It has been a year since guidelines for social services staff on how best to tackle forced marriage were published. The guidance from the Association of Directors of Social Services and the government's Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) explains how to deal with situations including:

• Distinguishing between forced and arranged marriages.
• Fears of a young person about to be forced into marriage either in the UK or overseas.
• A young person who has been taken overseas and is in imminent danger of forced marriage.
• A young person who has already been forced into marriage and is now back in the UK.

Practical advice for social workers includes do's and don'ts in case-handling and outlining legal measures that help tackle forced marriages. The guidelines also provide contacts and further sources of support. They warn social workers against all forms of mediation, reconciliation and family counselling as a response to forced marriage as the risks involved in mediation have proved to be too high: some young people have been murdered by their families during mediation in "honour killings".

The FMU based at the Foreign Office is the government's "one-stop shop" on forced marriage issues. It provides confidential advice, information and leaflets for social workers and the statutory sector. It also deals with about 250 cases a year of which 15 per cent are men being forced into marriage. These are often young men whose parents are worried about their sexual orientation, or think they are going off the rails and need a "good woman" to help them settle down.

But many more cases come to the attention of the police, social services, health, education and voluntary organisations. The FMU also carries out some 75 overseas rescues each year to bring British nationals back to safety in the UK. If it is given the right information early enough it may be able to prevent the young person being taken abroad at all.

As forced marriage disproportionately affects young people from ethnic minorities, the public sector must be suitably trained and resourced to respond appropriately if it is to promote equality of opportunity under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.

But stereotypes should be shattered. Some people believe that forced marriage is solely a south Asian or Muslim problem. While there have been cases from the south Asian community, there have also been others involving families from Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

Statutory authorities should feel confident in taking a strong stance against forced marriage. It is not a cultural or religious issue. It is an abuse of human rights. The key difference between a forced and arranged marriage is consent. Arranged marriages are based on the full and free consent of both parties. A forced marriage lacks consent, or consent is exacted under physical or emotional pressure.

Sadly, the abuse doesn't end once the victim is married. It's common for a forced marriage to cover a range of crimes and abuses. These include education being interrupted, restrictions on freedom of movement and association, unlawful imprisonment, abduction and abuse.

The run-up to school holidays is a key period of the year for identifying cases of abuse and taking action to prevent forced marriages. Indeed, the FMU caseload increases up to tenfold as the summer and Christmas holidays approach as school friends and professionals report concerns.

There have been several developments since the guidelines were issued 12 months ago. The government revised its definition of domestic abuse in October 2004 to include forced marriage. In January, the Community Liaison Unit at the Foreign Office became part of the joint Home Office and Foreign Office Forced Marriage Unit.

A consultation process is likely to start in June on whether to make it a criminal offence to force someone into marriage. And a national campaign is due to start later this year to raise awareness of the assistance available to people threatened by forced marriage, and to raise wider awareness that it is an unacceptable practice. Guidelines for education professionals were issued in January 2005 and police guidelines were updated and reissued the following month.

Additionally, the age of entry into the UK for spouses has been increased from 16 to 18. This is designed to give young people extra time to mature and resist family pressure. The Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 allows a person suffering domestic violence during their probationary immigration period to remain in the UK if they can demonstrate that they have been forced to leave the marriage due to violence.

Work isn't just happening in this country; an extra immigration officer has been appointed to the British High Commission in Islamabad to support British nationals who are reluctant to sponsor their spouse's entry into the UK. And this month, the FMU ran a conference in Bangladesh on forced marriage to help identify emerging issues and develop government policy.

The FMU has also been busy with social services. Many area child protection committees have adopted the guidelines and organised training and other events. For example, a recent conference in Croydon, south London, attracted 200 people across the local statutory and voluntary sectors including different faith communities.

Rochdale Council has set up a forced marriage forum that has taken the lead in working with the guidance to ensure all agencies are clear about the issues. A social services link person on the forum acts as co-ordinator; this worker is also the social services' domestic violence co-ordinator.

Tony Philbin, Rochdale area child protection committee development worker, says: "We have a mission statement defining forced marriage as a safeguarding issue and abuse of human rights."

In the London borough of Tower Hamlets, the area child protection committee holds conferences with the local council of mosques and routinely involves representatives of local mosques in the delivery of multi-agency training.

Meanwhile, the ADSS is carrying out a national survey on the issue and consulting on the need for a multi-agency group to ensure the issue has a high profile and to share good practice.

Ann Roach, service manager at Tower Hamlets, sees the challenge for local authorities as addressing the  issue of forced marriage by engaging communities to change practice. "We have done this in Tower Hamlets by working alongside valued and respected representatives from the community who have the influence and authority to impact on practice."

Hannah Miller has been director of social services for Croydon Council since 1998 and is the Association of Directors of Social Services lead on forced marriage. Previously she was director of social services for Islington Council. She is a social worker by profession.

Vinay Talwar is head of the Forced Marriage Unit. He joined the Foreign Office in 2003 working in the West Africa political section. He moved to the consular human rights team in November 2004 to work with the Forced Marriage Unit. Previously he worked for NGO's for six years.


Abstract

On the first anniversary of the launch of guidance on forced marriage for social care staff, this article updates the current national scene as well as highlighting good practice in local authorities that are working across agencies, communities and faith groups to deal with this highly sensitive issue.

Further Information

The Forced Marriage Unit and the Association of Directors of Social Services will be working together over the next few months to update and distribute new guidelines for social services. In the meantime, if you want to get hold of a copy, please contact the ADSS website at www.adss.org/publications/guidance/marriage/pdf

Contact the Author

Email Hannah Miller at hannah.miller@croydon.gov.uk
Email Vinay Talwar at Vinay.Talwar@fco.gov.uk