Glossary - Forced marriage

In forced marriages, which are a form of abuse, people are forced into a marriage that their families or local communities desire, without the unencumbered, free consent of the people getting married.  Threats, physical pressure, or emotional abuse are often used to coerce people to marry.

Since this type of abuse occurs among many nationalities, sexes, cultures, communities, and particularly many faith groups, victims are sometimes persuaded to return to their country of origin under false pretences only to find themselves being forced to marry in a country where the local laws may not provide the needed protection of their personal freedoms.

Courts in countries where personal freedoms are valued and respected have been known to issue orders of protection against forced marriages, typically either as an approach to preventing victimization, or to aid someone getting themselves removed from an already-existing forced-marriage situation.

See also

• Arranged marriage
• Islamophobia
• Monogamy
• Polyandry
• Polygamy
• Polygyny