In 2023, the Home Office commissioned the University of Birmingham to conduct a study on the feasibility of producing a prevalence estimate of forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM).

Building on this, “Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls”, published in December 2025, committed to conducting an additional study to explore the viability of the University’s recommended approach to producing a national prevalence estimate. The additional study concluded in March 2026

The Government is currently reviewing the findings of both studies and considering next steps.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave him on 13 October 2025 in response to Question 77037.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave him on 13 October 2025 in response to Question 77037.

I thank my hon. Friend, and I am grateful to all the agencies involved in the enforcement action, including Cheshire police. It is vital that local public services get the funding that they need, and that is why we have increased Cheshire’s police budget by over £15 million. We have also recruited 3,000 more neighbourhood police officers while bringing forward wide-ranging reforms to ensure that everyone has access to swift and equal justice.

My community has been left in deep shock and concern following allegations of serious sexual offences, forced marriage and modern slavery against members of the Ahmadi religion of peace and light. Will the Prime Minister join me in thanking Cheshire constabulary, Cheshire East Council and wider agencies for their response to these concerning events? Will he also commit himself to ensuring that we receive the necessary resources to deliver justice when crimes have been committed and to reassure the wider community that this Government are on their side?

The joint Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Forced Marriage Unit (FMU), provides support and advice to victims, those at risk, and professionals.

Published in December 2025, the “Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls” committed to conducting an additional study to explore the viability of the approach recommended by the University of Birmingham in producing a national prevalence estimate for forced marriage and FGM.

This study is due to conclude in March 2026 after which the Government will review the findings of both studies in the round and consider next steps, including publication.

Published in December 2025, “Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls” committed to conducting an additional study to explore the viability of the approach recommended by the University of Birmingham in producing a national prevalence estimate for forced marriage and FGM.

The government is clear that whilst forced marriage disproportionately impacts women and girls, it also impacts men and boys. Whilst the study is still ongoing, any national prevalence estimate for forced marriage would include male victims.

In 2023, the Home Office commissioned the University of Birmingham to conduct a study on the feasibility of producing a prevalence estimate of forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM) in England and Wales.

Published in December 2025, the “Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls” committed to conducting an additional study to explore the viability of the approach recommended by the University of Birmingham in producing a national prevalence estimate for forced marriage and FGM.

This study is due to conclude in March after which the Government will review the findings of both studies in the round and consider next steps, including publication.

The Ministry of Justice does not hold this data.

Offences relating to forced marriages are created by s121 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, which came into force in June 2014. Section 121 was further amended in February 2023 when s121(3A) was inserted making it an offence to force a child under the age of 18 into a marriage.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) holds management information from 2015 which shows the number of offences charged by way of s121 (forced marriage) in which a prosecution commenced. Table 1 below shows the number of these offences from 1^st April 2015 to 30^th September 2025.

The figures relate to the number of offences and not the number of individual defendants. It can be the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence against the same complainant. No data are held showing the final outcome or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at finalisation.

In addition to the offence-based data, management information is held showing the number of defendants flagged with the forced marriage monitoring flag who were prosecuted from 1^st April 2010 to 30^th September 2025. Table 2 shows the number of flagged defendants prosecuted during this period.

The CPS forced marriage monitoring flag applies to any person who commits an offence under the law of England and Wales if he or she (a) uses violence, threats, or any other form of coercion for the purpose of causing another person to enter into a marriage, and (b) believes, or ought reasonably to believe, that the conduct may cause the other person to enter into the marriage without free and full consent.

The violence against women and girls (VAWG) strategy committed to conducting an additional study, building on the University of Birmingham study, to explore the viability of the recommended approach in producing a national prevalence estimate for forced marriage and FGM.

This study is due to conclude in March after which the Government will review the findings of both studies in the round and consider next steps, including publication.

The UK Government condemns all violence against women and girls, including abduction and forced marriages, across Nigeria. Kidnapping for ransom is sadly a widespread practice in Nigeria, particularly in the Northwest where banditry is prevalent, and communities of all religions and beliefs have been vulnerable. Through the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership (SDP), a Multi-Agency Kidnap Fusion Cell (MAKFC) has been established to support cooperation between Nigeria's security and justice agencies. This is already operational and working to reduce the harm to victims and hold those responsible to account. On 11 November, the Minister for International Development and Africa discussed the root causes of insecurity in Nigeria during a meeting with Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar. The UK's Forced Marriage Unit provides support to victims and those at risk of forced marriage, and advice to professionals through its public helpline and inbox, including in Nigeria.

The UK is appalled at the severe impact of the conflict in Sudan on women and girls, including widespread sexual violence.

Through our leadership roles at the UN Security Council and Human Rights Council, we have championed evidence collection and accountability. On 6 October, the UK led efforts to renew the mandate of the UN Fact-Finding Mission (FFM), the only independent mechanism preserving evidence of atrocities, including conflict-related sexual violence. We also fund a specialist Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) investigator within the FFM and are deploying a UK secondee to the International Criminal Court's (ICC) Darfur investigation.

On 1 November, the Foreign Secretary announced an additional £5 million to support critical humanitarian services in Sudan, £2 million of which will be specifically allocated to bolster responses which focus on supporting the survivors of rape and sexual violence. This is in addition to the £120 million in UK funding already allocated for Sudan this year, including support for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.

We directly support women and girls through our programming, including the Women's Integrated Sexual Health programme which provides sexual and reproductive services to women, girls, persons living with disability and men, with UK aid delivered in camps for IDPs and elsewhere. Through our Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) programme, the UK is providing an additional £4.95 million until March 2026 to support 100,000 women and girls with a range of services to prevent and respond to FGM, child marriage and gender-based violence. This brings the total UK support delivered through this programme to £19.95 million.

The UK is a world leader in the fight to stamp out the harmful practice of forced marriage. The joint Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) has been working to combat forced marriage since 2005. The Forced Marriage Unit provides support to victims, those at risk of forced marriage, and advice to professionals through its public helpline and inbox. The support offered ranges from providing information and guidance, to consular assistance for victims who are British national and habitual residents overseas.

The FMU works in an advisory capacity and therefore does not hold information on referrals of victims to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). First Responders, such as Local Authorities, the police, Border Force, UKVI, and Immigration Enforcement, and specific NGOs, are responsible for identifying indicators of modern slavery and referring potential victims into the NRM for their cases to be considered by the appropriate Competent Authority.

The Home Office also funds Karma Nirvana to operate the national ‘Honour’-Based Abuse (HBA) Helpline. This service aims, through the provision of a telephone line and e-mail service to support victims and survivors of HBA including forced marriage.

The Government takes the issue of predatory marriage very seriously. Causing a person who lacks mental capacity to enter into a marriage is a criminal offence of forced marriage under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. In cases involving some vulnerable adults who lack the capacity to consent, coercion or pressure is not required for a marriage to be considered forced. The offence of forcing someone into a marriage carries a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment. Where it is suspected that a person is not entering into a marriage of their own free will or lacks the mental capacity to understand the nature of the marriage contract and to consent to it, proceedings will be stopped or deferred until the registrar is satisfied that the individual has the capacity to make an informed decision to marry.

The Government is giving careful consideration to recommendations for the reform of the law of wills following a report by the Law Commission published in May. This included measures that would help prevent predatory marriage, such as repealing the law that marriage has the effect of revoking an existing will.

The regulation of websites and content falls either within Home Office responsibilities for criminal law or with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and I will happily pick up with them the detail around the regulatory issues that are raised by that case.

The Secretary of State will be aware of the deeply troubling revelations over the weekend of the so-called Halal bride website. Does she agree that such practices have absolutely no place in Britain?

Promoting the rights of religious minorities is a core part of the UK's diplomatic engagement in Pakistan. I am deeply concerned by reports of abductions, forced marriages and religious conversions of Christian and other minority girls. I raised the importance of protecting minority rights with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights during my visit in November 2024 and Lord Khan raised this in meetings with senior Government of Pakistan interlocutors during his visit in April 2025. Our High Commission in Islamabad continues to raise these issues at the highest levels and engages regularly with civil society to monitor the situation. We urge the Government of Pakistan to uphold its international human rights obligations and ensure that all citizens, regardless of faith, are protected from coercion and violence.