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Right-wing says safeguarding must trump fears of racism in forced-marriage cases
Figures showing referrals involving at least 100 children aged 12 or under have renewed calls for confident safeguarding intervention. The Home Office stresses that a referral can concern an actual, potential or suspected case and is not proof a marriage occurred.
New figures on referrals involving very young children have prompted right-wing commentators and campaigners to demand firmer safeguarding action, while government guidance stresses that forced marriage is not confined to any one community and that referrals do not prove a marriage took place.
At least 100 children aged 12 or younger were referred to the UK Forced Marriage Unit between 2021 and 2025, including 27 aged five or under. The cases underline both the difficulty of detecting possible abuse and the care needed in interpreting referral data.
The Home Office data, obtained through a freedom of information request, records referrals concerning actual, potential or suspected forced marriage. It does not mean every child referred was forced into, or would be forced into, a marriage.1 Some annual figures were withheld because the small numbers could risk identifying individuals.
Dame Jasvinder Sanghera, who left home at 14 when she faced the prospect of a forced marriage, called the ages involved “deeply disturbing.”1 She warned that cases may remain hidden, particularly after school holidays, saying: “I know that when schools open in September, there will be missing children.”1 Her argument is centred on safeguarding: teachers and other professionals, she says, should feel able to report concerns.
A right-wing commentary builds on that warning by arguing that public bodies should not be deterred by accusations of racism when investigating potential abuse. It cites Sanghera’s formulation that “cultural acceptance does not mean accepting the unacceptable,” and casts forced marriage as a safeguarding issue rather than a practice to be excused on cultural grounds.2
The government’s position is more broadly framed. It says forced marriage is “not a problem specific to one country, religion or culture,” and notes that cases span many backgrounds.1 At the same time, officials say the rise in cases with no overseas element—from 4% in 2023 to 14% in 2025 across all age groups—shows that forced marriages can occur within the UK.1
Both accounts converge on the need to identify risk early. They differ in emphasis: campaigners and commentators focus on institutional confidence, while official guidance emphasises the limits of the data and the varied circumstances of cases.