deception aimed at money and immigration status, which is a different problem from coercion into a marriage. The guides to long-distance relationships and using dating apps abroad cover trips to meet someone.
The bottom line
GOV.UK defines forced marriage by lack of consent plus pressure or abuse, and marriage of anyone under 18 is treated as forced whether or not pressure is used. It is a criminal offence in every UK nation, with a maximum of 7 years in prison, and forced marriage protection orders can be sought in the family court. The Forced Marriage Unit gives free advice inside the UK and abroad and can be contacted without any court application. Anyone in immediate danger should call 999.