This information is for professionals working in social care, health care, education, and the legal system, including police.
One chance rule:
Remember that you may only have one chance to protect someone before they are forced to marry. You should act on information as soon as it is received.
This website provides information and resources practitioners might need to help them better recognise and respond to the forced marriage of people with learning disabilities. This includes a film available in English, Hindi, Urdu and Sylheti, along with a range of information sheets, case studies, and practice guidance.
This page contains sections on:
- Information about the forced marriage of people with learning disabilities
- What to do if you are concerned about someone
- What to do if you suspect a forced marriage has already taken place
- What to do if you are concerned about someone’s capacity to consent
Information about the forced marriage of people with learning disabilities
A forced marriage occurs when one or both people involved do not, or cannot, consent to the marriage. Duress is not a necessary factor when the marriage involves people with learning disabilities, as it is often a question of whether or not the person can consent to the marriage.
About 10% of all forced marriage cases reported to the Government Forced Marriage Unit each year involve someone with a learning disability. Men with learning disabilities are just as much at risk of forced marriage as women with learning disabilities.
Forced marriage can take place in two ways:
- The person cannot consent to marriage because they do not have the capacity to do so.
- The person is forced to marry someone when they don’t want to.
Forced marriage of people with learning disabilities is against the law. It is associated with physical, sexual, and financial abuse, along with emotional abuse and neglect.
Cases of forced marriage involving people with learning disabilities can differ from cases that do not involve people with learning disabilities. This means it can be difficult for practitioners to recognise when someone is at risk.
For more information on why people are forced to marry and the consequences of this see Information Sheet 1.
For more information on the law surrounding marriage, see Information Sheet 2.
You can also find out more from our film (available in English, Hindi, Urdu and Sylheti) and our case study report.
Duress does not feature in all cases forced marriages involving people with learning disabilities.
Some people with learning disabilities might readily agree to marriage for a number of reasons:
- They want to please their family.
- Their siblings got married, and they want to do the same.
- They trust their family to do what’s best for them.
- They don’t understand what marriage entails. For instance, they don’t grasp the implications of property ownership, or the expectations involving sexual relationships.
However, if the person with learning disabilities does not have the capacity to consent, then the marriage will still be classed as a forced marriage, even if they appear to support the decision.
For examples of forced marriage of people with learning disabilities which may be useful in staff training, see our Case Study Collection.
In a forced marriage, the non-disabled spouse can also be at risk.
In some cases, the spouse in a forced marriage involving a person with learning disabilities may not meet the person they will marry until the day of the ceremony. As a result, they may not know anything about their needs. They may not speak English, and they may not understand their own rights.
Forced marriage also has links to domestic servitude, as the spouse may ultimately get treated more like a family servant. So in this way, a non-disabled spouse will be a victim in the situation too.
For an example, listen to a survivors story.
What to do if you are concerned about someone
If you have immediate concerns for someone’s safety, contact the police on 999.
In cases where safety is not imminently at risk, you should make an adult safeguarding referral. Information on how to do this will be available on your Local Authority website.
If you work for a safeguarding team and need additional support with a complex case, you should refer to the Government Forced Marriage Unit. Take a look at their Statutory Guidance on forced marriage, and their Multi-Agency Practice Guidelines.
You can also contact the UK Government Forced Marriage Unit for help and advice on 020 7008 0151, or email fmu@fcdo.gov.uk.
You may want to consider the need for a Forced Marriage Protection Order (FMPO). These can prevent a forced marriage from taking place, such as through prohibiting an individual from being removed from the country. They can also protect someone who has already been forced to marry such as through mandating information and support.
For more information on the law and applying for an FMPO, see Information Sheet 2.
For more information on what to do if you suspect a forced marriage take place, or has already taken place, see Information Sheet 5.
Do
- Take any disclosure or report of intended marriage seriously.
- Collect as much information as possible, and keep detailed records of all actions.
- Take all necessary actions.
- Seek further information and support from the Forced Marriage Unit, if you need it.
- Try to obtain the victim’s views.
It’s also a good idea to read ‘The Right to Choose: Multi-agency statutory guidance for dealing with forced marriage’ (2014, HM Government). This document includes statutory guidance for heads of safeguarding organisations, and non-statutory guidance for other professionals. Access it here.
Don’t
- Dismiss what you’ve been told.
- Ignore the issue.
- Assume everything will be OK if the person appears happy about the marriage.
- Assume the family will stop organising a marriage because you have talked to them about it.
- Attempt any mediation or discuss the forced marriage concerns with the family until appropriate safeguarding measures are in place.
What to do if you are concerned about someone’s capacity to consent
In order to marry lawfully, a person must have the capacity to consent to marriage.
- Capacity means the ability to make a decision.
- Consent means giving permission for that decision.
The person getting married must have this capacity, and they must give their consent. Nobody else can make decisions, or give permission, on behalf of another person.
It isn’t just a case of saying “yes”, or “I do”. To have capacity to consent to marry, you must fully understand the decision you are making, and what you are agreeing to.
You may believe the person is not being forced to marry because they are not objecting, or they seem happy. But if the person cannot fully understand the decision, and the potential impact of that decision, arranging for them to marry would still be unlawful.
Capacity Assessments
You should consider a capacity assessment whenever there are clear reasons to believe that a person might not have capacity to consent.
Assessing capacity to consent is a complex process. Decisions have far-reaching implications for the person undergoing assessment, along with their family members. This can place enormous pressure on both families and practitioners, as both parties may have differing views on what the ‘right’ outcome should be.
For more information on helping families understand the issue of capacity to consent, see Information Sheet 4
For practice guidance on decision making and mental capacity, see NICE guideline NG108.
You can access more specific practice guidance on assessing to consent to marriage with the My Marriage My Choice – Practice Guidance Toolkit for Assessing Capacity to Consent to Marriage.
For some people, especially I think people from different cultures, capacity and consent wasn’t something on their radar.
Find Out More About the My Marriage My Choice Research Project
My Marriage My Choice started as a research project led by social work researchers at the University of Nottingham. You can learn more about the project.