At least 100 children aged 12 or younger were referred to the UK government’s Forced Marriage Unit over suspected or potential forced marriages between 2021 and 2025, with 27 of those children aged five or younger.
The figures, obtained through a freedom of information request, show that 62 of the children referred were aged 10 or below. Some data was withheld by the Home Office because the small numbers could potentially identify individuals, reports the Daily Mail.
Dame Jasvinder Sanghera, who fled her home in Derby after facing the prospect of a forced marriage at age 14, called the ages of some of the children “deeply disturbing.” Sanghera also warned that children could be missing from school when classes resume following the summer break.
“I know that when schools open in September, there will be missing children,” she said. “The opportunity to identify them was pre-school holidays. Is somebody going to ask where they are, or are they simply just going to go off school roll? Or children will come back engaged or even married.”
The charity founder said children can be “promised to somebody from birth,” with the marriage occurring years later. She also said the number of forced marriages is likely higher because many cases never reach statutory services.
Forcing someone to marry is a criminal offence across the UK. England and Wales raised the legal age of marriage from 16 to 18 in 2023.
The Home Office said a referral means details about an actual, potential or suspected forced marriage have been provided to the unit, but cautioned that not every referral means a forced marriage has taken place or will take place.
Home Office data also recorded nine referrals in 2022 involving children aged 12 or younger where there was no overseas element and the potential or actual forced marriage was entirely within the UK. Separate figures released by the department show 58 cases with no overseas element in 2025, representing 14 percent of the total, up from 15 cases, or six percent, in 2024.
Sanghera said perpetrators may try to dismiss concerns as racism or appeals to cultural or religious practices. “Cultural acceptance does not mean accepting the unacceptable,” she said. “This is abuse. That's why I've always framed it as that, as a safeguarding concern.”
The figures, obtained through a freedom of information request, show that 62 of the children referred were aged 10 or below. Some data was withheld by the Home Office because the small numbers could potentially identify individuals, reports the Daily Mail.
Dame Jasvinder Sanghera, who fled her home in Derby after facing the prospect of a forced marriage at age 14, called the ages of some of the children “deeply disturbing.” Sanghera also warned that children could be missing from school when classes resume following the summer break.
“I know that when schools open in September, there will be missing children,” she said. “The opportunity to identify them was pre-school holidays. Is somebody going to ask where they are, or are they simply just going to go off school roll? Or children will come back engaged or even married.”
The charity founder said children can be “promised to somebody from birth,” with the marriage occurring years later. She also said the number of forced marriages is likely higher because many cases never reach statutory services.
Forcing someone to marry is a criminal offence across the UK. England and Wales raised the legal age of marriage from 16 to 18 in 2023.
The Home Office said a referral means details about an actual, potential or suspected forced marriage have been provided to the unit, but cautioned that not every referral means a forced marriage has taken place or will take place.
Home Office data also recorded nine referrals in 2022 involving children aged 12 or younger where there was no overseas element and the potential or actual forced marriage was entirely within the UK. Separate figures released by the department show 58 cases with no overseas element in 2025, representing 14 percent of the total, up from 15 cases, or six percent, in 2024.
Sanghera said perpetrators may try to dismiss concerns as racism or appeals to cultural or religious practices. “Cultural acceptance does not mean accepting the unacceptable,” she said. “This is abuse. That's why I've always framed it as that, as a safeguarding concern.”
