Forced Marriage Unit publishes Statistics for 2017

Forced Marriage Unit publishes statistics for 2017 In 2017, the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) gave advice or support related to a possible forced marriage in 1,196 cases. These figures, released by the FMU, include contact that has been made to the FMU through the public helpline or by email in relation to a new case. Since 2012, the FMU has provided support to between 1,200 and 1,400 cases per year. Whilst the number of cases in 2017 represents a 19% decrease compared with 2016, it does not represent a decrease in prevalence of forced marriage in the UK. Of the cases, that FMU provided support to: ü 355 cases (29.7%) involved victims below 18 years of age; and ü 353 cases (29.5%) involved victims aged 18-25. In 2017, the majority of cases, 930 (77.8%), involved women; 256 cases (21.4%) involved males. These proportions are in line with previous years. The FMU says that forced marriage is not a problem specific to one country or culture. Since it was established in 2005, the FMU has handled cases relating to over 90 countries across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America. In 2017, the FMU handled cases relating to 65 ‘focus’ countries. The top four countries with the highest number of cases in 2017 were: ü Pakistan – 439 cases (36.7%). ü Bangladesh – 129 cases (10.8%). ü Somalia – 91 cases (7.6%). ü India – 82 cases (6.9%). The number of cases relating to Pakistan has decreased by almost 8% in comparison to the previous year. The biggest shift has occurred in Somalia, where the number of cases has increased over 100% year-on-year.In 2017, 120 (10%) of the cases had no overseas element, with the potential or actual forced marriage taking place entirely within the UK.