Keighley MP Kris Hopkins is backing a crackdown on forced marriages. He is supporting a government campaign raising awareness of the practice, which figures show is more prevalent during the summer months. Last year the government’s Forced Marriage Unit dealt with 400 reported cases between June and August. It is feared many unsuspecting teenagers are taken abroad believing […]

Wedding bells ring across the country in August, with couples keen to have their special day in the sunshine. But August is also the peak time for young teens in the UK to be forced into marriage, during the long summer school break, the government has warned. The Home Office campaign launch this weekend, after schools have broken […]

Teachers, doctors and airport staff have been warned to watch out for young people being taken abroad to undergo forced marriages over the school holiday period. The Home Office said the summer marks a peak in reports of such cases, with youngsters being taken on “holiday” by their parents, unaware of the real purpose of […]

Teachers, doctors and airport staff need to be alert to the problem of forced marriages over the school holidays, the government has warned. Ministers said there were concerns about teenagers being taken abroad thinking they were going on holiday but being forced into marriage instead. Figures suggest cases are particularly common during the summer break. The government’s Forced […]

Four children a day are spirited out of Britain over summer holidays Cards offering help to those at risk will be handed out to schools and GPs Teachers have been put on alert for pupils who could be taken out of the country and forced to marry strangers. It is thought up to four children a […]

The summer sees an increase in girls from the UK being forced into marriage abroad. This can’t just be fixed at our borders For most of us, the summer holidays are something to look forward to; a time when we can get away from it all and relax. But for some girls from UK diaspora […]

Campaigners say case of Sikh man ‘married off’ to Indian woman despite not having capacity to consent highlights ‘horrendous’ issue The government dealt with 114 cases of forced marriage last year that involved mentally disabled people – a number government experts admit is only the tip of the iceberg of a horrendous hidden problem. The Foreign Office, which runs […]

The UK government today issued a warning to teachers, doctors and airport staff to be alert to forced marriages over the school holidays. The summer marks a peak in reports of forced marriage cases, when youngsters can be taken on “holiday”, unaware of the real purpose of the trip. Between June and August last year, the […]

The 16-year-old girl was of Muslim Pakistani origin and contacted the police informing them that her mother had assaulted her and that she was concerned she would be taken to Pakistan and forced into marriage there. The girl instructed solicitors and at a without notice hearing a forced marriage protection order was granted. Three months later […]