Concerns as forced marriage queries rise

A rising number of young girls - some as young as 13 - are seeking help to cope with forced marriages.

The NSPCC has said that young girls are contacting the children's charity about being forced into marriage, with 205 counselling sessions in 2016/17 - a 12 per cent increase from 2015/16. There were 6,099 visits to the Childline forced marriage page in the same year.

Children told counsellors they were frightened of being taken out of the country for marriage and reported emotional abuse by their parents about the issue. In 2016/17 the NSPCC's helpline made 48 referrals, almost exactly the same from 2015/16, where it made 50.

The NSPCC is revealing the figures during the UK's school summer holidays, a time when some families can exploit the long break to take children overseas and force them to marry.

In some instances children may have been told that they are going on a normal holiday and do not realise that they are heading to their wedding day with a complete stranger. Once they are abroad they may find themselves isolated and find it difficult to raise the alarm and halt the marriage.

The secretive nature of forced marriage, combined with feelings of loyalty to family and community, can mean it is difficult to grasp the true scale of the problem, the NSPCC warned.

It is against the law to force someone to marry and can carry a prison sentence of up to seven years. The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 makes it a criminal offence to force someone to marry. NSPCC said figures suggested that there had been only one conviction in Britain up to 31 December last year.

In 2016, there were 246 Forced Marriage Protection Orders made in courts. Disobeying a Forced Marriage Protection Order can result in a sentence of up to five years in prison.

Peter Wanless, NSPCC chief executive, said: "No child should be forced into marriage and we must be clear that, regardless of cultural expectations, this is a crime and an abuse of human rights.

"Some may worry about betraying their family but we would urge anyone to speak up before it is too late."

Some young people told counsellors that the driving force behind their parents' wishes was because to resist the marriage would be to bring shame and dishonour on their family. Another reason that stopped young people from resisting forced marriage was fear of judgement and isolation from their community.

President and founder of Childline, Dame Esther Rantzen, said: "It's desperately important that those are frightened or feel that they have no one to turn to get in touch with Childline."

The NSPCC is urging any adult who is worried about a child being forced into marriage to contact the NSPCC helpline, and any concerned child to get in touch with Childline. Children can call Childline on 0800 1111 and any adult worried about a child can contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000. Lines are free, confidential and open around the clock.