Staff Reports
Another Freedom of Information release, another reminder that government warnings without teeth leave children unprotected. The new FOI data made public this week shows the Forced Marriage Unit was asked to look into referrals involving very young children — at least 100 children aged 12 or under across 2021–2025, including 27 children aged five or under. Dame Jasvinder Sanghera and survivor groups are rightly horrified. So should we all be.
What the FOI found — forced marriage referrals and troubling trends
The FOI release shows at least 100 referrals to the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) for children aged 12 or younger between 2021 and 2025. Within that total, 62 were aged 10 or under and 27 were aged five or under. That is not a typo. These are referrals — reports of suspected or potential forced marriage — not claims that every case became a legal marriage. Still, referrals are the alarm bells the system should answer. The FMU’s own 2025 figures show their caseload rose and that 40% of their cases involved victims aged 17 and under. Domestic cases without an overseas element are up too, undercutting the idea this is only an “overseas” problem.
Enforcement, prosecutions and the law
The law was changed to make the minimum marriage age 18 in England and Wales and to criminalize arranging child marriages. That was a good first step. But a law is only worth something if someone enforces it. Prosecutions have happened — a Nottingham case led to conviction — but they are rare and often complex. The Crown Prosecution Service can act. Local police and prosecutors can act. What we largely see instead is padding of statistics, careful caveats and a long list of excuses about under‑reporting and data protection. Meanwhile, campaigners say the FOI numbers likely undercount the real scale.
Schools, safeguarding, and the toxic comfort of “cultural sensitivity”
When Dame Jasvinder Sanghera warns that some children are “promised from birth,” we should stop flinching and start protecting. Schools, social workers and police must be utterly clear: cultural sensitivity is not a get‑out‑of‑jail-free card when a child’s safety is at stake. The Department for Education has updated guidance and the FMU offers training. Good. Now fund it properly. Train teachers to spot absences tied to safeguarding concerns. Give whistleblowers protection. And stop letting vague diplomatic niceties or fear of upsetting families trump a child’s right to a childhood.
What should happen next — demands conservatives and everyone else can endorse
We need clearer data, more resources for enforcement, and a prosecution strategy that treats arranging child marriage as the crime it is. The FMU should publish anonymized, disaggregated details about how many referrals led to protection orders, police investigations and CPS charging decisions. Schools must be required and empowered to report. Local authorities must prioritise child protection over misplaced respect for harmful traditions. This is not culture versus state; it is law and decency versus the abuse of children. If Britain takes its laws seriously, these referrals will not be left to pile up in spreadsheets and press releases. They will lead to rescue, prosecution and — most importantly — prevention.
