Forced marriage is where one or both of the parties does not consent to the marriage but is threatened or coerced into marrying against their will. Honour based violence is a collection of behaviours and practice designed to control the behaviour of family or social groups in order to protect the perceived cultural or religious beliefs and/or honour.
Social workers need to be aware of service users who may be facing forced marriage and know what actions can be taken to protect them.
The government statutory guidance below provides information on forced marriage and its impact on the lives of women and girls. The guidance also sets out the duties of local authorities when dealing with cases of forced marriage.
The Right to Choose: multi-agency statutory guidance on dealing with forced marriage
The multi-agency practice guidelines provide steps to be taken by social workers and partner agencies in order to protect women and girls from forced marriage.
Multi-agency practice guidelines: handling cases of forced marriage