Guidance for third parties
This page contains guidance from the United Kingdom Government's Forced Marriage Unit for third parties, such as teachers or GPs, if they have been asked for help by a potential victim of forced marriage.
What you should do
If a potential victim of forced marriage seeks your help, you should:
- see them immediately in a secure and private place;
- insist on seeing them on their own, even if they attend with others;
- contact the Forced Marriage Unit as soon as possible, and give the Unit's details to the potential victim - you can find the Unit's website on the right side of this page;
- refer the matter to the children's social care department of your local authority if you have any suspicion that a child may have been harmed or be at risk of harm;
- refer the matter to the local police Child Protection Unit if you have any suspicion that a crime has been or may be committed against a child, or if the potential victim has children under 18 years old; and
- handle all confidential information in a sensitive manner and store/retain it securely (as required).
If the potential victim is due to travel imminently, give them the details of the British embassy or high commission in the country they are travelling to. Try to gather as much information - such as their passport details, dates of travel and destination -from them as possible.
If an adult approaches you, do everything you can to persuade them to engage with the police. They may be at significant risk of harm, and engaging with the police will provide opportunities for police and partner agencies to minimise that risk, working with the potential victim in a sensitive manner.
What you should not do
If a potential victim of forced marriage seeks your help, you should not:
- treat their allegations merely as a domestic issue or an acceptable cultural issue and send them back to the family home;
- ignore what they have told you or dismiss out of hand the need for immediate protection;
- approach their family, their friends or people with influence within their community without their express consent - this will alert those people to your enquiries, and could increase the risk to the potential victim;
- contact their family in advance of any enquiries, either by telephone or letter; or
- try to be a mediator. Mediation, reconciliation and family counselling as a response to forced marriage can be extremely dangerous. There have been cases of victims being murdered while mediation was being undertaken. Do not undertake any of these activities, as you may unwittingly place the potential victim in further danger.