At least 100 children under 12 referred over forced marriage concerns

In brief

What happened

Official Home Office figures obtained via a Freedom of Information request reveal that at least 100 children under 12 were referred to the Forced Marriage Unit between 2021 and 2025. Of those cases, 62 involved children aged 10 or younger, with 27 involving children aged five or under. The Home Office noted that a referral signifies submitted information regarding an actual, potential, or suspected forced marriage rather than confirmation that a marriage took place.

Why it matters

Forcing someone to marry is a criminal offence across the UK, where the legal marriage age was raised to 18 in England and Wales in 2023. The data highlights that cases do not only involve overseas travel, with nine referrals for children aged 12 or under in 2022 occurring entirely within the UK. Campaigners and analysts warn that actual case numbers are likely far higher and urge authorities not to let cultural justifications prevent necessary interventions.

What's next

Campaigners warn that schools reopening in September will be a critical test, expressing concern that some children will go missing, drop off school rolls, or return engaged or married. Professionals are preparing for the classroom return as a Department for Education spokesperson affirmed that child safety remains the top priority. Meanwhile, specific annual figures and the age of the youngest referred child remain undisclosed by the Home Office to protect victim identities.

At least 100 children under the age of 12 have been referred to the Government's Forced Marriage Unit over the past five years, according to official Home Office figures.

The data, obtained by the Press Association through a Freedom of Information request, covers the period between 2021 and 2025. It reveals that of those referrals, 62 involved children aged 10 or younger, with 27 involving children aged five or under.

To put this into context, forcing someone into marriage is a criminal offence throughout the UK. In 2023, the legal age of marriage was raised from 16 to 18 in England and Wales. The Forced Marriage Unit operates nationwide, taking reports and requests for guidance from police officers, social workers, teachers, relatives, friends, colleagues, and victims themselves.

Here is an important distinction to keep in mind: the Home Office pointed out that a referral simply means information was submitted regarding an actual, potential, or suspected forced marriage. It does not automatically mean a marriage has taken place.

Even so, campaigners say the figures raise serious questions ahead of the new school term. Dame Jasvinder Sanghera, who founded a support charity after running away from her Derby home at 14 to escape a forced marriage, described the number of children under five as "deeply disturbing". She explained that in some instances, a child can be "promised to somebody from birth", with the actual ceremony arranged years down the line.

Dame Jasvinder warned that schools reopening in September will be a critical test. As she put it: "I know that when schools open in September, there will be missing children. 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."

Both Dame Jasvinder and social policy analyst Dr Rakib Ehsan believe the true number of cases is likely much higher, as many situations never reach statutory services. Dr Ehsan told GB News that the findings expose "the dark underbelly of modern, multicultural Britain" and urged public bodies not to shy away from intervening out of fear of being accused of racism. Dame Jasvinder agreed, noting that perpetrators often use cultural or religious arguments to put authorities on the back foot, stressing that "cultural acceptance does not mean accepting the unacceptable."

The figures also highlight that this is not solely an issue involving overseas travel. In 2022 alone, nine referrals involving children aged 12 or under had no international element at all, meaning the potential or actual forced marriage was handled entirely within the UK.

For its part, the Home Office stated that forced marriage is "not a problem specific to one country, religion or culture; there is no archetypal victim or perpetrator, and no 2 cases are the same."

What we do not know is the exact breakdown for every single year. The Home Office withheld figures for specific years where totals were between zero and five to avoid the risk of identifying individual children. The department also declined to disclose the age of the youngest child referred over the five-year span, warning that doing so could identify them and potentially deter other people from coming forward.

A spokesperson for the Department for Education maintained that nothing is more important than the safety of children, as professionals prepare for the return to classrooms.

I'll be following this story closely as schools return this term — check back for updates.