At least 100 children aged 12 or younger have been referred to the government's forced marriage unit in the past five years, an FOI request has uncovered. Among them were 27 children aged up to five, while 62 were aged 10 or below.
While not every referral indicates a forced marriage has taken or will take place, the figures have been branded 'deeply disturbing' given the young age of many of the children being monitored. Forced marriage is a criminal offence in the UK, with the legal age raised from 16 to 18 in England and Wales in 2023.
Campaigner warns of children missing from school
Dame Jasvinder Sanghera, who left home to escape an attempted forced marriage aged 14, said it was worrying that children were being 'promised to somebody' before being married to them years later. The campaigner, who founded charity Karma Nirvana, said the phenomenon would mean some children would disappear from the school register from September or even return either engaged or married.
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?' Dame Jasvinder added that the true figure would 'inevitably' be higher than that reported because of a 'high number' of children unknown to statutory services.
Domestic cases on the rise
The Home Office insists forced marriage is not a problem associated with any particular culture, religion or country. Dame Jasvinder warned perpetrators frequently reach for accusations of racism in order to deflect investigation from a clear safeguarding issue.
She said: 'So they will try to put you on the back foot. "This is our culture, this is our religion, you're being racist," or whatever, to put you on the back foot, to make you look the other way. And I do feel that it still does exist in terms of professionals having the confidence (to report such safeguarding concerns).'
The campaigner added: 'Cultural acceptance does not mean accepting the unacceptable. This is abuse. That's why I've always framed it as that, as a safeguarding concern.'
Recalling a visit to a sixth form school in which she was approached by several girls who said they were being subjected to forced marriage, Dame Jasvinder said teachers and other professionals must have the confidence to report their concerns.
At least nine children aged 12 and under reported in 2022 had no connection to overseas, with their potential or actual forced marriage taking place entirely within the UK. Some 58 cases (14% of the total) had no overseas element in 2025, an increase from just 15 cases in 2024 and 10 cases in 2023, highlighting the prevalence of such practices in the UK.
Government response
The Home Office data was not disclosed for other years over fears the small number of cases would risk individuals being identified. While 27 children under the age of five were referred to the forced marriage unit between 2021 and 2025, the Home Office declined to share the age of the youngest child on the radar.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: 'There is nothing more important than the safety of our children. Our strengthened keeping children safe in education guidance provides staff with robust information to help identify different types of abuse and harm – including abusive behaviour such as forced marriage – and clearly sets out what all school staff should know and do, and how to respond to any concerns about a child. Our new RSHE (relationships, sex and health education) curriculum will also teach pupils from this September about positive relationships, staying safe, recognising and reporting risks and abuse – with different forms of abuse addressed sensitively and clearly at appropriate ages.'
