Figures showing that 1,220 possible cases of forced marriage in Britain were reported to the authorities last year may not reflect the full scale of abuse, the Home Office has said.

The official figures show that the number of cases reported to the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) via its public helpline or email fell by 3%, or 47 cases, in 2015, continuing the downward trend of the last six years.

The unit, a joint Home and Foreign Office operation, received 350 calls a month and offered help or support in 1,220 cases. Some of the 350 were repeat calls about cases, or were about other issues, including divorces, annulments and sham marriages.

Almost 80% were from professionals, colleagues, friends or family, and only a small proportion from victims themselves.

“The fact [that] self-reports represent a smaller proportion of calls may reflect the hidden nature of forced marriages and that victims may fear reprisals from their family if they come forward,” the unit said in its report.

More than a quarter of the cases, 329, in which help or support was given involved victims who were under 18, and a third, 427, were aged 18-25.

“Cases involving very young children often involve the promise of a future marriage rather than an imminent marriage. In a small number of cases involving older victims, the forced marriage may have happened many years previously or where the victim has a learning disability,” the report said.

The unit said forced marriage was not a problem specific to one country or culture, and since the unit was established in 2009 it had handled cases relating to more than 90 countries across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America.

In 2015, the five countries with the largest number of cases in which a victim was at risk of being, or had already been, taken to in connection with a forced marriage were Pakistan (539 cases), Bangladesh (89), India (75), Somalia (34), and Afghanistan (21).

The unit said the number of cases in which the forced marriage took place wholly within the UK declined in 2015 to 175 cases, or 14% of the total.

The report said the general downward trend in calls to the unit over the last six years may reflect the fact that information on forced marriage had become more widely available, and that advice was provided by charities and non-governmental organisations as well as the unit.

“Since it was established in 2005, the FMU has worked with a range of organisations and professionals to increase their ability to support victims and potential victims. The fall in calls to the FMU in recent years may reflect this.”



A forced marriage, which became a criminal offence in 2014, is defined as one in which one or both spouses do not consent to the marriage and violence, threats or any other form of coercion is involved.