Forced marriage training: new data exposes a safeguarding gap
New Forced Marriage Unit data and updated statutory guidance show why practical forced marriage training now matters across safeguarding. Professionals are often trained to recognise the issue, but not always equipped to act when risk becomes real. In schools, police teams, health services and social care, that gap is no longer theoretical. It is a live safeguarding risk. The latest Forced Marriage Unit statistics for 2024 and the updated Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 both reinforce the need for clearer professional judgement and stronger multi-agency action.
Freedom Charity sees this gap repeatedly in practice. The issue is rarely simple awareness. Most professionals know forced marriage exists. The real challenge comes when concern becomes immediate: a pupil’s behaviour changes before travel, a young person appears frightened, or a practitioner suspects coercion but is unsure whether the threshold for urgent action has been crossed. In those moments, the key question is practical: what do I do next?
Why forced marriage training now matters
The latest official figures make the urgency clear. In 2024, the Forced Marriage Unit recorded 240 cases in which advice or support was provided, alongside 572 related enquiries. Thirty-four per cent of supported cases involved victims aged 17 or under, up from 25 per cent in 2023. Seventy-four per cent involved British nationals, including dual nationals, and 29 per cent involved male victims. Some cases took place entirely within the UK. These figures challenge the idea that forced marriage is only an overseas issue, only affects girls, or only appears once a crisis is fully visible.
The statutory framework also expects more than general awareness. Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 states that schools and colleges can play an important role in safeguarding children from forced marriage. Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 reinforces the duty on safeguarding partners to work together with other agencies locally to protect children from harm. Professionals are not being asked merely to know that forced marriage exists. They are expected to identify concern, share information, escalate appropriately and act.
Forced marriage training must prepare staff to act
This is where too much current training still falls short. Awareness sessions may explain the law and outline broad warning signs. What they often do not do is prepare staff for live safeguarding decisions. A partial disclosure. A troubling conversation before a school holiday. A fear of family retaliation. A practitioner worried about getting it wrong.
In those situations, hesitation can increase risk. So can misplaced reassurance.
Good forced marriage training must move beyond general information. It must help staff understand what to record, what may meet the threshold, when not to send a child home, how to seek specialist advice quickly, and how to avoid actions that may increase danger. The system does not usually fail because professionals do not care. It fails because high-risk decisions are too often made without enough specialist support.
What good forced marriage training should cover
Good forced marriage training should leave staff sharper, safer and more confident. It should help professionals:
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spot risk earlier
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record concerns more clearly
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understand escalation routes
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act more confidently within safeguarding procedures
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know when specialist support is needed
That is where Freedom Charity’s role is distinct. Freedom works with schools, police, social care, health professionals and families on forced marriage. Its support includes specialist training, expert advice, practical resources, a 24/7 helpline and a discreet app. Safeguarding rarely ends when training finishes. In many cases, the real test begins afterwards, when a member of staff is replaying a conversation, checking a record or deciding whether immediate action is needed.
As Aneeta Prem says, “Safeguarding is not about knowing the issue exists. It is about knowing what to do when it is in front of you.”
The latest data and guidance do not point to a need for more generic messaging. They point to a need for earlier intervention, better professional judgement and specialist support that remains available when a case becomes urgent. Organisations that respond well will be the ones that treat forced marriage not as a cultural awareness topic, but as a live safeguarding discipline.
Freedom Charity is a specialist safeguarding charity supporting schools, police, social care, health professionals and families on forced marriage.
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