Forced Marriage – Finding Help

If you or someone you know is dealing with forced marriage, please contact:

If You Are At Risk

Talk to someone. It could be a teacher, a friend, or someone you trust. Remember: you haven’t done anything wrong, this isn’t your fault. If you can, we recommend you call either Karma Nirvana or Savera UK for help.

Who are Karma Nirvana?

Karma Nirvana was founded by Dr Jasvinder Sanghera CBE, after she escaped a forced marriage at 15 and tragically lost her sister to Honour Based Abuse.

In 1993, Karma Nirvana became the first specialist charity for victims and survivors of Honour Based Abuse in the UK.

Since then, they have led the campaign against Honour Based Abuse – supporting, empowering and educating those impacted, so they can live a life free of abuse.

Who are Savera UK?

‘Savera’ means ‘new beginning’ in Hindi, a theme that is symbolic of what the charity provides to survivors and those who are at risk of harmful practices.

Since launching its one-to-one direct intervention service in 2017, Savera UK has safeguarded and advocated on behalf of hundreds of clients, helping them out of abusive environments and into their ‘savera’.

Savera UK provides direct intervention services and ongoing emotional and practical assistance to help survivors of HBA and harmful practices gain economic independence and move forward into their future with confidence.

Gender Spectrum Collection

If Your Friend Needs Help

It can be scary if a friend finds themselves in a difficult situation, especially if it’s their family who is causing them distress. Understandably, you will want to help your friend, but it’s also important that you keep yourself safe, too. That’s why we’ve put together this list of advice for how to help a friend who is at risk of forced marriage. Any help you can offer is valuable and worthwhile, even if it is as simple as asking your friend if they’re OK, and then finding someone who can help them.

  • Gently encourage your friend to reach out to Savera UK or Karma Nirvana.
  • Reassure them, listen to what they have to say and don’t jump to conclusions.
  • Don’t speak directly to their family or community.
  • Agree a safe word or phrase that your friend will use if they need help, but that will sound normal if they’re overheard. For example, “What’s up with Aggie?” You might also choose an image they could share to their social media that would act as a signal for help. Make sure you both agree what ‘help’ will look like (for example, call the police if they post a video of the sky on TikTok).
  • Ask them to memorise your phone number, as well as the phone number of the Forced Marriage Unit (0044 (0) 20 7008 0151)

Remember: Forced marriage can happen to anyone at any time, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation or ethnicity. The simplest thing you can do is ask your friend if they’re OK. Through compassion and awareness, we can help end forced marriage.

Written by Alex Carabine

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