Time To UnMute - Understanding Forced Marriage in Hong Kong

THE ZUBIN FOUNDATION
Improving the lives of Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities

by reducing suffering and providing opportunities
© 2024 The Zubin Mahtani Gidumal Foundation Limited (registered charity in Hong Kong - IR 91/12344). All rights reserved.
About the Zubin Foundation

The Zubin Mahtani Gidumal Foundation, also known as The Zubin Foundation (TZF) is a charity committed
to improving the lives of Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities by reducing suffering and providing opportunities.
For more information, please visit: www.zubinfoundation.org.
Acknowledgements
The Zubin Foundation is grateful to all the ethnic minority women who were interviewed in the research for
giving their time and sharing their stories.
The Zubin Foundation thanks the following representatives for contributing their time and sharing their
insights: Dr Arfeen Bibi, Azan Marwah, Chief Imam, Former Judge Sharon Melloy, Kay K.W. Chan, Patricia Ho,
Puja Kapai, Dr Rizwan Ullah, Shalini Mahtani, and Swamini Supriyanda.
Authors: Sala Sihombing and Shalini Mahtani

Editor: Alka Datwani | Global Brand & Communications
Reviewer: Vibha P. Karnik | The Zubin Foundation
Cover Design: Gagandeep Singh | The Zubin Foundation
Disclaimer
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About the Authors

Sala Sihombing, author
Sala works full-time as a mediator focusing on families in Hong
Kong. She is an accredited mediator (Australia NMAS) (USA FINRA)
(Hong Kong HKMAAL/HKIAC) (UK CEDR) and Family Mediation
Supervisor (HKMAAL). Since 2013, she has taught as an adjunct
lecturer at HKU in the LLM ADR Programme.
Having originally qualified as a solicitor in the UK (1995); and Hong

Kong (1996) she worked as a criminal and civil litigator. She left
private practice to work as in-house counsel at Peregrine and Crédit
Agricole Indosuez and later joined Morgan Stanley in the
Institutional Equity Division.
In 2011, Sala attended the Straus Institute (Pepperdine University,

USA) to receive her LLM in Dispute Resolution. Her LLB (Hons) is
from the University of Bristol, UK.
Shalini Mahtani, co-author of The Zubin Foundation Section

and Recommendations
Shalini is the Founder and CEO of The Zubin Foundation (TZF), a

charity that improves the lives of Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities by
reducing suffering and providing opportunities. TZF works directly
in the community through its outreach work and enhances
awareness of Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities and race through its
Institute of Racial Equality.
Shalini has authored and co-authored work on ethnic minorities in

Hong Kong including, but not limited to ethnic minority children
with special needs, mental health and youth aspirations. Her
research informs public policy recommendations as well as
corporate training on race and culture.
Shalini is a member of the Commission for Children of the Hong

Kong Government and is the Convenor for its Working Group for
Children with Specific Needs. She has a Medal of Honour from the
HKSAR Government, an MBE and other accolades. Shalini is from
Hong Kong, married and has 3 children.
Table of Contents
Foreword .............................................................................................................................................................................. 4
Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................................... 6
Introduction........................................................................................................................................................................ 12
1.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................................. 12
1.2 What is forced marriage?.......................................................................................................................................................... 12
1.3 What are some myths about forced marriage? ........................................................................................................................ 14
Interview Findings ............................................................................................................................................................... 20
2.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................................. 20
2.2 What is the demographic composition of the group? .............................................................................................................. 20
2.3 What are their views on early and forced marriage? ............................................................................................................... 21
2.4 When did they know that a marriage was planned? ................................................................................................................ 24
2.5 How did they respond? ............................................................................................................................................................. 26
2.6 What was the nature of the coercion? ..................................................................................................................................... 26
2.7 Why do the interviewees believe forced marriage happens? .................................................................................................. 29
2.8 What sustains them? ................................................................................................................................................................ 31
2.9 What would they wish to say to their families? ....................................................................................................................... 32
2.10 What advice would they give to someone who is being pressured to marry? ...................................................................... 33
2.11 What do they wish for their own daughters in relation to marriage?.................................................................................... 36
2.12 Common Themes .................................................................................................................................................................... 38
Context ............................................................................................................................................................................... 41
3.1 What is the global context? ...................................................................................................................................................... 41
3.2 What is the Hong Kong demographic context? ........................................................................................................................ 43
3.3 What is the Hong Kong social / cultural context? ..................................................................................................................... 44
3.4 What is the Hong Kong legal context? ...................................................................................................................................... 45
3.5 Why do forced marriages continue to occur? .......................................................................................................................... 47
Religious Leaders ................................................................................................................................................................ 50
Hong Kong Perspectives ...................................................................................................................................................... 52
Global Responses ................................................................................................................................................................ 62
6.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................................. 62
6.2 Forced marriage is a criminal offence: Australia ...................................................................................................................... 63
6.3 Immigration legislation: Denmark ............................................................................................................................................ 66
6.4 Civil Remedies: United Kingdom ............................................................................................................................................... 69
6.5 Community-based response and social change: India ............................................................................................................. 74
6.6 Reflections ................................................................................................................................................................................ 76
Recommendations .............................................................................................................................................................. 79
7. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................ 79
Stage 1: Understand ................................................................................................................................................................... 81
Stage 2: Safety and Support ....................................................................................................................................................... 82
Stage 3: Mindsets ....................................................................................................................................................................... 84
Stage 4: Legislation .................................................................................................................................................................... 89
Foreword
By Shalini Mahtani
It was in 2018 that The Zubin Foundation was faced with our first case of forced marriage. The young
woman had finished a year in a Hong Kong community college and was volunteering with The Zubin
Foundation. I am going to call her Amari, not her real name. She told me that after the summer holidays,
she was getting married. She was scared and she had wanted to delay the marriage to her first cousin by a
couple of years, but her parents had disagreed. She did not want to marry her cousin in Pakistan but the
cost of not doing so was too great for her sisters to bear – her parents threatened to withdraw all of them
from school in Hong Kong and send them to Pakistan, if she did not agree to the marriage. She told me this
practice of forced marriage was common in Hong Kong. Amari is a Hong Kong born young woman, educated
in Hong Kong schools and spoke perfect Cantonese. Her case had a profound impact on me.
Was Amari’s case a one-off? We were not sure, so we decided at The Zubin Foundation to better
understand the dreams and aspirations of Hong Kong Pakistani children. Was it true, what Amari said? Was
forced marriage “common” in Hong Kong in her community? In 2019, together with Puja Kapai at The
University of Hong Kong we explored the dreams of twenty-five Hong Kong Pakistani children and youth
aged 14 to 22 years old in our report, Dreams of Pakistani Children. In that report, amongst the research
sample, we noted early engagement and marriage among Pakistani girls was prevalent. Some brought up
the term “forced marriage” and the struggles they were facing.
According to the Chief Imam of Hong Kong, Mufti Muhammad Arshad, at our 2021 conference titled “What
is the Status of Hong Kong’s Ethnic Minorities?” forced marriage is not permitted in Islam and consent from
a woman is required for a marriage to be valid. So, why does this practice take place? There are so many
reasons, but mostly it’s about culture, honour and ‘face’.
In Hong Kong, we do not have official numbers of forced marriage cases and for this report “Time to
UnMute | Understanding Forced Marriage in Hong Kong” we contacted seventeen Hong Kong women who
were forced to marry, and all known to The Zubin Foundation. Eleven of them agreed to participate. There
are four overarching messages of this report:
1. Local and Global Problem: Forced marriage is a Hong Kong problem and is also a global issue that
can also affect men. Over history, forced marriage has been practised in many parts of the world,
where parents chose the husbands and wives for their children, who have no say.
2. Culture not Religion: All our women interviewees who face forced marriages in Hong Kong faced
cultural issues, and we do not call this a religious issue. Most of our interviewees are practising
Muslims and have deep faith in their religion.
3. Children are Abused: Forced marriage impacts Hong Kong’s children. Five of the women were under
eleven when the ‘engagement’ took place. The girls were contracted to marry the chosen spouse
often without their awareness, and two were under 18 when they were married. This is
unacceptable and the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Law must ensure forced marriage is
understood by mandatory reporters and does not go undetected.
© 2024 The Zubin Mahtani Gidumal Foundation Limited (registered charity in Hong Kong - IR 91/12344). All rights reserved. 4
4. Forced Marriage Starts Young: Forced marriage cannot be thought of as a single point in a girl’s life
but a continuum of expectations that are set, and gendered child rearing that starts when children
are young.
5. Lacking Support: Hong Kong needs to better support forced marriage victims. As an immediate
need, a contact list of services to help forced marriage victims access help is imperative.
A massive thank you goes to Sala Sihombing, the author of this report. Sala approached me at a Hong Kong
Family Lawyers Association seminar I gave on Forced Marriage in 2023. She was surprised forced marriage
existed in Hong Kong, as many are, and wanted to better understand the problem. She has delved deep in
the subject and this report represents a fraction of what she has learned.
Most of all, immense gratitude goes to all the women who agreed to be interviewed for this report. To each
of you, I appreciate the trust you placed in us to tell your stories. This report is dedicated to you, and we
have called it “Time to UnMute”, because it’s time your voices are heard.
As always, I welcome your comments and views.
Warmly,
Shalini Mahtani
Founder & CEO
The Zubin Foundation
Executive Summary
This report highlights the reality that forced marriage occurs in Hong Kong. Eleven women were courageous
and generous enough to share their experiences and perspectives on early and forced marriage.
Part 1
The introduction to this report defines forced marriage. If a party to the marriage does not wish to marry,
then a marriage may become a forced marriage. Whilst a person of any gender can be subjected to a forced
marriage, it remains a highly gendered practice.
There are powerful myths which surround forced marriage. The primary myth being that this doesn't
happen in Hong Kong.
Part 2
The heart of this report are the responses from interviews which share the words of the interviewees.
These women are Hong Kong women. These are Hong Kong stories.
The women were clear about the delineation in their view between an arranged marriage in which the
consent of both parties is required and a forced marriage in which a person is coerced into marriage. All
shared their subjective viewpoints. In listening to their stories, it was clear from their words that pressure /
coercion had been applied to several of the women, even if they did not see themselves as being forced.
This is also a context surrounding forced marriage. Rushing a young person to marry as soon as possible or
bringing a marriage forward in time, can pressure someone, especially when the reality is that no other
options are permitted. For example, options to marry later, not marry, or to marry a third party are not
allowed.
Characteristics of the interviewees

Of the eleven women interviewed, their characteristics were as follows:
● Five were engaged as children and often only found out as adolescents about the contracted
marriage - merely awaiting the formal marriage ceremony. Two were married as children. Forced
marriage impacts children in Hong Kong, emotionally and physically.
● One was of Indian ethnic origin and ten were of Pakistani ethnic origin.
● Seven of the women were born in Hong Kong and the remainder came to Hong Kong as children.
● All eleven were educated in the Hong Kong educational system and all, apart from one, were able to
complete their secondary education.
● Most of the women have either completed or are in the process of completing tertiary education.
● Eight of the women felt pressured to marry and six of them felt they were forced to marry.
● Eight of the women were still married at the time of the interview, one was divorced and two were
single having been able to escape the forced marriage.
● Six of the women were married to a cousin.
● Two of the women had mothers with no formal education; six women had mothers with a primary
education only; two women had mothers with a secondary education only and one woman had a
mother with a tertiary education.
● One woman had a father with no formal education; four women had fathers with a primary
education only; three women had fathers with a secondary education only and three women had
fathers with a tertiary education.
It is key to understand forced marriage is a process which often begins in childhood. Some of the women
knew as children that a husband had been chosen for them. Typically, the women found out as teenagers or
were told from a young age that the engagement had already been concluded. As a result, they grew up
with the knowledge that their life partner had been chosen. This reduces their life options as from
childhood they know the expectations of their family are for them to marry this specific person.
In terms of the coercion applied, the methods included:

● emotional and psychological pressure, including verbal abuse. For example, being told her father
wished she was dead.
● physical abuse.
● coercive control.
● confinement. For example, one woman was locked in a room in Pakistan for a month and a half
before escaping.
● threats against their siblings. For example, one woman explained she was sustained by having
younger sisters. Knowing that if she gave in and consented, they would also be required to marry,
perhaps against their will, strengthened her resolve.
Why do they think forced marriage happens?

When discussing the reasons for the forced marriage, many of the women referred to tradition and custom
in marriage as opposed to religion. They were clear that their religion does not permit forced marriage,
however, they referred to custom and tradition which perpetuates these practices. In fact, all the Muslim
women described themselves as devout. For one woman, her faith in Allah meant she needed to resist
forced marriage. For some this faith leads them to decide to commit the sin of disobedience and even
suicide rather than for their parents to sin by forcing their daughter into marriage.
What are some of the choices they made?

For one woman, her experience was made much worse by the fact that her father had been supportive of
her dreams, and she notes it seemed as if her father was as surprised and confused by his behaviour as she
was. She tried to engage with him, by comparing her being forced to her father’s situation as he had not
chosen who to marry, however this made matters worse. The situation became extreme, and she attempted
suicide. She withdrew from her family and Hong Kong.
One woman made the decision to run away when she was 16 years old. She was lucky and found support
from the Hong Kong Police Force and the Social Welfare Department. She was able to escape the marriage;
however, she has struggled to proceed with her plans given the interruption to her education.
What would they say to their families?

Asking the women what they would wish to say to their families, if they could speak freely elicited strong
responses. They had advice for those in similar situations, including seeking ways to communicate with the
parents, e.g. talk to your parents in a way they don't feel you're opposing them; try speaking to your mum
or a family friend first and get them to convince your dad. However, one explained that if you are being
forced, then 'run away please'.
There are women who also expressed that even if they felt it was too early to marry, it was also important
not to lose the chance of a good match. The value placed on the good match was high amongst the
interviewees. Although for some of the women, someone from Pakistan from a village who has experienced
a very different life to Hong Kong, would not be a good match. There was concern that such a spouse would
struggle to adapt to Hong Kong.
Several of the women knew the chosen husbands as they were cousins, and they may have interacted with
them as children. However, most of the interviewees shared they had not had any contact with the chosen
husband prior to the marriage. They expressed how difficult this was for them to accept. Unusually one
woman had been able to communicate freely by texts prior to the marriage. She used this as an opportunity
to see if her husband-to-be had similar thoughts about the future.
What do they all have in common?

The importance of their personal educational goals was apparent as eight of the women asked for the
marriage to be delayed, to enable them to complete a part of their education. All of them discussed their
education and plans for future employment to support their family and themselves.
The sense I received from speaking with these women was of their resilience and their sense of self-belief.
These are extraordinary women. Rather than focus on the wrongs that occurred, their focus was on the
future and their belief in their ability to make a better future through their own efforts. For women who
could be seen as victims, as a group they were all working to fulfil their own potential. Their capacity for
understanding and forgiveness is exemplary.
Part 3
The next part of the report considers the context for forced marriage - from the global context to the
specific Hong Kong context. Understanding the demographic, social and cultural context in which the
interviewees exist is helpful to frame their words. The last sections consider the Hong Kong legal context
and a question of why forced marriage continues to occur. Understanding the hold of tradition even on
young Hong Kong women can be surprising, e.g. the extent of consanguineous marriages designed to
maintain connections with family overseas.
Part 4
Insights from religious leaders are shared to provide religious context to the report. As noted, whilst religion
may be claimed as a justification for forced marriage, this is not accepted by the religious leaders who
shared their words.
The Chief Imam explained that marriage should be with mutual consent of both, there is no room for
forced marriage.
Swamini Supriyanda says that from a religious standpoint, marriage is clearly understood as the union of
two equal individuals for the purpose that they may support each other in their responsibilities, in the
pursuit of knowledge, and pleasure, and in the combined growth in age as well as emotionally, intellectually,
and spiritually. Valuing our daughters is not only valuing our future but increasing our strength even in
the present.
Part 5
Hong Kong has an active civil society and several civil society leaders from Hong Kong were able to share
their perspectives on forced marriage in Hong Kong.
Some shared their experience of working with girls and women in Hong Kong. They described the use of
emotional blackmail and referred to the ‘family’s honour’ and that in the end girls can feel there are no
choices for them.
One perspective highlighted that Islam is ‘very beautiful and I feel it’s so misrepresented'. This echoes some
of the observations from the interviewees.
Part 6
Hong Kong exists within a global context and the next section considers the global response to forced
marriage. This ranges from criminalisation to community engagement. There are several tools used globally
to address forced marriage, and often used in conjunction with each other:
● Forced marriage has been criminalised in several countries including Australia. In Australia, the
offence also covers taking a victim overseas which may constitute trafficking. The Police note the
challenge for victims in working to prosecute their family members. The criminalisation was part of a
series of government and civil society initiatives which formed a landscape with civil protection,
support services, education, and awareness.
● Immigration legislation such as in Denmark. In 2003, Denmark introduced a raft of immigration

legislation that required each spouse must be at least 24 years old before they can apply for family
reunification based on marriage and other requirements. The most significant change could be the
introduction of the supposition rule i.e. that a cousin marriage is a forced marriage.
● Civil protection such as the Forced Marriage Protection Orders (FMPOs) in the UK. An FMPO is an
injunction which can help to protect a potential victim of forced marriage e.g. by ordering another
person to stop harassing a victim. Approximately 200-250 FMPOs have been granted each year
between 2014 and 2021. Other initiatives in the UK include the Children Missing from Education
('CME') initiative, as girls may be removed from school to travel overseas for the purposes of
marriage.
● Community engagement and empowerment such as in India. UNICEF has acknowledged the progress
towards ending child marriage which has been made in India in the last two decades. The significant
declines have been associated with improvements in female education, a reduction in poverty and
fertility, the promotion of positive gender norms, and the strengthened capacity of social service,
justice, and enforcement systems, among other factors.
Part 7
Involving policy and legislation with family life and intimate decisions about marriage is challenging. What is
clear is that interventions need to be considered and responsive to the needs of the individuals and the
community. The Zubin Foundation proposes that there is a continuum of actions under four broad
categories:
● Stage 1: understand - the first step on this journey is understanding the issue which means
understanding forced marriage is a process which often starts in childhood and may be child abuse
and that mandatory reporters understand this. Putting together a Forced Marriage Assistance List
and collecting data on forced marriage is crucial.
● Stage 2: safety - focus on the support systems that ensure safety to victims and potential victims of
forced marriage, in the short-term, medium-term and long-term.
● Stage 3: mindset - address the mindsets which enable forced marriage to occur - provide education
and awareness training to frontline responders, religious and community leaders, youth and parents.
● Stage 4: legislation - introduce specific civil protection and criminal offences. Consider collection of
data about spousal sponsorship visas.
Overview
Chart 1: Forced Marriage in Action Flowchart
Chart 2: Who are the interviewees?
Chart 3: What can we do in Hong Kong?
Introduction
1.1 Introduction
“ ‘My voice was never heard by my parents.’

- words from an interviewee
The objective of this report is to amplify the voices of Hong Kong women, their views and their experience
of forced (and early) marriage. Their voices were requested as a series of interviews. These interviews
constitute the heart of this report.
Forced marriage is a complex and global issue. Hong Kong is not exempt from this practice. This project is
inspired by the experience of The Zubin Foundation. During the last few years, The Zubin Foundation has
been receiving requests for assistance and guidance from girls and women, in relation to forced marriage
through calls to the Call Mira helpline or through their outreach in counselling and educational sponsorship.
The Call Mira helpline received calls related to forced marriage and had contact from girls and women
during the COVID-19 pandemic. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) noted that the disruption and
hardship caused by COVID-19 in this period ‘exacerbated the underlying drivers of all forms of modern
slavery, including forced marriage’ 1.
The Zubin Foundation connected with women who were willing to be interviewed about forced (and early)
marriage. Some of the women who shared their thoughts have personal experience of early and/or forced
marriage. They wanted to share their understanding about these practices. There were also other women
who had faced forced marriages who did not want to be interviewed, mostly due to the fear of being
identified and the dangers that may come with it.
Findings from the interviews led to a desire to ensure the voices of the interviewees and their perspectives
can be heard. It was also important to understand the wider perspective of forced marriage from religious
leaders and civil society leaders, and their views have been included too.
The final part of this report is a section containing recommendations based on considering global
experience and the Hong Kong context. This section is written jointly with Shalini Mahtani, The Zubin
Foundation’s Founder and CEO. It is hoped that these recommendations can stimulate further discussion,
education, and implementation of support for forced marriage victims in Hong Kong.
1.2 What is forced marriage?
A marriage may be planned and desired by immediate and extended family members. They may have a
variety of reasons for seeking the marriage including family relations, finances, property and traditions. If a
party to the marriage does not wish to marry, then a marriage may become a forced marriage.
A forced marriage is a marriage where coercion has ‘destroy[ed] the reality of consent and overbears the
will of the individual’2. These words contain a myriad of possibilities for the pressure that may be applied,
from physical abuse to emotional coercion and duress. The simplicity of these words belies the complex
interactions and nuanced reality of forced marriage.
Forced marriage can also be seen as a process rather than an event3. Chantler et al. noted in their work
interviewing professionals:
Forced marriage is a ‘process’ which is rooted in gender-based violence, synonymous to ‘grooming

where someone is being prepared for a marriage and that over a period of time their ability to
consent, or rather withdraw consent, is compromised’ (Case Study Area 4, Third Sector
Organisation 4B)4.
As a child grows up in a culture they are exposed to the values, beliefs, traditions and norms of their culture
and family culture. This can include attitudes towards expectations for marriage, their future opportunities,
and their obligations to their family and community. They may have been aware since childhood that their
marriage has been planned.
A person may indicate they do not consent either actively or passively. This lack of consent for the marriage
may be demonstrated as a direct refusal or it may be silent resignation. A refusal to marry the chosen
person may be seen as more than a mere rejection of the marriage and constitute a direct affront to the
authority of someone’s immediate and extended family. It may also be interpreted as a rejection of
cultural norms.
Whilst a person of any gender can be subjected to a forced marriage, it remains a highly gendered practice,
and mostly applies to girls and women. The ILO estimates that in 2021, 22 million people (over two thirds
being girls and women) were living in situations of forced marriage5. This represents a 6.6 million increase
from the previous estimate in 20166. As the ILO notes, forced marriage is a ‘highly-gendered
practice…[which]…is often underpinned by patriarchal norms’7. The coercion is usually applied by
immediate and extended family members8. It may also be endorsed and supported by the community and
community leaders.
Although both women and men may be subjected to a forced marriage and may suffer from the same
treatment if they resist the marriage or go through with the marriage, the consequences can be
very different:
It is important to note that while men comprise a small percentage of victims (approximately 15 %)
(HAC 2008, Ev 447), research indicates that far more women experience forced marriage than men,
and that the practice has more serious consequences for women (Ouattara et al. 1998; Gangoli et al.
2006; Anitha and Gill 2009; Gangoli and Chantler 2009, 269). In addition to the denial of a choice of
marriage partner, the harms of forced marriage can include: rape, forced pregnancy, lack of control
of the number and spacing of children, interruption to or denial of education, physical violence and
beatings, kidnapping or imprisonment (sometimes abroad), murder, lack of freedom of sexuality
(especially if a victim is gay or lesbian), and psychological stress which can result in threatened
suicide, mental breakdowns, eating disorders and self-harm (Ouattara et al. 1998; Beckett and
Macey 2001; Sanghera 2007; Brandon and Hafez 2008; HAC 2008; Macey 2009) 9.
For those working within this space, a commonly used acronym is CEFM which stands for Child, Early and
Forced Marriage. There is certainly often an overlap between forced marriage and marriage with children,
i.e. those under 18 years in Hong Kong and earlier i.e. may be considered someone between 18 and 24
years who could still be in full-time education.
1.3 What are some myths about forced marriage?
There are some common myths about forced marriage which continue to persist:
● Forced marriage is the same as arranged marriage.

● Forced marriage is condoned by religion.
● Forced marriage means only physical violence.
● Forced marriage only happens to girls.
● Forced marriage does not happen in Hong Kong.
● Forced marriage only takes place within South Asian communities.
The words ‘forced marriage’ can provoke extreme reactions from denial to activism. Myths about forced
marriage obscure the reality of this practice. The myths make it harder for people to find ways to deal with
challenges and find the resources they need. The acceptance of myths can lead to ignorance and prejudice.
This report aims to bring awareness to the practice, specifically in relation to Hong Kong people.
Myth 1: Forced marriage is the same as arranged marriage
An arranged marriage will typically involve parents and/or extended families seeking to arrange a marriage
between the parties, however the marriage will occur with the consent of both parties. Whilst the bride and
groom may have limited or no contact prior to the wedding, the bride and groom retain their ability to
refuse the marriage.
Arranged marriages are not synonymous with forced marriages, however an arranged marriage can become
a forced marriage. In an arranged marriage, the desire of family and relatives for an arranged marriage to
occur can cross the line and become a situation of a forced marriage. Forced marriages and arranged
marriages exist on a continuum10.
Lam found that in Hong Kong:
Forced marriage is the worst from my informants’ perspective. Arranged marriage, on the other
hand, is a marriage based on an agreement of both sides’ parents. The man’s side proposes to the
woman’s side, and her parents decide whether to accept or reject the proposal. My informants told
me that for arranged marriages parents usually ask for children’s consent and preferences in the
Pakistani community in Hong Kong. They accept the approach only when it meets the requirement
of their children11.
Myth 2: Forced marriage is condoned by religion
There exists a belief that forced marriage is condoned by religion. As shared by religious leaders in this
report from Islam and Hinduism that belief is not correct. These leaders highlighted that there is no place
for coercion in relation to marriage.
Whilst most of the women in this report who experienced forced marriage are Muslim, Islam does not
condone forced marriage.
Islam doesn’t appreciate pressurising in any aspect of life, even in the affair of marriage. Islam
emphasises knowing the willingness of a man and woman to choose his/her life partner and,
therefore, disallows forced marriage. The Muslim woman has the right of refusal and acceptance of
the proposal of marriage, even against her parents’ will12.
Despite this clarity, Muzaffar et al. explained that although Islam prohibits forced marriage, elders in
communities and families will ignore these prohibitions as ‘choice or opinion of the girl about her marriage
is deemed as improper in the context of family honour’13. Therefore, individual or community beliefs and
attitudes prevail.
Although, “Many Pakistani marriages are arranged, brokered by the family elders” (Evason et al.,
2016, para.11), in Islam “the right to choose a husband were understood as rights given to women
by Islam” (Khurshid, 2018, p. 92)14.
Myth 3: Forced marriage means only physical violence
The myth that forced marriage always involves the use of physical violence is persistent. Although physical
violence can be part of the coercion used to compel a forced marriage, it may not be used at all.
Forced marriage is a form of family violence, and thus the process is ‘often similar to the forms of abuse and
control utilised by perpetrators in abusive intimate partner and family relationships’15.
As with the approach to family violence, in some respects there has been an evolution of understanding.
Although concerns are still expressed that:
Issues of physical and sexual violence are frequently privileged over emotional pressure and
coercion. In particular, the term ‘force’ was not thought to adequately cover issues of subtle
pressure where a young person may not realise what is taking place until it is too late or may not
themselves identify the marriage as ‘forced’ as no physical violence occurred. Concerns were
expressed by participants that the term ‘forced marriage’ as conceptualised now was limited and
often did not express the range of experiences that women and men went through 16.
These experiences can include the threatened loss of connection and community. Anitha et al. highlight the
coercive power of the ‘potential loss of family, and thus community’ 17. Ethnic minority women may have or
perceive few options for social capital.
None of us exist in a vacuum and the reality is that for girls and women with few resources, obedience to
parents and families coupled with social norms can make the concept of free will elusive. Girls and women
in the South Asian community in Hong Kong may feel that they have limited options to resist a marriage
when the alternative can be exclusion and isolation. If a woman were to reject a forced marriage, then she
may lose her family and her community.
Globally, there is support for the idea that for young women maintaining familial and societal bonds is so
important they may submit to marry as required.
Indeed, research on the marriage practices of South Asian women in the UK also indicates that the
sanctions that underpin the dominant moral codes of their society are very apparent to the young
women, and play a significant role in the exercise of their agency. As one woman said: ‘‘If a girl says
no, it’s considered a bad thing’’, and ‘‘if you didn’t [go along with the marriage] there would be hell
to pay from your parents and all your relatives 18...
...In this light, any test to determine whether or not coercion has taken place that focuses on the
extent of the pressure (physical or emotional) that has actively been brought to bear on the victim
might not reveal what Feinberg (1986) calls the ‘‘total burden of coercion’’ that the victim
experiences. The ‘‘total burden’’ reflects the experiences of the individual, so that any decision
about whether or not coercion has taken place is forced to acknowledge how pervasive, frightful,
unwelcome and/or intense any pressure is, in order to determine whether or not the proposal
coerces19.
Myth 4: Forced marriage only happens to girls
Forced marriage can also happen to boys and men. This report did not have the opportunity to interview
any Hong Kong men about their experience of forced marriage because The Zubin Foundation has not (yet)
been confronted by this in Hong Kong. In the UK the evidence suggests the main reason for males being
forced to marry20 is because marriage is seen as ‘an antidote’21 for homosexual behaviour. As noted
by Samad:
Although oversimplification needs to be avoided, these fall into three broad categories. One
category encompassed family and peer group pressure to ensure, for example, that land remained
within the family, or that a carer was provided for a disabled family member. A second concerned
sexuality and independent behaviour. For example, a forced marriage might be pursued in order to
control unwanted behaviour, criminal activity, sexuality (particularly gay relationships) and
‘unsuitable’ heterosexual relationships. The third category concerned protecting family honour or
long-standing family commitments and perceived cultural or religious ideals (Abigail, 2007) 22.
Additionally, families may see marriage for men who suffer from a disability as a way of providing support
for their care23. This highlights another group who may be vulnerable to forced marriage, i.e. individuals
with physical or mental disability. A family may have genuine concerns for the care of their child and decide
that a spouse will either be able to provide financially or otherwise.
The concern in these cases, particularly if there is a mental disability, is whether the individual has the
capacity to give a valid consent to the marriage. In addition, an individual with a disability may have even
less access to resources and a greater dependence on the family. Their position may be more precarious
and make them more vulnerable to the risks of coercion.
Families of people with severe mental illness or intellectual disability may not see that the marriage
they are organising is ‘forced’ because of cultural beliefs or lack of awareness of human rights in the
UK. They may see themselves as protecting their children’s future care or financial requirements,
building stronger family ties, upholding long-standing commitments, or protecting or preserving
perceived cultural / religious ideals and traditions (often misguided)24.
Myth 5: Forced marriage does not happen in Hong Kong
Hong Kong is not immune to forced marriage. The personal experiences shared by some of the women in
their interviews highlight that forced marriage occurs in Hong Kong, to Hong Kong girls and women. These
interviews also demonstrated that the coercion used by family members can range from emotional and
psychological pressure to physical violence and confinement.
In a guidebook prepared by The Chinese University of Hong Kong, it states that ‘forced marriage is the most
common emanation of [honour-based violence] in Hong Kong’25. This concept of honour-based violence
links the perpetuation of domestic violence with perceptions and beliefs about honour and shame. As
expressed by Idriss:
While ‘honour’ is related to the chastity of women, it is also considered by the patriarchy to be far
too important to be entrusted to women alone. This is an overt demonstration of patriarchy since it
is centred upon controlling women’s sexual and reproductive powers by claiming the female body as
‘man’s territory’26.
The attitudes and beliefs which inform these ideas about control, honour and shame do exist in Hong Kong.
This may lead to milder forms of parental control over behaviour and opportunities. Although within the
experience of the interviewees, some of them shared stories of physical abuse. Within the Pakistani
community in Hong Kong, Lam found that:
Aysha’s parents tried to preserve what they know as Pakistani culture when they immigrated to
Hong Kong. So, Aysha’s understanding of Pakistani culture was according to traditional Islamic
concepts. However, when Aysha went to Pakistan for an extended stay, she realised that what her
family taught her was not what was actually in Pakistan. Pakistani culture is not that traditional and
not that Islamic27.
The challenge of seeking to maintain connection with culture and tradition is a common theme in diasporas.
As noted by one of the women in her interview, her family sought to impose what she considered to be
foreign and outdated concepts in relation to her marriage. Research conducted in Hong Kong notes that:
They imagine the Islamic community through “long-distance nationalism.” This explains Pakistani
families’ emphasis on Islam and “traditional Pakistani culture,” preserving it even better than people
in Pakistan. They relate those Islamic practices and values to Pakistani ethnicity because it helps
them form a sense of ethnic belonging and solidarity in Hong Kong not merely because they feel
“homesick” but also their need for belonging (Erni & Leung, 2014). Pakistani immigrants’ life in Hong
Kong constructs the style of “Pakistani culture” to my informants. So, Aysha felt distanced when she
realised how Pakistan had changed. She wanted to uphold “traditional Pakistani culture” in her mind
for her identity28.
Myth 6: Forced Marriage only takes place within South Asian communities
Although this report focuses on the experience of Hong Kong women who are South Asian by ethnicity, not
only is forced marriage an issue that occurs globally, it is also not limited to South Asian communities. As
noted by Chantler et al. (2009)29 forced marriages in the UK, occur in other religious and ethnic minority
communities, e.g. African, Middle Eastern, Latin American, Caucasian, Muslim, Eastern European, Albanian,
Chinese, Jewish, Mormon, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Greek Orthodox.
Forced marriage also exists in China. Given the 'traditional practice of concubines and bride price in a
normal marriage' some rural people have patriarchal views and 'a woman is still considered the property of
her father before marriage and of her husband afterward'30.
Examples of forced marriage in China from the archive demonstrate how women, with no right to
refuse, are bought and sold to men for the purpose of marriage, most often in this typology by
traffickers unknown to them, but also by members of their own family31.
Interview Findings
2.1 Introduction
The genesis of this report was a series of interviews with women who were married as young women.
These women were generous with their time and were gracious to share their personal stories about
marriage. They shared their perspective on what young women in Hong Kong experience as they transition
from childhood to adulthood. These are Hong Kong stories.
In speaking with these women, it became clear that no story is the same. There is no singular experience
and there is no one way in which these women frame their experiences. This section presents their stories
as examples of the diversity experienced by young women in Hong Kong. The stories ranged from women
who felt supported by their family and tradition and those who felt forced to marry against their expressed
will. Some of the women are still married and some have left the relationship. Some expressed concerns
and were heard, and some were ignored by their families.
The responses have been disaggregated to protect the identity of the individual women. Here are the
perspectives of the women who were willing to share their personal experience and where possible in their
own words.
2.2 What is the demographic composition of the group?

This is a group of women with dreams for their future. The Zubin Foundation invited seventeen women to
participate in interviews. Some of the women were fearful that giving the interview would expose them to
negative consequences. The interviews were conducted in person, on zoom, on the phone and in one case
on social media chat. Of the eleven women interviewed for this section, there were some common
characteristics:
● Children: Two of the women were married below 18 years of age. Five of the women were
contracted to marry or engaged to be married as children and most were not informed until
adolescence.
● Ethnicity: Ten of the women were of Pakistani ethnic origin and one was of Indian ethnic origin.
● Born in Hong Kong: Seven of the eleven women were born in Hong Kong and the remaining women
arrived in Hong Kong as children.
● Education: Five of the women are currently attending tertiary education; five of the women have
completed some level of tertiary education and one has partially completed secondary school.
● Family size: One woman had only one sibling; the other ten women had four or more siblings.
● Mother’s education: Two of the women had mothers with no formal education; six women had
mothers with primary education only; two women had mothers with secondary education only and
one woman had a mother with tertiary education.
● Father’s education: One woman had a father with no formal education; four women’s fathers had
primary education only; three women had fathers with secondary education only and three women
had fathers with tertiary education.
● Parents consanguineous marriage: Six of the women had parents who were cousins and five had
parents who were not related.
● Asked for marriage to be delayed: Eight of the women asked for the marriage to be delayed.
● Felt pressured to marry: Eight of the women felt pressured to marry.
● Felt forced to marry: Six of the women felt forced to marry.
● Emotional abuse: Six of the women described emotional abuse.
● Physical abuse: Two of the women described physical abuse.
● Related to husband: Six of the women were related to the chosen husband.
2.3 What are their views on early and forced marriage?

In general, the women were clear about the delineation in their view between an arranged marriage in
which the consent of both parties is required and a forced marriage in which a person is coerced into
marriage.
As one woman noted that she was:
“ ‘Against forced marriage…in our religion it says a girl should have a say. If she agrees on
marriage, then she should marry but if she says no then shouldn’t marry.’
In her view, early marriage means 10 or 11 years old. She is ‘super against that’ and noted that ‘in the past
people had a different mentality’. She felt that at 17 she was ‘mature enough’ although she noted that
‘some girls may need more time to mature’.
Interviewees also differentiated between early and forced marriage. Early marriage typically refers to cases
where the person is aged between 18 and 24, denoting someone who may still be in full-time education.
Despite the experiences of some of the interviewees which included pressure, a few of them did not define
their marriage as forced. This may be because although there was clearly strong pressure to marry by their
parents, they did not see it that way. A young woman who is currently in tertiary education explained the
difference for her between early and forced marriage and also her view that this practice of forced marriage
no longer exists. In her opinion a woman is forced if she does not consent, and has less to do with any
pressure she may have received to consent:
“ ‘For me early marriage and forced marriage are two different things. So long as it’s
consensual it’s fine. But forced marriage I’m personally against as well. You shouldn’t be
forced to marry at a certain age or with a specific person. You should have the freedom
to choose when you want to get married or at least be asked about it. Early marriage,
I’m not sure. For me, 21 is quite early. But then my parents asked me about it and after
talking around and getting advice…and then we eventually decided to go for it.
For forced marriage I don’t think I heard it from any of my friends or relatives for years.
When I was little, I would hear ‘she didn’t want to get married and her parents forced
her’ but then now I don’t think I heard it for years.’
Another woman noted forced marriage is still happening although she said that ‘even though they are
forced it can still be good’. She noted some girls are forced to marry much older men or when they are too
young and this was ‘not right’. In her view her marriage at 23 was young for marriage in a Hong Kong
context but she added that ‘23 is not early if it’s the right age’.
She also noted that early and forced marriage are different. In her view 18 is:
“ ‘…not right – especially in Hong Kong [as] that means you are still in college, or you just
graduated and that is too early for a Hong Kong person.’
Another young woman explained that in her opinion, 17 or 18 years old can be okay to marry, if the girl is
‘mentally capable of maintaining a relationship…are they physically and mentally prepared for that
relationship’. However, she also advises girls ‘don’t quit everything and just go for marriage’.
This woman was able to communicate with her husband before marriage even though he is not a relative
and she did not know him prior to the proposal. She explained that they were able to text each other to
discuss what they wanted in their future life over the course of several months. This is rare for the
interviewees most of whom had no direct or even indirect contact prior to the marriage ceremony with
their husbands unless they had known them as children.
“ ‘I just wish they would allow two people who if they want to spend their lives together
to talk together to get to know about each other because the basic questions they want
to know to remove the insecurities and stuff.’
As she further explained, after observing the older generation in her family having conflict and issues in
their consanguineous marriages; she had concerns about marrying a family member. She described this as:
“ ‘All of [my aunts] [my grandmother] got them married in such a hurry there’s always
something about their partner – they’re not always really happy…it’s more like being
compromised – compromising their life.’
If she could speak freely to anyone, she said she would want to ask her grandmother:
“ ‘Why are you rushing everything? Let the girls decide. They’re always saying my
daughter never said ‘no’ to me…but I’m like this is our life – [do] you want us to be
happy or not?’
She observed ‘it’s not really good to always listen to your parents…let the children consider’. As she
explained it, she will ‘have to live this life’.
Another young woman explained, she strongly feels that:
‘Marriage is a big step…should be their own choice. People should never be forced to
“ marry at an early age. You haven’t explored the world yet. Your whole life depends on
that decision…hard to tell at an early age, hard enough to know yourself.
[girls] shouldn’t get pressured because this is a big decision. They should have the right
to say yes or no. [there should be] no pressure from anywhere. For early marriage, I
wouldn’t say it’s not good, as marriages I have seen have turned [out] in a good way.
Just that forced marriage should stop…I have seen so many cases, he will make sure the
girl marries him even if she doesn’t want to. No one gives priority to a girl’s decision.
They could be developing their careers…people should listen to their daughters because
it’s their whole life.’
A woman whose marriage had been arranged at 15, was told that her father in Pakistan was ill and that he
was at risk if she did not return to Pakistan and complete the marriage when told to. When discussing early
marriage, she commented:
“ ‘I hate early marriages – hate, hate, hate it. If I can change one thing about my life I
would be going back and telling my mother I don’t care who dies or who has the heart
attack, whether it’s you or my father. I’m not going.’
There were also positive views on their marriage expressed by some of the women. In terms of her beliefs
around marriage, one woman shared that she had always thought getting married earlier ‘actually is good’.
She referenced that:
“ ‘In our religion you’re not allowed to have boyfriends or stuff like that…so if you want to
be married and if you know that you want to be married to this person then, why don’t
you get married sooner so that you will avoid the bad?’
She also believes getting married at an earlier age means that ‘you have a bit more time to understand each
other…you two are growing at the same time’. This woman was unusual for the high level of commitment
from her parents to her education. Even after her marriage, they continue to support her and her young
family to ensure that she can complete her education.
For one woman who married at 17, she shared that her husband and father are both supportive of her
education. She noted that:
“ ‘It is usual in our country that men wouldn’t agree with girls studying. It is very unusual
for a girl to continue studying after marriage. I feel very lucky that I can study and
pursue my career.’
In family decisions, she said that everyone would give their opinion and then her father would make
the decision.
Although in Hong Kong, one woman noted that, ‘in Hong Kong if you know your rights and you’re not using
them it doesn’t make sense’. Although she also highlighted that that:
“ ‘If you’re being forced and don’t want to get married then you say no, in some places
your no isn’t worth anything.’
One woman who felt forced to marry noted that early marriage occurs when girls are ‘not prepared for it’
and are ‘handed over to men we don’t know’. She sees forced marriage as an ‘abuse of the rights of a
person’ and a ‘loss of freedom and more’.
2.4 When did they know that a marriage was planned?

There is some variety in the experience of the women as to when they found out about the marital plans.
Some of the women knew as children that a husband had been chosen for them. Typically, the women
found out or were told from a young age that the engagement had already been concluded and then at a
later stage this was confirmed to them as merely requiring their acquiescence. This accords with a view of
forced marriage as a process which begins in childhood when the girls are contracted to marry at an early
age (e.g. 9 or 10 years) and then informed as they approach the end of secondary school (e.g. 15 or 16
years) about the identity of their intended husband. The girls are acculturated to accept this and some of
the women did not challenge that they were not consulted or asked to consent before the engagement.
There were few examples where the women were consulted as to their thoughts about the engagement,
regardless of their age.
“ ‘So, you know in my country once you’ve said yes then it’s over for you. I asked [my
father] ‘did you ask me before you said yes?’ ‘Did you even seek my consent?’ and he
said ‘why do I have to take your consent? I am your father’. I said this is my life. I am the
one who is going to keep him. I’m the one who’s going to feed him. I’m the one who’s
going to provide for him and bring him here [to live in Hong Kong]. I’m the one who’s
going to sleep with him and have his kids.’
For example, one woman said that she had chosen her husband, however she also explained that her
parents and the groom's parents had decided 'when [she] was small' that they would marry. It may well be
that since she was a young child that she knew that her husband had been chosen for her and therefore
growing up with this knowledge may have let her feel that this was her choice.
For another woman, at the time of the marriage contract, she thought of the marriage as a love marriage.
Her mother had told her that she could not marry outside of the family, so she tried to find someone within
the family. Her parents agreed to the marriage when she was 15.
‘I think I kind of experienced forced marriage because – there’s two steps – the contract
“ and then going back to your husband’s house. I only did the first step. Then after one
year I said a lot of times, I don’t want to marry this person. There were so many
problems. I said I don’t want to take any more steps – at least I can complete my
[education]. My mother said, ‘your father will have a heart attack’. [the interviewee
married before completing her education].’
Unusually one of the women felt she was consulted prior to the marriage contract:
“ ‘Even when he [her father] was getting me married – he asked me before that – he got
my opinion first before committing to marriage.’
Although she did not refuse the marriage, she did not think there would have been consequences if she had
said no.
‘Even if I [had] said no, I would have been convinced [by my father to marry the person
“ chosen for me]. If I said no, it would have been a loss for me. At that time, we knew
what our parents wanted for us – is the best for us. I knew this person [her husband was
her cousin].’
Her faith in her parents’ choice is clear. As she notes, even if she had said no, she ‘would have been
convinced’.
Sometimes parents present the husband they have chosen and then inform the girl that the only choice she
has is whether she chooses to delay the wedding, usually to complete an educational stage. One woman
was told by her father when she was 17 that she would be married to his friend.
‘They asked me ‘we like this boy from this place of this man’s son, are you willing to get
“ married?’. I said no. My mother said ‘you had better take him, otherwise you have no
men left, and it’s not like the marriage is happening now. All girls are engaged by now,
you’re the only one left’. They kept saying this over and over again, I was stressed.’
She was told by her father that it would just be an engagement and if she wanted to delay then the
marriage would happen when she said she was ready.
“ ‘I only said yes because they pressured me into it. I was young and didn’t know what the
consequences would be later. I thought when it’s time to actually get married, we’ll see.’
As she notes, at 17 years old she didn’t know what the consequences of this decision would be. She had
thought that there would be an option to refuse to marry, however as she learnt there was no option.
Another woman explained in relation to the marriage:
“ ‘It’s something that was agreed upon when I was really young. In Pakistan there’s a
tradition, your parents make these decisions for you. They choose the person. For me, I
don’t mind them choosing, but you need to tell me how that [chosen] person is. If I
know him or not. For me, he was a friend that I knew from childhood.
I was in Form 5 when I found out. I didn't hear it from my parents, I heard it from
someone else and I was so shocked. I went to my parents and asked them…and then
they explained. When I was 18 they told me…
I think I would really like it if they didn’t choose the person at such an early age, because
you don’t know how the person will be when he grows up. How will he be as a man?
You don’t know what he wants from his future? So, if you decide when he’s just 15 or 16
then you don’t really understand or know that person that deeply. So, for this situation, I
hope that if they consider the person, even consider marriage, when me and my sisters
are at least 18. They should stop talking when we are at a young age.’
2.5 How did they respond?

Delay was a common reaction from most of the women. One woman said that she had wanted to marry
and that it was a long process. In the beginning she was not positive about the marriage proposal; however,
she described her father as understanding. She explained to her parents:
‘I’m studying something really [challenging]…they know it’s like a tough thing…so they
“ wouldn’t force me… So, in a way I would make that as an excuse to tell them in a joking
way – but some truth in it.’
As she explained it, requesting a delay because of education was a common tactic. Some women would try
to negotiate for a delay to complete secondary or even tertiary education before completing the marriage.
2.6 What was the nature of the coercion?

Many of the women spoke about the challenge of being pressured by their immediate family to agree to the
marriage:
‘At the time there was constant pressure. They informed all of my relatives and friends
“ to convince me of the marriage. In our culture, in my family, they are really
conservative. If I was married at a young age, I couldn’t even understand what was going
on in my life…it is like forced marriage. They wanted me to marry at any cost. I tried to
show and say to my parents that I was worried, and they tried to convince me in every
possible way.’
This woman explained that throughout her childhood, her mother was verbally abusive, and her father was
both verbally and emotionally abusive. When she tried to convince her parents, they refused to listen, and
she believes ‘they were worried I would become more capable and independent, and the fear was I
wouldn’t listen to them’.
For some of the women, who had enjoyed a positive relationship with their father, the coercion was
particularly heart-breaking as their trusted parent changed:
“ ‘When it came to marriage, I don’t know what happened to him. He just changed to
another person, so it was a big shock for me. It was heart-breaking. He was out of
control. It wasn’t my father that I used to know because he would listen to us, listen to
our mother – he would ask her opinion more than anyone. Then suddenly he would not
listen – not even tiny.’
The women described being subject to emotional and psychological duress. Usually this was from parents,
however it could also come from siblings and from extended family. One woman noted the pressure she
was under from her extended family who repeatedly taunted her with her delay in marrying and making her
father wait.
‘[I] was really glad that I had friends I could share stuff with…just to vent it out…because
“ the stress inside building those things – the thoughts – what will happen? Oh my God –
this leads to too much going on – and just makes you…like a robot...constantly one part
is doing things.’
In addition, the impact on their siblings could be seen as adding to the coercive burden or giving them
strength to resist. A woman noted that the hardest part for her about this situation was that she has
younger sisters who witnessed everything. Her sisters said to her ‘if you don’t stand up, he will do the same
with us’.
Although pressure applied to the women was typically emotional and psychological, some were also
subjected to physical abuse and confinement to convince them to submit. According to one woman, her
parents were not ‘extremely physical’ because she was working, and they were worried that someone
would see marks on her. She was worried for her physical safety and moved out of the family home to
escape the pressure and emotional abuse.
“ ‘I ended up losing more than anything else. I ended up losing them, I ended up losing
my parents. I ended up losing so much more than I could have imagined.’
For some girls, the dislocation from family is about survival. For one of the women after months of
emotional and physical abuse, matters reached a crisis, and her father told her that ‘you either have to
follow or are no more my daughter and you have to leave the home’. This young woman did leave the home
and was able to support herself financially. There were many more discussions with her parents and at one
stage she was confined in her own home in Hong Kong by the family and beaten overnight. The words of
her father continue to impact her. She shared that he had on occasion told her that he wished she was dead
or that it was ‘better to have a dog than a daughter like you. They will obey but not you’.
Another woman who married at 16, had found out when she was in Form 3 that she was engaged to be
married. Her older sister was already married, and she was to be married to the younger brother. Due to
concerns from her brother-in-law about young people in Hong Kong being too rebellious, the decision was
made by her parents that she would marry. She was under pressure from her mother and elder sister:
‘[My mum] said your elder sister is already there. We don’t want anything to happen to
“ her…My mum tried to convince me. My dad was supportive because I was only in Form
4. Then they took us to Pakistan and got me and my elder sister married right away. I
was forced. I wasn’t ready.’
As she notes, the duress was not only applied to her situation but also the risks for her sister were
highlighted to her:
‘My sister was in his house. He had all the controls. He convinced my mum and then my
“ dad, also my sister. My sister told me that if I don’t get married and now, she has to go
to Pakistan with them, she would have a hard time.’
The application of pressure from extended family members and even the groom's family is a common
theme amongst the women's experiences.
‘The woman who was the mother of the guy and the family members of the guy kept
“ coming to ask me to marry him. Their son wants to go abroad…they don’t even question
if I say no, they just want it to happen. They said that if the parents agree no one else
can do anything.’
A common element of coercion is trickery. This can be in the form of using a trick to ensure a woman will
travel to the family's country of origin or will return home. One woman explained that having lived apart
from her family, at some stage her family told her that her father was ill and that she should go home to see
him. When she arrived at the family home in Hong Kong, she was locked in a room for two days and the
pressure escalated. She was able to escape when she came up with an excuse to leave the room and she
took her chance and ran.
Sometime later her parents told her that they had accepted her decision. Due to her first marriage ending in
divorce, she had to return to Pakistan to complete the divorce formalities and believing that things had
calmed down she went with her family to Pakistan. She was able to find Pakistani lawyers to assist her with
the divorce and was in contact with them.
At first everything was fine, however after a week, her father said she should give him her identity
documents / passport for safekeeping. Later she realised her father was not going to return her identity
documents. When she raised the need to return to work her parents escalated. They locked her up and
abused her emotionally for a month and half and refused to take her to the doctor when she was unwell.
Her health deteriorated, and yet she said:
‘I couldn’t even die. Because I didn’t want to die because I have a lot to live for and I
“ don’t want to die because of them. They were of course wishing me death [because] it
was better for me to die than for me not listening to them and marrying someone else
not of their choosing.’
During this time in Pakistan, her parents continued to prepare for the wedding. She decided she needed to
escape and return to Hong Kong. With the assistance of third parties, she was able to return to Hong Kong.
When asked about who these third parties were, she did not want to disclose this information as they
remain in Pakistan and continue to assist girls and women.
One woman warned that it is difficult to help girls who are being pressured as their parents will take their
daughters out of Hong Kong for various reasons:
‘Then they pretend to be some kind of characters. ‘Father is unwell’ [or] ‘or mother is
“ dying’. We need to do this. They know marriage without the daughter’s consent is
invalid in Islam. So, they make the daughter say somehow ‘yes’.
Financial reasons can also lead to marriages earlier than the girls wish. One woman was expecting to marry
one year later in line with the completion of her studies, however her parents asked her if she would marry
a year early.
‘I have a lot of siblings. My parents were like ‘we cannot afford to have you married one
“ by one, so it was like, it’s going to cost a lot. They asked me because my sister was
getting married, if it’s okay to move the date from next year to this year instead…at first,
I was confused because I’m studying, and I was like will that affect my studies?’
She did consider saying no due to her shock at the changed date. However, she noted that she discussed
this with her father and eventually agreed to marry earlier than planned.
2.7 Why do the interviewees believe forced marriage happens?

Many of the women referred to tradition and custom in marriage as opposed to religion. The women
agreed that their religion required consent from both parties. However, custom was seen as having very
different standards. As one woman said that she didn’t agree with her parents who had brought her ‘to a
foreign country and [brought] their own rules to this place from [their] hometown’.
One woman whose parents attempted to force her into marriage through emotional, psychological, and
physical abuse, felt that her ‘parents [were] being forced by elders but parents don’t realise the damage
they’re doing’. Her observation is that:
‘It’s about the system they created, and they wanted us to grow up in the system they
“ created. I do think they were very afraid that the biggest reason is because [children]
will go out of control but some people have hopes and dreams…other kids want to party
and…then get married and have a traditional life. We were like no, we want to get out of
poverty, and we wanted to create a different lifestyle and we wanted to give our parents
a better life than we had…even today we still hope to bring them out of that whole
poverty lifestyle.’
Her hope is that eventually her parents will understand that her resistance was not due to her being
irresponsible or badly behaved, instead she wished for an education and career that would lift her and her
parents out of poverty.
For a woman who was required to marry a friend of her father’s:
“ ‘It felt strange to marry somebody who I didn’t know. My parents had told me about this
person, but he had no education, unstable job and I wasn’t in love with him.’
She feels that her father:
‘Thought he was agreeing to his elders’ ideas about the boy and was happy to make
“ others happy by ‘giving’ his daughter…[but] isn’t it natural to love your own children
more than other [people’s] kids? He also knew I was the weak one emotionally, my
sisters were not put up for this – only I was.’
Many of the women referenced traditional views of obedience to parents and in particular, fathers. One
woman sought to explain to her father her thoughts:
“ ‘What I believe – what is my faith – our religion doesn’t support that and no matter –
early, or you’re an adult, you shouldn’t force anyone to get married.’
However, she said that her father responded that this was not about religion anymore, ‘it’s about our
Pakistani culture, so we need to follow’. She acknowledged that she feels her father was as shocked as she
was by his attitudes and behaviour. Their relationship had previously been supportive, and she
acknowledges that it seemed as if even he could not understand his own reactions. She tried to explain to
her father:
‘I cannot [marry]. I cannot risk my life. It’s about 40/50 years. If I have children with him,
“ I need to make sure he will be a good father like you…I don’t want you to do this sin. I
rather that God hates me [because] I disobey you, but I don’t want him…there will be a
judgement day and you will say it’s a sin – why did you do that to your own daughter? I
don’t want to see that day.’
She tried to compare her experience of being forced to her father’s experience as he had not chosen who to
marry, however this made matters worse. The situation became extreme, and she attempted suicide twice.
‘I don’t want him to commit the sin, I don’t want people to look down on him. So, I think
“ my dying will make his honour. Keep his honour then why not? I don’t want to give up
on my life partner option. So, this will be better.’’
Her situation worsened after the attempts. She withdrew from her family and Hong Kong, although she has
since returned. She continued to seek news and connection about her family. Her parents decided that her
sister would marry the man chosen for her.
Although she had misgivings about the man, she decided not to say anything to her sister. Sadly, this
marriage was abusive, and her sister faced a difficult time. By this stage her father had relented and was
speaking with her. Her father’s instinct was to arrange a divorce for her sister; however, she asked him to
support her sister:
“ ‘Please don’t do the same mistake. I know you want to support her [the sister] but if she
wants to get divorced, then you support her. But don’t make the decision for her.’
Another woman who was interviewed, she explained that:
‘They wanted to get rid of me so they wouldn’t have to spend money on me or my

“ education. They wanted to concentrate on my brother. They saw it as they had finished
their responsibility to me, and it was better she goes to her own home and is her
husband’s responsibility.’
She spoke of her dreams as a very academic child. However, she explained that ‘my voice was never heard
by my parents’.
2.8 What sustains them?

These women are extraordinary. Their capacity for understanding and forgiveness is exemplary. For some
they were clear that their faith has sustained them. As one woman explained she sought guidance from
Allah and in prayer to endure the pressure and to sustain herself.
As one woman who was held in Pakistan for a month and a half and subjected to emotional and physical
abuse explained:
‘I’d rather be on my own and go through this on my own … because I was dying
“ everyday with their words. I was having panic attacks, and I knew I will be dying. I said
I’d rather die on my own than to die with them. Tomorrow God will question me [and
say] ‘I gave you so many options, so many paths, you still didn’t take action’.’
Her faith in Allah meant that she believed she needed to resist forced marriage. For some this faith leads
them to choose committing the sin of disobedience and even suicide rather than for their parents to sin by
forcing them into marriage. She was also sustained by the reality of having younger sisters. Their potential
future plight reinforced her will to reject the marriage. Knowing that if she gave in and consented that they
would also be required to marry, perhaps against their will, strengthened her resolve.
For one young woman who was forced into marriage when she was 16, she made the decision to run away.
On her return to Hong Kong from Pakistan after the marriage, her husband’s family wanted her to apply for
a visa for her husband, however this did not happen as she had run away. She acknowledges if she had
applied for the visa, ‘life would have been different’.
She was ‘scared about the consequences’ however she had help from her mother and younger sister to stay
away from her extended family member who was trying to enforce the marriage. According to her ‘they
were searching for
me everywhere’.
She noted the help and support she received from the Hong Kong Police. She said the Police told her to go
somewhere safe while they arranged a shelter and a social worker. Within the week she had moved into a
shelter and had a social worker assisting her. Despite this assistance, she noted that life in the shelter was
‘not easy’ as there was no ‘privacy’ and it was very lonely and difficult. At the age of 16 she was isolated
from her family, her home, her community and her school environment.
Unusually in this case the pressure was not coming from her parents but from her husband’s family and this
was echoed by the community who also made this difficult for her and her parents. After she ran away, she
emphasised the importance of the support she felt from her mother and father.
So many people were pointing fingers. That’s why I had to stop studying…in our own
“ society so many people were pointing fingers at me…even in my school… [my parents]
fought with everyone to forgive me – all they wanted was for me to be happy.’
2.9 What would they wish to say to their families?

This question elicited strong responses from some of the women. For the young woman who had managed
to escape being held in Pakistan, she wanted to ask her parents:
‘Why did you do this to me? I was always there whenever you needed me – physically,
“ psychologically, financially I was the one who was providing for you. Why me? I think
there’s also a lack of understanding between their mindset and my mindset. They
always keep telling me your choice is wrong. So, if my choice is invalid, what about my
feelings? If I ever get the chance to sit down and tell them, I will apologise. Maybe my
steps are wrong, but I just had no options. I just choose myself over them.’
Reflecting on her own experience in marriage, one woman said:
‘Some things the mother has to teach their own child. Because they will be very harsh
“ on their wives. I can’t change the things that are already there. What can I change? I can
change my kids or focus on him [my husband]. I rather focus on my kids than focus on
him. Some things – sometimes I just cry. I am doing so many things at the same time.
Sometimes I really want to get good sleep, and no one touches me during sleep. No one
wakes me up…I just want a break.’
For this woman, she has struggled to complete her tertiary education after being convinced to marry early
due to family illness. She was told that a senior family member was ill, and that the marriage had to happen
earlier so that they could be present.
For a woman who felt forced to marry, she explained that when she married, she experienced lots of
changes and was disturbed.
‘I couldn’t sleep for a year. I was engaged for a year because my husband wasn’t ready.
“ That year was very tough thinking about how will I adjust to this person? It took me
almost 6-8 years to get him to understand. Since he came to Hong Kong, I’ve seen many
changes in him. By seeing the environment, he’s really changed.’
However, she still feels that her voice and her thoughts and feelings were never heard or acknowledged by
her parents.
For a young woman who married at 17, if she could speak freely to her father, in relation to her sisters, she
would like to say:
“ ‘They need to be more broadminded and think more faraway. They should look for a
good match. Sometimes parents are committed from a very early age. Not in our family,
I am glad my father is different from others…in my family we think we should marry
amongst our cousins and if there is a future problem then the elders can help. My father
thinks his family is best…even my mother’s relatives has good guys.’
Her wish is that her father could expand the circle of possible grooms outside his own nephews to those of
her mother’s side of the family.
2.10 What advice would they give to someone who is being pressured to marry?
The personal experiences of each woman influenced the advice she thought would be helpful to other
women who are being pressured to marry. For a woman who was financially independent and had been
able to resist the marriage, she focused on personal responsibility:
‘I would really tell them that everyone is responsible for their own decision – so let
“ them [your daughters] make their own decision...first try to convince your parents and
explain...and if no, then you need to make a decision for yourself…I cannot tell you – I’m
here for any decision you make, but I won’t make a decision for you.’
Another woman whose parents and husband are supportive of her education, highlighted rights. For girls
who are being pressured to marry, she advised them to ‘hold up your rights…don’t just let them go’. She
gave examples of women who are married not being given money by their husbands for themselves, ‘that is
their right to have some earning from the husband for themselves’ and if they are being beaten, they
should use their rights.
In terms of advice for someone who is being pressured into a forced marriage, one young woman had
several ideas about how to approach this.
● ‘Writing it down can help you to construct thoughts and in a spiritual way talk to God, to Allah, he
listens. Use this private reflection… to construct [your] thoughts.’
● ‘When you grow older you know how to communicate with [your parents], you know your parents
more than they know us.’
● ‘Go talk to your parents in a manner that they don’t think you are opposing them, but you’re telling
them the all the stuff – pros and cons…let your parents know you are mature enough, like what
you’re saying is true because if you say things in anger, they just think you’re being disrespectful.’
● ‘Sometimes parents are stuck in their culture bubble, you have to break through that. It’s
really hard.’
● ‘It’s not easy to change people’s mindset…so you have to try and buy time. Through your daily
[behaviour] show them that you have a lot to do in your life…why you don’t want to be forced.’
● ‘It may be necessary to convince your mum and then your mum can convince your dad. You can
convince someone even if your dad is forcing you – then ask someone who is close to him to
convince him. Someone he will listen to. You have to find a loophole…like in a patriarchal family, the
dad will listen to the son.’
For a young woman whose marriage was accelerated, her advice to someone who is being pressured to
marry is:
‘Don’t get married early – enjoy your life. Because…if you get a child, it’s hard to travel
“ or pursue studies. When my [child] was born, I couldn’t take holidays from college
and…it was a struggle to take the exams.’
If she hadn’t married, she had planned to complete her further education and establish a career and then to
marry. If her family member had not been ill and accelerated the plans, then she would have been able to
complete these plans. Further, she said that if a girl doesn’t want to marry then:
“ ‘I would suggest a girl should talk to their parents and see what they can do for her. She
should stand up for herself, try to convince them to not ask her to marry.’
Another woman who had been able to establish her financial independence had thoughts about what a
young person who is being pressured should consider:
‘You need to evaluate a few things in your life. Are you financially stable? If not, what
“ are you willing to do to be able to become financially stable? Number two, do you have
someone who you can trust that you can speak to? That better not be family
members...I would highly recommend social workers – go to the hospital. Number three
if you’re willing to leave your parents do you have a safe place to go? But are they
mentally strong enough to take responsibility for their actions? Because a lot of
times…people cannot come out of this bad relationship or bad environment and after
some time they start missing their family and they go back…I think you have to realise –
are you mentally strong enough? And once you’re strong enough you need to be strong.
No matter what they do, don’t go back.’
If someone is being pressured to marry, a young woman who ran away at 16 years old advises them:
“ ‘Don’t get married under pressure. At the end of the day, it won’t come with a good
result. If you are forced, then mentally you’re not ready – run away please.’
Not all the women were able to provide advice to another person. When asked if there was any advice, she
would give to someone who is being pressured, one woman responded:
‘I can’t think about this. I could never handle this question. I’m not sure how people
“ handle this. Some parents might understand and support their children. Not sure how
many parents in reality do that. Communication is the key. I was abused so was never
able to do so.’
For a young woman who saw her marriage in a positive light, she said:
‘If it’s a good match, then don’t lose this chance. If not the right person, not a good guy,
“ then try to convince the parents because no-one else can do that. Parents want the best
for their children. If being pressured there may be a reason behind that. Talk to your
husband before marrying if you want to continue studying, he might support you…
the mentality is changing, some girls want to make their career and marriage is the
last priority.’
She reiterated her parents had made a good decision for her and in her case, her parents thought about the
type of person that would suit her and then selected one of her father’s nephews. As noted by her, if a girl
has concerns about being able to continue studying then she should speak to her future husband. Although
this ability to communicate freely prior to marriage was unusual amongst the women interviewed; and
there was no advice if the future husband was negative about a woman’s need to complete her education.
For someone who is being pressured to marry, another woman suggested:
‘I think the first advice is to talk to your parents. Because they are the person who [kind
“ of like] decides for you. They are the people you can consult. If they’re pressuring you to
get married, then talk to them about your perspective, why you don’t want to get
married. You don’t just say no, I’m not doing it. You have to tell them your perspective
and tell them you understand their perspective as well. That you hope they listen to you
as well as to what you want to do…if you feel like they’re not listening to you then talk
to someone who is elder in the family. Because if they’re not listening, you can talk to
your grandparents because they may have different views, or they may be able to talk to
your parents and explain what you want.’
Another woman referenced Islam in her thoughts for anyone who is being pressured to marry, she advised:
“ ‘I would tell them to receive help from the government if they are in Hong Kong. If they
are outside Hong Kong, forced marriages are not even legal for a Muslim man or
woman. In Islam, if a person is forced into marriage, the nikkah [the marriage contract]
is not accepted by God. They are legally not allowed to live with each other. In Islam,
consent between two people is very important. So, whatever the parents say makes no
difference, and if they threaten to kill, we might as well just die.’
2.11 What do they wish for their own daughters in relation to marriage?
This query led to interesting conversations. Although framed as what would they wish for their own
daughters in relation to marriage, several of the women reframed the question as what they would wish for
their children, including their sons.
Some had simple wishes for their daughters:
‘I only wish for her to be happy. I would never give her away for the sake of an elder or
“ any other reasons. She has the right to choose. And if after choosing it doesn’t work out
well, I will never close my doors on her. She’s welcome to come back to me.’
For her own children, another woman expects that:
‘I would really like to be more open. Let her decide when she wants to do it. For me
“ because of the financial situation there was the timing. For my daughter I will be more
financially independent, and I will let her decide. And I will let her choose the person as
long as we can talk about who the person really is – is he suitable or not. I think I’ll be
more open towards that.’
A young woman whose parents arranged her marriage, expressed that:
“ ‘When the right age, we will get her married to a good match. Arranged marriages are
the best for me. My peers don’t have arranged marriages. Before that we have a long
time to complete her secondary education and then after that arrange her marriage.’
For her own daughters, another woman says that:
“ ‘She can choose her own husband and make her own life decisions. Don’t give too much
importance to marriage. Should be her sole decision. She should focus on her career. If
living independently happily on her own then, if mentally and physically [ready] then
she can be happy to marry.’
Tradition remains strong. If she had a daughter, one woman said her daughter ‘can choose when to get
married and who to marry’. She noted that she had not discussed this with her husband, however:
“ ‘I will wish that she can have her own choice and he should be a good person and from
our own side, like from – related – from the family.’
If she had a daughter, a young woman who felt supported by her family said that she would let her daughter
choose a partner for herself but that it was important that her daughter ‘choose the right one’. She saw this
as her responsibility as a parent to ‘show them what is right’. Her advice would be to have qualifications so
that you can always work and that:
“ ‘If you don’t have qualifications and you want to work and some bad times come and
then you want to work you won’t have any choice.’
For the young woman who experienced emotional and physical abuse, she will tell her daughters:
“ ‘I want her to be confident...happy in marriage because I cannot do anything. If she’s

happy then she’s happy. If not, then make your own decisions.’
For those who expressed wishes for all their children, the wish can be simple. For her own children, a
woman wished that they would ‘enjoy their life, marry a nice person, be educated and independent’.
However, for a young woman who was pressured due to family illness to marry earlier than she wished her
thoughts were clear:
‘I need a bachelor’s degree and two years of income in a bank account. Don’t care
“ where the money goes…for every kid it’s the same two years income and a bachelor’s
degree. As long as I have two years of bank statements and a bachelor’s degree then
you can marry. For boys…when you’re able to say sorry to your wife without any reason
then you’re good to marry. Because if you can’t afford a wife, do not get a wife.’
For another young woman who was pressured and suffered emotional and physical abuse from her family,
her priorities for her children were expressed as follows:
‘My number one rule is always to have an open gate for my kids to come to me.
“ Whatever conversation they’re having because I want them to tell me what’s going on
rather than tell someone else.
And when it comes to marriage, they’re more than welcome to tell me their choice and
if they don’t have a choice, I’ll help look for one, but their choice is my number one
priority. It’s my duty to tell them, he’s wrong or right for them, but even after whatever I
say they still want to marry him then they’re more than welcome to go ahead because
you’re responsible for your own choices.
I should be the first person they should listen to and speak to. I have some parents who
are doing this and they’re South Asian as well. I promise you their kids are so... such a
beautiful relationship with their father and I want the same thing as well, whether I like
it or not.’
For her own children in future, a woman who was pressured to marry said that she would want the best for
them regardless of whether they are boys or girls. She said that what is important is to:
“ ‘Build the trust. I wouldn’t force anything on my children because of this pressure or
stress, it really eats you. I don’t want that for anyone.’
2.12 Common Themes
Most of the women are Hong Kong born with the remainder arriving in Hong Kong as children. Whilst
growing up in their family culture, these women have also attended Hong Kong schools and grown up in a
different cultural environment i.e. Hong Kong, to that of most of their parents i.e. Pakistan.
Chart 5: Family Characteristics
A few of the women noted that there was a generational gap between the way their parents interpreted
culture and their views. One gap some of the women commented on is that young South Asian people are
delaying marriage or arranged love marriages or being an active participant in their arranged marriage.
These changes in communities in countries of origin may not be reflected in the community in Hong Kong.
One commonality for this group was that these young women have hopes for their future education and
career. Most of the women were in tertiary education and had plans to work or were already working
outside the home. Some of them noted the difference in their experience from their mothers’ experiences
in which education and work outside the home was not an option. One noted that her mother was
supportive of her children’s education, specifically because she had no formal education herself and did not
want her children to struggle as she had.
The importance of their personal educational goals was apparent as eight of the women asked for the
marriage to be delayed, to enable them to complete a part of their education. In many cases these requests
were not accepted by the parents and the women felt pressured to marry and then in some cases, the
pressure escalated to being forced to marry. The concern for all these women was that if they married, then
they would not be able to complete their education: either because their new husband would not allow this
or because they would be pregnant and unable to complete their education.
Chart 6: Education
Six of the women described emotional abuse and two described physical abuse. In some cases, the women
explained that their parents were worried that if they injured their daughter physically in Hong Kong, this
physical abuse would be obvious (through bruises or cuts) and therefore they restrained themselves or
limited the physical abuse to areas which cannot be easily seen in public. In addition, some of the women
described being held hostage in Hong Kong against their will and being prevented from leaving their family
home or even their own flat until they agreed to the marriage. Two of the women were locked in rooms in
Hong Kong, one in the family flat and one in her own flat.
The descriptions of emotional and physical abuse were told without rancour or bitterness. It was as if the
women anticipated that this may be the reaction to their refusals and resistance. None of the women
expressed ill-feeling towards their parents, even for their part in the abuse.
Chart 7: Women’s Experiences of Pressure and Coercion
All the women of Pakistani ethnic origin were practising Muslims and expressed their awareness of the
potential for them to be seen as disobedient to their parents, which is a severe sin in Islam. For some of the
women, their religion proved to be a source of strength to continue to resist. In the case of one young
woman, at a moment of despair, she felt that her prayers were answered and that she was guided to resist
the marriage.
The overwhelming sense I received from speaking with these women was of their resilience and their sense
of self-belief. These are extraordinary women. Rather than focus on the wrongs that occurred, their focus
was on the future and their belief in their ability to make a better future through their own efforts. For
women who could be seen as victims, as a group they were all working to fulfil their own potential and
exercise agency.
Context
3.1 What is the global context?

UNICEF estimates that 640 million girls and women alive today were married in childhood32. A child
marriage is a forced marriage (United Nations33).
To end the practice globally, progress must be significantly accelerated and sustained. Without
further acceleration, more than 120 million additional girls will marry before their 18th birthday by
203034
In 2015, the Human Rights Council of the United Nations recognised that:
…child, early and forced marriage constitutes a violation, abuse or impairment of human rights and a
harmful practice that prevents individuals from living their lives free from all forms of violence, and
that it has wide-ranging and adverse consequences for the enjoyment of human rights, such as the
right to education and the right to the highest attainable standard of health, including sexual and
reproductive health35
There is an overarching international architecture of treaties and conventions which seek to give legal
weight to human rights and obligations for states to act and protect these rights. The Universal Declaration
of Human Rights (1948) (“UDHR”) provides that ‘marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full
consent of the intending spouses’36. The UDHR is supported by two further instruments - the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“ICCPR”) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, which together constitute part of the International Bill of Human Rights37.
The ICCPR echoes the UDHR and notes that:
No marriage shall be entered into without the full and free consent of the intending spouses38
This right was further clarified specifically in relation to women in the Convention for the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women (“CEDAW”):
1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in
all matters relating to marriage and family relations and in particular shall ensure, on a basis of
equality of men and women:
(e) The same rights to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children
and to have access to the information, education and means to enable them to exercise these
rights;39
The United Nations has adopted the definition of gender-based violence (“GBV”) issues by the Inter-Agency
Standing Committee (a humanitarian coordination forum within the UN):
[GBV] is an umbrella term for any harmful act that is perpetrated against a person’s will and that is
based on socially ascribed (i.e. gender) differences between males and females. It includes acts that
inflict physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion, and other
deprivation of liberty. These acts can occur in public or private40
The IASC includes forced marriage and early marriage as forms of GBV41. Further, given that forced marriage
may also impact boys and men, the IASC notes that some have used GBV to designate forms of violence
‘with the explicit purpose of reinforcing prevailing gender-inequitable norms of masculinity and/or norms of
gender identity’42.
In 2015, the United Nations released Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development, including SDG 5, which seeks to ‘achieve gender equality and empower all
women and girls’43. All 193-member countries signed the SDGs44. The SDGs are intended to provide a
roadmap for addressing various inequalities.
5.1 End all forms of discrimination against women and girls everywhere.
5.2 Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres,
including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
5.3 Eliminate all harmful practices such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital
mutilation45.
The progress on the goals been slow and the United Nations notes that:
At the current rate, it will take an estimated 300 years to end child marriage, 286 years to close gaps
in legal protection and remove discriminatory laws…
…worldwide, nearly half of married women lack decision-making power over their sexual and
reproductive health and rights. 35 per cent of women between 15-49 years of age have experienced
physical and/ or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence46
Progress towards SDG5 and especially forced marriage, is not moving quickly enough to realistically be able
to achieve the SDGs by 2030 and further:
Target 5.1: Based on data collected in 2022 in 119 countries, 55% of the countries lacked laws that
prohibit direct and indirect discrimination against women; …60% of the countries failed to have laws
defining rape based on the principle of consent; …almost a quarter of countries did not grant
women equal rights with men to enter into marriage and initiate divorce; and close to three-
quarters of countries failed to stipulate 18 years as the minimum age of marriage for women and
men, with no exceptions.
Target 5.3: One in five young women worldwide (19%) were married in childhood in 2022. Globally,
the prevalence of child marriage has declined from 21% in 2016. However, the profound effects of
COVID-19 are threatening this progress, with up to 10 million additional girls at risk of child marriage
over the course of a decade from the onset of the pandemic 47
3.2 What is the Hong Kong demographic context?

Forced marriage can happen in any country and within any ethnicity, however as this report focuses on the
experience of the South Asian community in Hong Kong that is the demographic focus of this report.
In Hong Kong, the census conducted in 2021 (the "2021 Census") showed that ethnic minorities (i.e. not
identifying as Chinese) constitute 8.4% (619,568 people) of the total population of which 101,969 people
were South Asians (i.e. Indians, Pakistanis, Nepalese, Bangladeshis, and Sri-Lankans) 48. In relation to South
Asians as an ethnic group49:
● 34.7% over the age of 5 were able to speak Cantonese.

● 39.2% had post-secondary education.
● 78.7% of the male population / 55.2% of the female population was participating in the labour force.
● The median monthly income from employment for males was HKD 21,810 and for females was HKD
13,000.
The number of South Asians in Hong Kong had increased from 65,621 in 2011 to the latest census numbers
of 101,96950. In the period from 2011 to 2021, the three largest groups of South Asians 51:
● the Indian population increased from 28,616 to 42,569

● the Nepalese population increased from 16,518 to 29,701
● the Pakistani population increased from 18,042 to 24,385
In terms of educational attainment, the 2021 Census showed that for people aged 15 years or above 52:
● 2.5% of Indians had no schooling or only pre-primary / 4.5% had completed primary / 8.7% had
completed lower-secondary / 26.2% had completed upper secondary / 58.1% had completed
post-secondary
● 7.2% of Nepalese had no schooling or only pre-primary / 8.7% had completed primary / 12.2% had
post-secondary
● 8.8% of Pakistanis had no schooling or only pre-primary / 14% had completed primary / 13.4% had
post-secondary
3.3 What is the Hong Kong social / cultural context?

The latest statistics from the 2021 Census which showed that South Asian ethnic minorities had more
limited Cantonese language ability, less labour participation and lower levels of educational attainment, are
consistent with the picture drawn by research previously conducted by The Zubin Foundation in partnership
with Plan International Hong Kong and the CCPL (the “Dreams Report”)53. The Dreams Report highlighted
some of the challenges for the Pakistani and Nepalese community in particular in Hong Kong 54:
● Relatively higher rate of unemployment

● Poor educational attainment and low skills set
● Direct or indirect racial discrimination
● Lack of proficiency in Chinese language skills
● Pakistani women only comprised 19.0% of the labour force and their participation declines as their
age increases which is likely due to the significant number who are housewives 55
As summarised by the Dreams Report, the context for Pakistani children in Hong Kong includes:
● ‘live in large, single-income households where mothers tend to be housewives’56
● ‘given the prevalence of early engagement and marriage among Pakistani girls, education beyond
Form 4 or 5 is typically constrained, with prospects for university education being virtually
non-existent for most’57
● ‘Pakistani children are conditioned to believe and accept that their parents will choose their
spouses’… ‘for the girls, it was very important that their partners would allow them to work
after marriage’58
The Dreams Report described ‘a fairly limited role for Pakistani children to choose their life partners’ with
variation in different families59. This reflects the experience shared by most of the interviewees in this
report. Further, the Dreams Report expressed that although a young person may be asked to consent to the
marriage, some said ‘that there was only an illusion of consent’60. The consequences of rejecting a proposal
were seen as bringing disgrace onto the family and even long-term disputes61.
If the marriage proceeds, the Dreams Report highlighted some of the challenges:
[For] Pakistani girls in Hong Kong marrying Pakistani men from Pakistan…the level of orthodoxy will
depend where in Pakistan the husband comes from, city or village. Likewise, when a Hong Kong
Pakistani male marries a woman from Pakistan…however, typically, values of the male head of
household tend to prevail62
These findings are consistent with the views and concerns of most of the interviewees in the narrative
section of this report.
RainLily conducted research in 2018 to consider the experience of South Asian girls in Hong Kong in relation
to gender-based violence (“GBV”) (the "RainLily Survey")63. The RainLily Survey conducted research amongst
three ethnic minority groups, Indian, Nepalese and Pakistani 64 which found that
● '85.1% of the respondents had experienced one or more circumstances of GBV (i.e. GBV refers to
any harmful act that is done against a person’s will and that is based on socially ascribed gender
differences between males and females)'65
● 'most of the respondents did not have a strong view on whether arranged marriage was a kind of
GBV or not' although RainLily notes that the concept of consent is complicated66
● 'only 53% of the respondents had asked someone for help' 67 after experiencing GBV
As explained by RainLily, in relation to marriage:
People's choices are limited by structural, social or cultural constraints. It may not be easy for a girl
to negotiate with their parents, as disobedience would result in social sanction and pressure. There
may be a lack of social support for a girl to take an alternative choice68
It is also notable that for young people from ethnic minorities in Hong Kong, this struggle to establish and
maintain an identity is one they share with the older generations. Elders may have come to Hong Kong as
adults and feel a dislocation from the society they live within and the memories from home.
3.4 What is the Hong Kong legal context?

China is a signatory to various international treaties which apply to Hong Kong 69, including:
● UNDR
● ICCPR
● CEDAW
● Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of
Marriages (1962)
In Hong Kong there is no specific offence of forced marriage. The basic element of a forced marriage, i.e. the
absence of consent, is contained in the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance (Cap. 383) which implements the
ICCPR and provides that:
Article 19(3)
No marriage shall be entered into without the free and full consent of the intending spouses70
This statement provides that for anyone in Hong Kong, they have the right to give free and full consent to a
marriage, however ensuring this right is protected is more challenging. The elements of duress and coercion
which overwhelm the consent of the relevant person may include:
● Emotional and psychological abuse.
● Harassment.
● Financial abuse – restriction of access to money.
● Physical abuse which can include physical and sexual abuse.
● Confining someone against their will.
The behaviour relating to physical / sexual abuse and forcible detention may fall within existing criminal
offences under the Offences against the Person Ordinance (Cap. 212) or the Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 200). If
the confinement does not constitute forcible detention (s. 42 Offences against the Person Ordinance Cap.
212) then it may still constitute the common law offence of false imprisonment in which someone
unlawfully restrains another’s freedom of movement71.
In addition, in Hong Kong it is possible to seek civil remedies if someone has been molested by a relative
which could include an injunction from the court to restrain an offender from using violence against the
applicant or to exclude an offender from a designated property under the Domestic and Cohabitation
Relationships Violence Ordinance (Cap. 189) 72. The injunction granted can:73
● restrain a person from using violence against the person applying for protection or exclude the
offender from a certain area, and
● include a power of arrest can be attached to the injunction which means that the police can arrest
the offender if they are in breach of the injunction.
As noted in P v C:
…molestation may take place without the threat or use of physical violence and still be serious and
inimical to mental and physical health…it applies to any conduct which can properly be described as
such a degree of harassment as to call for the intervention of the court…molest is a wide, plain word
which I would be reluctant to define or paraphrase. In addition, there usually has to be a form of
intent. Harassment, it has to be said, of course, includes within it an element of intent, intent to
cause distress or harm74
The other action which is often a component of forced marriage is transporting people out of Hong Kong to
the country where the marriage will occur. For minors (i.e. under the age of 18), it may be possible for the
Social Welfare Department to make an order to prevent the removal of a child from Hong Kong.
For adults who are being transported for the purposes of marriage, they may be subject to duress or
deception e.g. the trip is for a relative’s wedding. There is no specific legal provision which addresses the
transportation of adults.
The provisions above deal primarily with the situation prior to the marriage occurring. Once the marriage
has occurred, the focus becomes exit from the marriage. In Hong Kong, a lack of valid consent is a ground
for annulment of the marriage, ‘whether that is due to duress, mistake, unsoundness of mind or
otherwise’75.
Although the annulment provision exists it has been difficult in practice for parties to seek annulment on
this ground if the marriage was officiated as a Muslim marriage as the Hong Kong court’s jurisdiction is
limited to monogamous marriages 76. The view was that Muslim marriages were potentially polygamous and
therefore the Hong Kong court did not have jurisdiction 77.
In the recent reported case of RM v AY78, the Hong Kong court accepted jurisdiction to annul the marriage in
2023. Further the judge accepted the petitioner’s evidence of the coercion and duress which forced her to
marry. As the judge noted:
I accept [her] evidence and find her credible…I also accept that her fear has pervaded from the time
when this assault took place…until the time of the wedding…I also accept that she has lived in fear
of continuous violence from her father79
There are some protections available to people being forced to marry, however, none of these routes is
easy. Each path requires courage and determination from the person seeking protection from being forced
to marry or in securing an exit from the forced marriage.
3.5 Why do forced marriages continue to occur?

As with any practice, forced marriages continue because they continue to meet specific needs. These can
range from:
● ‘cultural codes designed to maintain hierarchies of power, pool resources and direct wealth’ 80. This
may mean an endogamous marriage i.e. ‘keeping family property (land)…Islam provides woman
right to inherit property from her father so in feudal families they prefer to cousin marriages or
marriage in the close family member, in this way the property will remain in the family custody and
will not alienate out of the family’81.
● ‘maintaining values of personal and family honour’ 82 which may relate to seeking to control the
behaviour of young people and prevent them from dishonouring the family e.g. inappropriate sexual
relationships / behaviour. ‘The idea concerning honour (izat) of a man is connected to the sexual
conduct of a woman. Her sexuality is viewed as an expected danger to family’s honour’83.
● Poverty, for example girls may be seen as an economic burden to the family ‘in some tribes and
territories, making expenses on girls is deemed useless because ultimately they would be married
away to live and work for some other household…such mindset believes that girls are economic
burden’84 and it has been shown that ‘where poverty is acute, there is a higher risk of child
marriage…[and] dowry also serves as an incentive for poor families’ 85.
● seeking to provide financial or other support for a person with a disability.
● a ‘strategy to culturally rejuvenate children brought up’ outside the desired culture 86
● providing immigration opportunities for the spouse to come to Hong Kong or another country e.g. in
the UK, one study found that ‘about a third of the women and men who contacted [the Forced
Marriage Unit] were ‘reluctant sponsors’ who had been forced into a marriage abroad and were
being made to sign sponsorship forms for their new spouse’s visa’87.
● a servile marriage where the spouse is intended to provide labour for the family and the marriage is
a pretext.
● forced conversions, for example, in Pakistan young girls and women from religious minorities have
been abducted, forcibly converted to Islam and married to their abductors 88.
● a campaign of sexual violence as part of an armed conflict89.
In Hong Kong, based on the interviews the motivations for forced marriages were typically limited to three
main reasons:
● Firstly, women were told that they needed to obey their parents or family’s wishes as this accorded
with cultural beliefs about honour and obedience. The resistance to the marriage was framed as a
betrayal of their family obligations and even their religion. Disobedience is considered a sin in Islam
and most of the interviewees are devout Muslims, and they were aware of the challenges of refusing
to comply with their family’s wishes. Several of the interviewees mentioned the implications for
their family's honour of a refusal.
● Next, the forced marriage was often consanguineous and was designed to maintain connections
with family. There are various reasons why these marriages are encouraged, it can come from a
desire to keep strong links with family in the country of origin, or it can be to demonstrate
compliance with family elders. None of the interviewees mentioned a financial rationale for a cousin
marriage, although the literature would suggest that securing property within a family is often a key
consideration. Another reason for consanguineous marriages, is that some of the women explained
that as everyone is in the same family, there was believed to be a higher chance of help from elders
in the event of any future problems.
● Lastly, interviewees were explicit that a rationale for some of these marriages was to secure
immigration status for the incoming spouse. Having the right to live and work in Hong Kong is seen
as valuable to the foreign spouse and their family. This can be a strong motivation for
encouraging marriage.
There also remains a group of parents who believe in their right to make these decisions for their children,
regardless of their child’s views. For those from Pakistan now living in Hong Kong, some beliefs may also
be misleading:
There is a common misconception among parents in Pakistan that marrying children without their
consent is permissible under Sharia, mainly using the parental authority as guardians and
custodians. Various narratives exist among different sections of Pakistani society that (sic) which
defend forced marriages based on their own interpretations of the rules from the Holy Quran and
Sunnah…by those made among rigid and conservative section (sic) of the Pakistani religion (sic). This
kind of beliefs (sic) arise due to intermingling of the social and cultural practices with Sharia values.
This confusion results in favouring the conducting of forced marriage of their children…considering
forced marriages as purely Islamic…and allowing children marrying with their own choice as Western
concept90
Religious Leaders
Introduction
In preparation for this report, religious leaders in Hong Kong were asked, ‘what does your religion say about
forced and child marriage?’. Religious leaders from Islam and Hinduism were engaged to share their
thoughts as our interviewees came from these religions. Their responses are as below.
Islam is a religion which believes in a strong

foundation of family relationships. Marriage is the
first unit of society, it must be based on love and
Muhammad Arshad mutual understanding between couples. Islam
Chief Imam Hong Kong
Kowloon Mosque and
encourages its followers to have a marriage and
Islamic Centre instructs them to choose the one you love. The
Holy Book Quran say in Chapter 4 verse No 3
“So, marry whatever pleases you”
Islam also asks that marriage should be with mutual consent of both, there is no room for forced marriage,
the parents can advise and guide but their will cannot impose on them for their future decision about
the marriage.
In the saying of Holy Prophet Muhammad PBUH

Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet (‫ )ﷺ‬said, "A matron should not be given in marriage except after consulting her; and a virgin
should not be given in marriage except after her permission." The people asked, "O Allah's Messenger (‫!)ﷺ‬
How can we know her permission?" He said, "Her silence (indicates her permission).
In Islamic Jurisprudence the marriage is given the name “contract”. The contract can never be completed
without consent of both. In an Islamic Marriage the husband is asked at the time of marriage ceremony
whether he accepts the proposed girl as his wife and the girl is asked whether she accepts her fiancée as
her husband, if both agree then the marriage is completed.
From a religious standpoint, marriage is clearly

understood as the union of 2 equal individuals for the
purpose that they may support each other in their
responsibilities, in the pursuit of knowledge, and pleasure,
Swamini Supriyanada
and in the combined growth in age as well as emotionally,
Chinmaya Mission
intellectually, and spiritually. Hong Kong
Scriptures divide our lifespan into 4 stages: student,

household, retirement and renunciation. Marriage marks
the beginning of the second stage of life as a householder.
In this stage, both partners share the responsibility to look after the parents as they age, the young children
they have, and people dedicated to spiritual work, such as monks. In the marriage stage of life, pleasure,
wealth, power, and status can be pursued within the limits of righteousness.
In sections of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, advice is shared as to how to conduct oneself as a wife, or
husband. For instance, it imparts to us the importance of having respect for the spouse and never criticising
them in public. Rather, if something unpleasant has to be said, it may be done in private in a gentle way.
But, beyond this, religion has not more to add to the topic of marriage.
Marriages are more influenced by culture, rather than by religion, even though there is a tendency that
most families want their children to marry within the religion. In the past, there has been a more male-
dominant culture in both the East and the West. Accordingly, women were seen to be married off with little
choice. To some extent, a girl was seen as a burden for she would continue in the family and would take
wealth with her as she was wedded. Those with this perspective sometimes failed to educate the girls
thinking there was no value in doing so and tended to want to marry them off quickly to be done with
their responsibility.
Changing times have shown that educating girls improves the quality of intelligence of both genders of the
next generation, as mothers have a huge influence over young minds. The mental health and self-esteem of
the mother also have very significant effects on the next generation. Amid times of war and, more recently,
during the COVID-19 pandemic, daughters were relied upon to do things that would be considered more
male responsibility – and it has been seen they rise to the occasion. These testing times prove more that the
strength of women really does determine the strength of the family and the community. Valuing our
daughters is not only valuing our future, but increasing our strength even in the present.
Hong Kong Perspectives

Introduction
Several participants from Hong Kong civil society were asked for their thoughts about forced marriage in
relation to two queries:
● What is your experience of forced marriage in Hong Kong?

● What are your recommendations to address forced marriage in Hong Kong?
The ideas and views shared below are from the perspectives shared by the individuals below. Where noted
the words used are direct quotations.
The Zubin Foundation

Hong Kong
By Shalini Mahtani
How does The Zubin Foundation come across forced marriage cases?
The Zubin Foundation has come across victims of forced marriage since 2018. Women have come to us
either directly in search of assistance on forced marriage or indirectly through our other programmes, their
siblings, or educational institute.
What is the profile of victims of forced marriage in Hong Kong?
There are two main profiles of forced marriage victims in Hong Kong:
● Older women, who came to Hong Kong a while ago, sometimes have lived in Hong Kong for decades.
They are mostly ethnically Pakistani. They have had children in Hong Kong and mostly have many
children, a family with 4 to 6 children is not uncommon. They would mostly contact The Zubin
Foundation, not about their forced marriage, but about another issue, for example, applying for
food because of poverty, domestic violence, wanting to seek legal information on divorce upon
learning about a husband’s extramarital affair or another marriage, wishing to attend a life skills
women’s empowerment project or in some other way. We learn that they are victims of forced
marriage, many having married under the age of 18 to Hong Kong Pakistani men. They have lived
with a forced marriage and have seemed to accept it.
● Younger women, who this report focuses on. Some come to us:
o Directly: A young woman is being confined at home, literally locked in a room because she
refuses to marry. Or they want to escape because they know in a few days, weeks, they will be
taken to Pakistan to marry, even if they have said they don’t want to. Or, they have decided to
go ahead with the forced marriage because the coercion they face is great and real, the threat
of removing all their siblings from school in Hong Kong or divorcing their mother.
o Indirectly: Through our various programmes at The Zubin Foundation.
What are the conflicts that women face?
Our experience has been that young women struggle emotionally when confronted with forced marriage.
They want to make their parents happy, and they do not want to cause pain to their family, but they also
want to fulfil their own dreams. Their dreams may seem reasonable to many, but in their cultural context,
these dreams may be seen as lofty and unreasonable by their parents:
● To receive a university education
● To work and be financially independent
● To enter a loving marriage, where their parents choose the husband and give consent, but
not forced
Most of these women face both intergenerational conflicts, and intercultural conflicts. Their parents are of
an older generation and are often far more attached to the ancestral homeland, bearing values from that
time. The children tend to have more contemporary values. The traditional values of their parents are in
direct conflict with their own.
How does The Zubin Foundation help women victims of forced marriage?
Every woman is different, and it is our policy to not tell a woman what she should do. We believe that if she
is over 18, she must make decisions for herself. We know that forced marriage situations can be complex.
Our job is to offer her a listening ear and support should she want it. Our support to victims has included
providing counselling support, engaging emergency services or safe homes, and offering support during
family mediation.
Observations:
● There is hope: Tertiary Education levels amongst girls are increasing.

Over the last four years, The Zubin Foundation has seen a significant rise in the number of young
ethnic minority females seeking tertiary education in Hong Kong. This demonstrates that marriage is
being delayed and we are unsure how this may impact forced marriage going forward.
● Obtaining Hong Kong Residence is a key driver.

Immigration to Hong Kong is one of the key reasons that forced marriages take place, according to
women we have worked with. Obtaining Hong Kong residence for a close relative (who becomes the
husband) also tightens familial relationships in the ancestral village.
● Fear of men.
Fear is prevalent in the lives of these women; they tend to fear their father and then their husband.
● Lack of close friendships and support.

We have found that young women do not tend to speak about their impending forced marriage with
their friends, according to the “Dreams of Pakistani Children” Report, 2019. This is because they feel
embarrassed and humiliated to admit that they will have a forced marriage. As a result, they are
unable to support each other.
● One woman, two forced marriages?
In one forced marriage case we have worked on, the parents were supportive that the couple should
get divorced. However, after the divorce, they began to pressure their daughter to enter another
forced marriage.
Dr Arfeen Bibi
Educator, Hong Kong
Arfeen shared her thoughts as an educator who has worked with girls who have been forced into marriage.
One of her observations was that girls who lack aspirations for their future are particularly vulnerable to
being forced to marry. They may be ‘very easy going, they’re not self-directed, they do not have goals set for
them’. She has seen cases where girls are taken to their parents’ hometown [in Pakistan] with the excuse
that they are attending a family wedding and when they arrive, they are told that they will be married.
“ ‘When they’re in that situation, they’re trapped because they do not know who to go
to…in order to get out of the situation they had to agree to the marriage.’
In one case, upon return to Hong Kong the girl was supposed to apply for a dependent visa for the husband,
however she did not do so and ‘her family severed ties with her’. In these situations, the family may use
‘emotional blackmail’ and refer to the ‘family’s honour’ or even that this is the ‘best partner that you can
get’. In the end girls can feel that there are no choices for them.
Another challenge with forced marriage, is that the cultural gap between girls raised and educated in Hong
Kong and boys from Pakistan can be significant.
“ ‘The girl raised in Hong Kong, she cannot get accustomed to their way of life…it works
both ways. They both cannot get used to each other’s way of life and it ends in
tragedy…it ends in divorce, separation, or some other problem. So, if the girl is not
financially independent, [the parents] will ask her to stay in this toxic relationship.’
She was concerned that some parents ‘get their daughters married because they see them as a burden’. A
financial burden ‘and they want to pass it on to someone’. In addition, ‘some [parents] might even come
under the influence of their own relatives because the relatives want to send their son out to Hong Kong’.
Arfeen explained that this attitude may also be supported by the bias against divorce in society. There is an
unwillingness to speak on these issues.
Arfeen also highlighted that Islam is “very beautiful and I feel it’s so misrepresented.” “there is a lot of
prejudice, bigotry about Islam…but actually [we need to] look at culture and actually look at religion as a
support for people”.
As an educator, Arfeen had several recommendations:
● Empowerment of young children – boys and girls – ‘I completely believe that it’s important to
empower girls from a young age. A lot of time we just focus on the girls. In the patriarchal structure
boys can also be victims as well as girls’… ‘assisting girls with building and nurturing their aspirations,
I think this is the biggest thing a school can do. School has a very major role to play’
● Invest in educating parents – ‘this is about what are the opportunities for your children in Hong
Kong. What are the educational opportunities so you kind of get them in love with that idea and
then the course of marriage may be that piece that goes away…invite [parents] to talks. Have talks
for them, even maybe you can have talks for mothers in their own language? You can ask the girls to
bring their mothers…talk to them about why education is so important. Why not cite cases of girls
who ended up in bad marriages, and [also] what about the success cases? Who was able to put
themselves together, get a job, be independent? The parents are the key to achieving something
better or just to push [the children] into a kind of life that you probably did not envision for yourself.
So, they have to think about whether they are making the right choice for their child?’
● Role models within the community - ‘role models are important, so important because they give
hope to young people. It helps them to build their aspirations because then you see that there is a
possibility and you start envisioning for yourself. A lot of our youth cannot find that within their own
family, so if they can see within the community that is very important’
● Importance of community leaders to speak up about difficult issues – ‘preach for the betterment of
the community. A lot of family problems are never addressed…you need to destigmatize things. You
don’t need to do an hour conversation…but [if you talk about issues] then we can talk about this.
[Then] it’s not taboo…normalising things so that people can have a conversation’
● Deepening understanding of religion – ‘understanding religion is so important. …I have said to my

students ‘have you tried to go to the sources? The books? To read yourself?’ Because that’s what I
do. I went to the sources, I read about it, I tried to understand and I came to all these conclusions
myself. You need to educate yourself, you can’t just rely on other people’s interpretation. You’ve got
to interpret for yourself. A lot of times we blindly follow traditions…we tend to substantiate or justify
cultural practices with religious references. Islam tells you, encourages us to question,
think, reflect’
Kay K.W. Chan

Barrister-at-law, ‘Call Mira’ Legal Lead, Hong Kong
Kay explained that he intersects with forced marriage when he is approached for legal advice on procedural
remedies or formulating an action plan. Based on his experience he had some observations about the cases
he has seen:
The girls are young, Hong Kong educated, all of South Asian origin…I used to expect the
“ pressure will be from fathers, but my experience has shown me that it’s not just men.
Sometimes the women are the worst culprit, elders…the emotional trauma that…I hear
about is very much practised by the mothers…you would expect women to be helping
women, but it turns out that things will be done to pressurise the girls from the
mothers... The good thing is that the people who usually step up to help will be the
women, the sisters or the cousins.’
Kay said that in addition to the emotional pressure and aggression, financial pressure is another method
used to pressure his clients. Either they ‘cut off the client’s financial resources or they threaten to cut off
other people’s financial resources if they don’t’ return to the family, or ‘the aggressor will create a situation
where other families would suffer to get the client to go back’ to the family. In the cases he has worked on
‘physical violence is quite, quite normal’.
In his view, ‘forced marriage to a lot of police officers is alien, a very alien idea’. Given that there is no
specific criminal offence, Kay explained that you need to frame what has happened in a criminal offence, a
narrative that the police can engage with e.g. assault, underage.
For recommendations, Kay suggested:
● Education for social welfare / police / immigration – ‘so that if the police are called to a home, they
have a context for what’s happening, at least they’re alert’ to the risk of forced marriage. And for
the Immigration Department they ‘should be trained to look at the data…should there be a red
flag? All that is needed [at the airport] is just for someone to raise an alarm’
● Revolution of thinking – ‘it took Hong Kong 50 years to change the culture or practice of arranged
marriage’ [following the Matrimonial Causes Ordinance (1967)] ‘you also take a revolution of
thinking of a generation’
● Legislation – ‘if the underlying acts to create that situation [of forced marriage] should be
criminalised. I think it should…when you look at a problem that is a minority problem…attention
goes where there’s scale and yes for these cases they might be terrible [but]…it’s not affecting tens
of thousands of people in Hong Kong. If you can find one case you can dominate the narrative
● Education for lawyers – ‘should there be more people to do the helpline stuff? Yes, lawyers,
solicitors, barristers, should be able to do more pro bono work. Get yourself familiar with different
areas of work so that you can advise on these cases. Because forced marriage is not just criminal, it
launches a family case. There’s a lot of different areas that come together. Law schools should be
teaching students’
Patricia Ho
Solicitor, Hong Kong
Founder, Hong Kong Dignity Institute, Hong Kong
Due to Patricia’s work on drafting the Modern Slavery Bill91 in around 2016 she has focused on the problem
of human trafficking in general. ‘People from the South Asian legal community…suggested that I should look
into forced marriage as well’. Patricia (Patsy) comments that despite having worked in the human rights
space for around 10 years by that time, she had not been aware of forced marriage in Hong Kong ‘because
the cases weren’t coming forward’.
Then a client approached her from an NGO who was seeking assistance as to what she could do to exit the
forced marriage. This case resulted in an annulment of the marriage and was reported92.
‘And we were surprised to find a lot of hurdles as soon as we started…because it was a
“ Muslim marriage there was a huge question around the courts’ jurisdiction because the
marriage, in theory, was potentially polygamous, and there were views that the judiciary
wouldn’t deal with it…more surprising to us was how extremely difficult the entire
process was.’
Patsy noted that the client and her firm were exposed to threats from male members of the client’s family.
‘The case went to court very promptly and it became quite obvious that this case would
“ be dealt with by the judiciary…so they tried to threaten us [and then] they realised that
it wasn’t going to go anywhere. And then after all those threatening attacks failed, they
actually started to negotiate…we could take some parts of the process ex parte [without
notice to the other side] and I think that offered some security.’
Patsy noted that although the Chief Imam in Hong Kong is clear about forced marriage being “un-Islamic”,
the threats would include sentiments that the actions being taken by her client attacks their religion. ‘It was
surprising how ugly it all was at the time’. Patsy notes that for law firms this is another factor to consider
when doing the work.
The client needs to be supported in more ways than a typical family law client. This additional level of work
and support allows the client to trust us. ‘You know we were quite open with each other about how difficult
the matter was, so for the girl I think she felt like we were a team’. Patsy also highlighted that:
“ ‘The critical path for her was that she had very loyal, wonderful friends who walked with
her through the entire process. From the first time she came into the office to every
single time she came to us. I don’t know if she would have been able to do all of that
without them.’
This extraordinary level of emotional support is not available to everyone. Patsy notes that they have
worked with other clients who do not have this level of support and who may seek advice but ‘when they
start understanding what the process might be, it’s too daunting’.
‘Shame for the family hangs over everything they do and quite a lot of them are
“ prepared to sacrifice themselves rather than bring shame to the family…when I see
them they will come across as being fairly independent, strong-minded, modern,
clearly well-educated. Their concepts of rights and freedoms are not dissimilar to any
other women or local girls you come across. But they will go away and then something
happens and I think their other cultural obligations will overshadow these thoughts…
it’s so much deeper – but it’s very much about their personal identity and their
personal worth that comes into the whole thing. [The cultural obligations are] just
too significant…they’ll go to the extent of running away from home, going to safe
houses, coming to talk to us, realising everything is quite severe but yet not take
anything further.’
In relation to the case, Patsy explained that when it was clear that the family would either agree to have the
marriage annulled or the court would order annulment, the family said:
‘Come back home and we will do whatever you want. You’re shaming the family, tell her
“ she’s shaming the family. It’s shameful and above all it’s against religion. Come back
home and then we will treat her well. We’ll deal with everything privately.’
Patsy noted that for solicitors working in this area there are several challenges:
● Difficult legal questions – ‘[the client] had to be reassured by what the law can do to protect her
every step of the way otherwise she would succumb’.
● Novel challenges for law firms working in this area – ‘as a law firm, you learn all of this on
the ground’.
● Working with Legal Aid – Legal Aid deals with standard family law cases and is not designed to
cover the extra level of support and engagement work that was necessary.
In terms of recommendations, Patsy noted that the Modern Slavery Bill specifically creates a definition of
forced marriage and an offence of ‘causing another person to enter a forced marriage and being a party to
(but not the victim of) a forced marriage’. As Patsy notes cases may ‘come to light before they’re forcibly
married’ so there is a need for preventative orders e.g. stop people being removed from the jurisdiction,
injunctions, etc.
Puja Kapai
Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong
Puja is currently conducting a research study on forced marriage to be published in early 2024.
In Puja’s experience, requests for urgent assistance usually coincide with the long holidays. She may act as
the conduit to set up resources to facilitate the journey of forced marriage victims, not always leading to a
break with the family or community, but providing ‘room to think’, as she says ‘the fundamental challenge is
about choice’. Puja noted that in the short term there are resources, however, in Hong Kong there is ‘no
viability for long term options.’
Puja explained that she has found that girls / women who approached her ‘knew about their rights’ and
that ‘most of them have done their research.’ They needed her to be their ‘sounding board’:
‘I think I can relate to where they’re coming from. You know on paper you have rights,
“ but you’re stuck in a space between loyalty and betrayal; good versus dishonourable
women; choosing oneself or choosing family and community. You have an intellectual
understanding of your rights and what you are entitled to. At the same time, you also
have an emotional understanding of how your life is organised, your needs and how
these connect or conflict with your loved ones’ desires, dreams and expectations.’
If someone decides to leave their family, then there needs to be ‘a life cycle approach’ to address their
evolving needs depending on the situation.
‘When you leave, all your avenues of familiarity are gone and you’re traversing that
“ terrain of isolation. For many women in the community, their sense of identity is derived
from who they are in relation to their community. Without community, they cannot
make sense of their lives. That vacuum is all consuming and can’t be filled with money,
or by people saying ‘You’re a champion! You’re so brave to have left…’
…sometimes after you connect women to resources there may be opportunities for
reconciliation with family – however, there’s so much acrimony and service providers or
social workers can feel aggrieved with the women and girls for trying to reconcile with
the ‘oppressor’ despite their hard work to ‘save them’…[they] don’t respect the women,
don’t recognise the need for the women to reconnect. This pressure to live up to yet
another set of paternalistic expectations inhibits women’s autonomy and capacity to
exercise choice.’
Puja advised that we need ‘personalised and contextualised responses’ from professionals – in
circumstances where a woman does want to reconnect with her family, professionals need to think about
‘how do I set things up in a way that doesn’t compromise on safety...they need to safely and meaningfully
help women rationalise whatever their decision is, assess consequences and risks, and empower them to
exercise their choices effectively’.
Azan Marwah
Barrister-at-law, Hong Kong
Azan shared his experience of representing victims of forced marriage in Hong Kong.
Azan explained that ‘there were real concerns about [girls] finishing school, [having] a place to live’ and
such girls ‘[want] to have contact with [their] famil[ies] which is of course a little bit dangerous’. As Azan
described it:
‘I remember [one] father – he said – send her home – because she needs to be safe. He
“ said, I’m the one to keep her safe, but [he] beat her…this is the perspective of the
fathers…they believe that what they’re doing is in the best interests of their children.’
Given these experiences, Azan had several ideas for how to address forced marriage:
● There needs to be a clear criminal offence for forced marriage – ‘the way these problems resolve is
by social change and part of that is having declaratory standards of conduct that people can
become familiar with’.
● Ensuring girls / women can complete their education – ‘girls who finish university are…almost never
trafficked…and those who finish university are at much less risk than those who are married
beforehand’.
● Address poverty – ‘there are two kinds of poverty, there’s financial poverty and there’s social
poverty. For women like [that]…they need their society. Their society is their capital and to be
turned away from – to turn away from a forced marriage or an enforced arranged proposal – is
actually to deny your family and result in being expelled from your family. And that is so costly that
you…most people would say it’s not worth it…poverty is definitely an enemy; social isolation is
definitely an enemy. Forced marriages are simply a symptom of those larger problems.’
● ‘Nudge people to choose the right thing’ – ‘[at] a seminar… [a father] shared his testimony…and
how he basically pushed his daughter into an arranged marriage…He described the aftermath and
basically said “I ruined my daughter’s life” and I found that very powerful. For people to know that
1) this is not acceptable and 2) to know what the probable outcome is, the increased exposure to
domestic violence, the increased risk that your daughter will have fewer long-term options, then
people will choose an alternative’.
● Guidance from religious leaders – ‘in the mediaeval period when Mohammed introduced the
Muslim marriage rules, when that happened, they were revolutionary compared to any society;
European, African, Arab – revolutionary to say women must consent to their marriage. People don’t
choose this as a matter of religion, it’s not their religion, it’s a social norm amongst certain groups’.
● Practical support for victims – ‘they need to have housing, they need to make sure that they have
an option to finish their education (effectively CSSA or social assistance) …they need to have a
comprehensive system to provide people with a society community support so when they leave
[the crisis] refuge they are not alone’.
● Education for first responders – ‘the people who should be responding whether that’s lawyers,
social workers, doctors, refugee housing, these other groups who come into contact, they need to
be educated about the legal solutions and also educated about the support that is there’.
Former Judge (FJ) Sharon Melloy

Former Judge, Hong Kong
In 2023, the first forced marriage case was reported (RM v AY [2023] HKFC 59) however, FJ Melloy notes that
in her experience there were other cases which are relevant to this discussion which were filed in the Family
Court during her tenure. They did not present ‘forced marriage’ cases, ‘they were just presenting their
stories’. This included cases which may have been described as a false marriage seeking divorce, rather than
referring to the concept of forced marriage.
FJ Melloy described a few cases which echo the international experience of forced marriage impacting
women, men, and those with disabilities. None of these cases was reported:
● A young man was sent to Hong Kong to marry from Pakistan. However, when he arrived his
passport was taken away and he worked. ‘I don’t think he had relations with the woman’. He had
applied for divorce.
● A young Hong Kong man who was mentally disabled had an arranged marriage with a woman from
Lebanon and he was seeking a divorce.
● A young woman from Pakistan who was illiterate and was unable to speak English or Cantonese was
brought to Hong Kong to marry. On arrival she was treated as a servant in a three generational
family. She was ill-treated and she was beaten. She had one child…then they took the son away
from her and she had no contact…she went out to the market and then didn’t go home…maybe she
went to the mosque for assistance, but it was a distant relative who helped her. Provided her with
some form of accommodation and helped her to go to Legal Aid…she was petrified because she
believed that she would be killed if she was sent back to Pakistan…she just wanted to have a
relationship with her son…it wasn’t reported because it wasn’t a fully contested case’.
In terms of facilitating family law solutions such as annulment or divorce, FJ Melloy noted that ‘legislative
change within the family sphere generally takes such a long time to become effective.’
Dr Rizwan Ullah
Vice Principal, Member of the Equal Opportunities Commission, District Councillor, Hong Kong
Rizwan noted that it is important to differentiate between forced and arranged marriage as two distinct
terms. As he explains, Islam says:
“ ‘…children, the son or the daughter have the say as well, whether or not they are happy
with these arrangements. Of course, time has changed and parents do listen to their
kids whether they are okay with marriage arrangements or if they [the parents] have
some advice and then they make their choices…’
For situations of forced marriage, which can also happen to boys as well as girls, Rizwan says:
“ ‘And these kids don't know what they can say no to and then they don’t know how to
bring this up and seek help. Partly this can be attributed to whether the family and the
kid themselves, do they have a good rapport for honest dialogue – a channel where they
can talk about different things.’
A key difference for the experience of boys and girls, is that boys have mobility and ‘they can walk away
from it, but for the female, it might be a little more difficult to get out of the situation’.
As advice, Rizwan had some ideas for how to approach this issue:
● Change the focus of parental attention to a good mental upbringing of their kids with a priority on
education, putting the priority on their whole person development.
● Hong Kong is a very competitive society – we have to equip our children for all of these challenges.
● If your kids are determined to have a career pathway and they seek your blessing and they seek
your support who would be talking about getting married?
● Reconciling the differences is key so if I want to make parents think differently, then affect their
thinking – public education and awareness are the things – use real life stories as powerful
messages.
Global Responses
6.1 Introduction
As a global issue, forced marriage has seen a range of responses from different countries. Interventions
occur from prior to the forced marriage i.e. education, prohibitions on travel, to interventions which
address the aftermath of forced marriage i.e. exit mechanisms, support for victims.
The Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (“FECCA”) conducted a literature review
(“FECCA Review”) and considered the different underlying theoretical typology for forced marriage as
leading to different approaches 93:
● Gender-based family violence – ‘Forced Marriage is a manifestation of gender-based violence and

family violence’ and responses include a ‘push for civil reforms…such as protection orders for
adults…also calls for criminalisation based on domestic violence’.
● Honour Based Violence – ‘Forced Marriage is a product of a cultural norm of maintaining ‘honour’.
While linked to gender-based violence, it is linked to the desire to preserve cultural practices and
values within new migrant communities’ which means that ‘criminalisation is important as it clearly
outlines what is not acceptable in [relevant jurisdiction]’.
● Vulnerabilities / intersectionality approach – ‘Key vulnerability indicators include gender, age,

migration / visa status, disability, position in the community, conservatism of family and the
community etc.’ and therefore the focus is ‘addressing the underlying vulnerabilities and structural
disadvantages leading to [forced marriage] and …requires change from within communities’.
● Human trafficking / slavery – ‘Forced Marriage is linked to human trafficking and slavery. It must be
addressed through specific criminal legislation and migration provisions. Criminal intervention [is]
needed to bring perpetrators to justice and a civil response to enable protected movement of
people’.
The theoretical bases for forced marriage are not exclusive and as a complex issue there can be difficulty in
separating the strands that lead a family or a community to support this practice. As is shown by the FECCA
review, the beliefs around the causes of forced marriage have led to a variety of responses globally such as:
● Criminalisation of forced marriage: some states have created specific criminal offences regarding
forced marriage e.g. Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Austria, Norway, several US states,
Australia, Canada, Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Rwanda, etc.
● Immigration legislation: for example, the United Kingdom has increased the age for sponsorship of
a spousal visa from 18 to 21, or Denmark ‘requiring that couples with one person living outside of
Denmark must be 24 years of age to reunify’94.
● Civil remedies: ‘the UK in particular has adopted Forced Marriage Protection Orders, whereby
victims are able to obtain a protection order through family courts in a way similar to those used in
situations of domestic violence’ 95.
● Community-based response and social change: ‘(1) promoting the education and economic
empowerment of girls, (2) awareness and engagement with local communities, and (3) building
capacity of services and support for victims’96.
6.2 Forced marriage is a criminal offence: Australia

Australia has a federal criminal offence of forced marriage. The Australian Government ‘prioritised a
punitive approach (criminalisation), over protective legislation (civil protection order to those at risk of
forced marriage)’ as part of the National Plan to Combat Human Trafficking and Slavery 97. In 2013, Australia
introduced a specific federal criminal offence for forced marriage98. These offences were later included as
conduct which would constitute modern slavery under the Modern Slavery Act 2018 99. The components of
the offence include:
● ‘One party to the marriage (the victim) entered into the marriage without freely and fully
consenting…because of the use of coercion, threat or deception, or because the party was
incapable of understanding the nature and effect of the marriage ceremony; or, either party to the
marriage (the victim) was under 16’ (s. 270.7A(1))
● A marriage conducted in Australia or overseas (s. 270.7A(2))
● ‘A person under 16 years of age is presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to be incapable of
understanding the nature and effect of a marriage ceremony’ (s. 270.7A (4))
● Penalties for forced marriage range from 7 to 9 years imprisonment (s. 270.7B)
● Further if a victim is under the age of 18 and is taken overseas for the purpose of forced marriage
this may constitute a trafficking in children offence, with a penalty of up to 25 years
imprisonment100
Since 2013, the Australian Federal Police (“AFP”) have not had a single conviction for the offence of forced
marriage. Some cases do proceed through the criminal process although these have not resulted in
convictions. As noted by Commander Hilda Sirec who leads an AFP team that investigates child trafficking,
the unit struggles to prosecute offenders as many victims do not want to speak out against their families
who are the perpetrators101. They have received reports of forced marriage as set out below:
Chart 7: Australian Federal Police, Reports Received on Forced Marriages
Source: Human trafficking reports received by the AFP102
One key challenge may be the ‘reluctance of victims to expose family members to prosecution, and the fact
that most reports to the AFP concern circumstances where, because the marriage has not yet occurred, ‘an
offence against Australian law may not have been committed’ 103. A 2020 case led to two hung juries, for a
defendant who was alleged to have forced an asylum seeker to marry his 15-year-old daughter104.
The reporting numbers remain low, and the AFP commented that:
We know that human trafficking is an under-reported crime type. Many victims feel ashamed or
confused about what’s happened to them and those feelings are leveraged by offenders to maintain
their silence. We hope that with an increase in public awareness, people who would have otherwise
remained silent now feel empowered to report their experiences to the AFP105
In order to address the lack of awareness about forced marriage within law enforcement, the AFP launched
an initiative called the Look-a-Little-Deeper (‘LALD’) program to raise awareness about human trafficking
including forced marriage; the indicators of human trafficking and how to report suspected cases106. The
LALD program is estimated to have been delivered to more than 140,000 members of state, territory, and
Commonwealth agencies over four years107.
There have been several high-profile cases in Australia in which women have been killed by their husbands
following forced marriages. In 2021, Mohammad Ali Halimi (aged 26) was convicted of murder and
sentenced to 19 years imprisonment after murdering Ruqia Haidari (aged 21), his wife of six weeks108.
Halimi had paid a dowry of AUD15,000 to Ms Haidari’s family109. Halimi told the police that he knew Ms.
Haidari had been forced into the marriage and that she was pushed by her parents110.
This case is revealing as although many of the reported cases concern children below the age of 16, in this
case the victim was 21 at the time of the marriage. This reflects the experience of the Australian Muslim
Women’s Centre for Human Rights:
…young women between the ages of 16 and 25 are most commonly at risk of forced marriage and
often lack the maturity to fully understand the meaning and impact of entering a marriage111
The Australian Government has created specialised teams to investigate forced marriage within the AFP
who work in conjunction with State and Territory police112. The AFP can refer victims to a Support Program
run by the Red Cross and funded by the Department of Social Services 113.
The Support Program provides victims with 200 days of intensive and holistic support without a
requirement for them to participate in the criminal justice system 114. In addition, victims in Australia may
also seek assistance from MyBlueSky.org.au which is a national forced marriage service run by Anti-Slavery
Australia at the University of Technology Sydney which was established with seed funding from the
Australian Government and continued funding through the Department of Social Services115.
The criminalisation of forced marriage led to a range of government and civil society initiatives including:
‘awareness-raising activities in communities, workshops for young people within schools and a dedicated
website for accessing information and legal advice’116. The increase in numbers, reported to the AFP since
criminalisation, has been attributed to the awareness raising of these different initiatives although it is
difficult to determine the scale of the issue due to the unknown number of unreported cases 117.
The decoupling of engagement with the criminal law to access the Support Program has provided victims
with support, however the referral to the Support Program must still come from the AFP and, if assistance is
required beyond the 200 days, then the victim must engage with the criminal process118.
The Red Cross conducted research on forced marriage in Australia to evaluate the interventions through the
Support Program and their key findings were:
● appropriateness in addressing client needs: ‘a broad range of client needs are addressed in an
appropriate manner within the limits of the current program…types of assistance included: financial
support, referrals for legal advice, information and referrals to address their health and wellbeing
and emotional and social support’119
● effectiveness in achieving the evaluation objectives: ‘partial delinking from the criminal justice
system is a positive step that reduced client stress and fear of engaging with police; however there
remains strong support for expanding referral pathway options’120
● impact: ‘The [forced marriage] Trial has been operating for a year and 15 clients have exited to
date. This is a small group…however, it is having a meaningful and welcome impact in client’s
lives…this includes: a) increased confidence, b) improved mental health and wellbeing, c) greater
knowledge of options around their rights, and d) improved awareness of how to access and
navigate support during and beyond the program’ 121
● connectedness: ‘maintaining family and community connections was integral to clients’ lives…and
had a strong influence on decisions that clients make about their situation, even in the face of
serious conflict’122
● equity, diversity and its importance for clients: ‘A diverse range of cultural groups are accessing the
program and participating in the [forced marriage] Trial. The majority of clients have been females
so it is difficult to ascertain equity of access to and service responses for makes. Concerns were
raised about a lack of awareness in both the wider community and services sector of what forced
marriage is, how it is treated under Australian law, the existence of the [program]…who can access
the [program], and ways of overcoming stigma and judgement about seeking support’123
In addition, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (‘DFAT’) provides guidance and emergency
consular support to Australians who are overseas and vulnerable to forced marriage. The Australian Border
Force (‘ABF’) has specialist Human Trafficking Contact Officers:
who are onshore specialist officers…[who] are responsible for the Department of Home Affairs and
ABF’s operational responses to modern slavery (including forced marriage) identified onshore,
including by managing all referrals to the Australian Federal Police and liaising with the Human
Trafficking Unit in the Department of Home Affairs124
As part of their work, DFAT works with NGOs and other government partners outside Australia to assist
Australians who are victims of forced marriage or attempted forced marriage overseas125. According to
DFAT, ‘Australian consular officials take a victim-centred approach’ which means considering what assistance
is in the best interests of the Australian citizen e.g. repatriation, confidential communication126.
6.3 Immigration legislation: Denmark

Denmark uses immigration measures to address forced marriage, by setting criteria for spouses to
enter Denmark.
In 2003, Denmark passed a law that required each spouse must be at least 24 years old before they can
apply for family reunification on the basis of marriage127. Additionally, Denmark requires that sponsors of a
foreign spouse must be able to provide financially for the spouse, must provide a bank guarantee,
demonstrate strong affiliation with Denmark and demonstrate suitable housing; and no social assistance in
cash transfers are available until the individual has lived in Denmark for 7 years128.
These rules have been controversial and have been criticised by the UN Commissions for Refugees and the
Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner on the basis that they ‘violate the fundamental right to
family life’129. These changes were introduced in the context of a public debate which focused on
two aspects:
● humanism: ‘national media coverage of a number of cases in which young women revealed that
their immigrant parents had forced them into transnational marriages against their will…within the
discourse of humanism any legal measures that could help young people (mostly women) from
being forced into marriage were considered reasonable’130
● nationalism: ‘parallel to the growing concerns for the safety and well-being of young immigrant
women was a discourse of nationalism…this discourse stressed the need to tighten the state
borders in order to protect the Danish nation from the influx of immigrants, perceived as
undermining not only the Danish economy and social cohesion but also national security’ 131
The immigration reforms also impact native Danes who marry a foreign partner, and one consequence has
been an increase in the number of ‘Danes who have foreign spouses …moving to southern Sweden
and …commuting from there to Copenhagen… findings suggest that Danish immigration legislation has
deterred some Danes in international marriages from returning to Denmark132.
As part of the package of changes in 2003, the Danish Government also introduced the ‘rule of supposition’
(or ‘presupposition rule’):
Leave to remain . . . cannot be granted, if it can be deemed questionable whether the marriage has
been contracted, or the cohabitation has been established, according to the wishes of both
spouses. . .. If the marriage has been contracted between closely related, or otherwise closer related
relatives, it is considered questionable – unless specific reasons mandate otherwise – if the marriage
has been contracted according to the wishes of both parties. (Aliens Act § 9, stk. 8, pkt. 2)133
This particular change is seen on having had an impact on the number of marriages:
In the year 2000, 22 percent of young women aged 18 to 23 whose parents came from non-Western
families were married to a non-Western immigrant who had immigrated to Denmark after the age of
15. In the year 2007, this was the case for only 3 percent…the 24 year-rule reduced considerably the
fraction of young immigrant women who were married to a recent immigrant134
Critiques of these changes have often focused on the presupposition rule and have characterised these
immigration policies as a tool ‘to safeguard dominant norms of a modern and liberal society from the
threats of imported and problematic practices’ which were seen as non-participation in the labour market,
socio-economic marginalization and illiberal family practices e.g. forced marriages, honour killings, female
genital mutilation135. However, the Council of Europe criticised the rule as being ‘an apparently neutral rule
disadvantaging a person or a group sharing the same characteristics’ 136 being ‘ethnic groups for whom
marrying near relatives is part of the culture’137.
The UNHCR did propose mitigating the indirect discrimination by allowing for a joint affidavit by the
spouses, however this was not implemented138. The Danish Institute for Human Rights and the Danish
Council for Ethnic Minorities highlighted their concerns that ‘the presupposition rule might amount to
indirect discrimination…and that the proportionality of the adopted means to the aim of the rule is
questionable’139. The Danish Government rejected these criticisms on the basis that the presupposition is
proportional and rebuttable, there is no international guarantee of family reunification and that the
presupposition addressed loopholes which were found to leave young women vulnerable to forced
marriage140. However, the concern remains that:
the Danish state’s conflation of forced marriages with transnational, arranged married between
relatives may place ethnic minorities in situations where the bureaucratic system ignores their
personal understandings of their marriages and forces them to rescind their future aspirations141
In addition to international conventions, Denmark is part of Europe and there are various European
instruments which intersect with forced marriage 142. Critically, Denmark has ratified the Istanbul
Convention, which provides that:
1. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the intentional
conduct of forcing an adult or a child to enter into marriage is criminalised.
2. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the intentional
conduct of luring an adult or a child to the territory of a Party or State other than the one she or
he resides in with the purpose of forcing this adult or child to enter into a marriage is
criminalised.143
As part of its obligations pursuant to the Istanbul Convention, Denmark has criminalised forced marriage in
the Act on Contracting and Dissolution of Marriage (Act No. 771 of 7. April 2019) with a sentence of up to
4 years144.
The immigration rules and criminalisation form only part of the Danish response to forced marriage. The
Danes have also introduced a form of mediation (tværkulturel konfliktmægling) known as cross-cultural
transformative mediation (‘CCTM’) which is designed to:
avoid the drastic choice of either leaving one’s family or accepting the imposition, since daughters
that escape ‘in most cases’ come back to the family of origin as they are not able to live without
the family145
Modern mediation is a form of facilitated negotiation with underlying principles which include, party self-
determination, neutrality of the mediator and informed decision-making. Within this umbrella there are
many forms of mediation which allow the process to flex to address distinct concerns. The CCTM model was
intended to address some of the human realities with criminalisation which focused on an ‘exit-centred
state initiative’ including146:
● ‘Those at risk are reluctant to leave abusive families.’
● ‘Few if any want to initiate criminal or civil proceedings against family members.’
● ‘Young people are faced with no choice other than to leave their families to avoid a forced
marriage.’
● Coercion leading to forced marriage is ‘done in secret, resulting in the young person experiencing
higher levels of threat and violence without a safety net or awareness by a support structure.’
The CCTM model is described as using a dialogue model which includes four phases:
● Investigative phase – a psychological assessment prior to mediation to ensure the safety of the
person being forced147. The involvement of social services and the police in CCTM is critical to
ensure the safety of the young person148. Young people can request assistance to set up this form of
mediated assistance through a dedicated helpline149. It is also possible for the case to be referred
through teachers, social workers or the police150. A typical CCTM may occur when the young person
is living in a shelter and may also address other issues of family conflict151.
● Mediation and dialogue phase – everyone can express their views; however, the forced person does
not meet the family directly at this stage and the family meet with the mediator to establish
contact152. The mediation team comprises ‘the mediator, social workers, welfare officers,
policemen, lawyers and other competent figures that meet previously to plan the intervention’153.
● Reconciliation phase - based on the outcomes from the previous phase – this stage requires parties
to demonstrate commitment to the arrangements made154. This includes guidelines for following
up the situation, e.g. how often can the family be contacted to make sure that the contract is
fulfilled, safe ways for the daughters to contact helping bodies when in need, etc. 155
● Evaluation and follow-up phase – a statutory agency may be involved to ensure follow-up. Any
issues can be raised and returned to mediation.
There have been concerns raised generally about using mediation processes in relation to victims of
domestic violence. These critiques generally focus on the safety of the victim and concerns about their
ability to self-determine in a process with their abuser and these issues are just as relevant where the
offence is coercion in relation to forced marriage 156. Work to resolve family conflict may be seen as
necessary in a country as small as Denmark157.
6.4 Civil Remedies: United Kingdom

The UK uses civil protection mechanisms to deal with forced marriage.
Forced Marriage Protection Orders (‘FMPOs’) are an injunction which is a civil remedy and not a criminal
remedy. In this context, an injunction could be made by a court ordering the family of a potential victim to
stop harassing her, or to return her passport. An FMPO will be unique to each case with the injunction being
designed to stop the relevant behaviour that is being used to coerce the potential victim into marriage158.
FMPOs were introduced in 2007 as part of the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 159. Approximately
200-250 FMPOs have been granted each year between 2014 and 2021 160. FMPOs may form part of ‘care
proceedings in the Family Court…[with] domestic and sexual violence, and physical abuse of children …
commonly raised in the proceedings’161.
Legal Aid remains available for FMPOs in the UK and such applications can be made ex parte which means
without notice to the other party162. The applicant can include details of the protection they are seeking e.g.
prevent a person from being taken abroad for the forced marriage163. Further the police can apply for an
FMPO even in the absence of consent from the victim164.
The number of applications and orders made for forced marriage protection orders (FMPOs) is very
small. Consequently, numbers fluctuate each quarter but overall, there has been a long-term upward
trend from their introduction in November 2008 until the end of 2019 with a less pronounced
increase thereafter.
In July to September 2023, there were 85 applications, the highest level since Q1 2020, of which 72%
of applications were for people aged 17 and under. Over the same period, there were 136 orders
made, up 43% since the same period from the previous year and the highest in the time series.165
In order to secure an FMPO, the applicant must prove their case that they are subject to coercion on the
balance of probabilities (the civil standard of proof). There are concerns about the lens through which
consent is viewed by the courts because:
● Judges may not seek affirmative consent to marry, unlike in sexual consent cases where affirmative
consent i.e. ‘the defendant must prove that they acted to secure consent’166
● Judges may not be aware of ‘the gendered, socio-cultural norms and expectations that may
overwhelm’ a victim’s will, which may not overwhelm the will of a highly individualistic person 167
● The high cost of loss of family and community may not be perceived as significant although’ it is
‘surely perceived as inherently coercive by women…the option of exit from their family and (often)
thereby, their community is to ‘escape’ into a racist society’168
● The timeframe for the coercion can be long i.e. the marriage may be contracted ‘years in advance
of the marriage date, courts should be empowered to examine the totality of a respondent’s
conduct over time when assessing whether it amounts to ‘force’’169
● There has been and may continue in some cases to be a definition of coercion which focused on
physical coercion and abuse rather than on the emotional / psychological aspects of coercion 170. In
the case of Hirani v Hirani ([1983] 4 FLR 232), the ‘judgement marks a definite shift in legal rhetoric,
from a restrictive definition of duress centred upon threats of physical violence’ to other forms of
coercion171. In particular, ‘forms of violence co-occur’ and a victim may have been subject to other
forms of family violence e.g. coercive control172
● The applicant needs to present themselves and their case to the judge in a way which is compelling
and if the testimony is ‘arguably unclear, fragmented and/or changeable’ they may be seen as
unreliable or untruthful, a judge may perceive ‘female witnesses as angry or hostile, even when
anger was a reasonable response (i.e. in situations of neglect or abuse by a relative)’173
One of the continuing themes is the need for education and awareness of the dynamics and process of
forced marriage. The cultural context in which victims exist is critical to understanding coercion and force:
The preoccupation with ‘free will’ that informs the legal discourse ignores the fact that consent itself
is constructed in the context of power imbalances and gendered norms, and – crucially – often in the
absence of explicit threats: simply put, many coercive forces go undetected174
Key to understanding the challenges is the extreme cost to an individual of the loss of their family and
culture. In their 2023 report, Anitha and Gill interviewed victims and professionals in relation to their
experience of the forced marriage regime in the UK. In relation to FMPOs, the police obtained an FMPO
without the consent of a young woman who was in a women’s shelter following repatriation from Pakistan
after a failed attempt to deceive her into marriage175. Noting the emotional distress at leaving her siblings
and mother vulnerable to her father’s frustrations and her feelings of isolation, this young woman
returned home:
Although she was consistent in maintaining that she had been coerced to marry and was clear about
the very real risk of suffering ongoing violence from her father and even feared that he might kill her,
she was unable to reconcile life away from her family and seemed to have been worn down by the
direct emotional pressure applied by her family as well as the weight of social expectations and
gender norms, guilt at damaging her family’s honour, as well as loneliness176
FMPOs are a civil mechanism and a breach can be dealt with in the family court, however the breach of an
FMPO can also be dealt with in the criminal court 177. If treated as a criminal offence the maximum penalty is
5 years imprisonment178. Alternatively, it is possible to apply to the family court for an arrest warrant and
the court will make further orders, up to a finding that the breach is a contempt of court and send the
offender to prison for up to 2 years179.
FMPOs are only a part of the landscape in the UK to address forced marriage. The Community Liaison Office
was set up in 2000 within the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (‘FCO’) (renamed the Forced Marriage
Unit (‘FMU’) in 2005)180 and is now a joint FCO and Home Office unit181. Shariff notes that:
Our principal task was to improve consular assistance. By the end of the first year if someone
approached the Unit to say that they were in a rural village facing a forced marriage somewhere in
Pakistan, India or Bangladesh, there was a good chance we could locate them and have a member of
the consular staff, often accompanied by the police, visit them. If they wanted to leave, we could
take them to a safe house in the city and arrange for their repatriation to the UK182
Shariff explains that in addition to repatriation cases up to a third of the men and women contacting the
FMU had contracted a forced marriage and were being forced to sponsor a spousal visa183. These individuals
sought denial of the visa without disclosing their request as a means of effectively exiting the forced
marriage184. At the time this was not possible unless there were other grounds for refusal, although
‘government thinking on the immigration aspects of forced marriage changed after 2005’ 185.
The FMU provides information and support to anyone who may be a victim of forced marriage and overseas
the FMU may be able to assist British nationals to reach a place of safety and repatriation 186. The FMU also
helps those who have already been forced to marry, ‘including assisting those who are being forced to
sponsor a spouse’s visa for settlement in the UK’187. The FMU has worked with 1200 – 1400 forced marriage
victims and people at risk each year between 2011-2019, although this may well be an underestimate of the
size of this issue in the UK188. During COVID (2020-2022), the numbers ranged from 302 to 759 189. In 2022,
the statistics for the FMU were190:
● Focus country: Pakistan 147 cases (49%), Bangladesh 41 cases (14%), India 20 cases (7%),
Afghanistan 9 cases (3%), Iraq 7 cases (2%), Somalia 5 cases (2%)
● Victims present in the UK when case referred to FMU: 78%
● Case breakdown: 28 cases related to a ‘reluctant sponsor’ of a spousal visa; 5 cases where the
victim or potential victim was overseas, and 62 cases related to mental capacity concerns
● Source of referrals/contact: 72 cases (24%) by social services; 49 cases (16%) the Home Office; 46
cases (15%) by the police; 37 cases (12%) direct from victims and 28 cases (9%) by education
officials – the remaining cases (13%) were referrals from friends, colleagues, partners, colleagues,
anonymous callers, etc.
● Sex of victims: 78% female and 22% male – noting that men were particularly represented in cases
where the victim had mental capacity concerns
● Age of victims: 14% aged 15 and under; 16% aged 16 or 17, 26% aged 18 to 21; 15% aged 26 to 30
and 12% aged 31 and over; 4% of cases the age was unknown
In addition to FMPOs and the FMU, the UK criminalised forced marriage in 2013. Prior to criminalisation in
the UK, there was consensus about the importance of retaining FMPOs:
Proponents for and against criminalisation agree that the civil remedies should remain in place. This
recognises that allowing the family courts to issue FMPOs to prevent forced marriages from taking
place has provided protection to those facing forced marriage. Indeed, opponents of criminalisation
have pointed to the increasing number of FMPO applications as evidence that the existing legislative
response is effective 191
The arguments against criminalisation included: a) criminalisation might make victims less likely to come
forward as they do not want their family to be criminalised, b) criminalisation might increase the risk of
victims being transported overseas to perform the marriage, c) creating a specific offence could be seen as
focusing on particular ethnic groups, and d) the resources devoted to creating legislation could be better
spent on non-legislative measures192.
There were a significant number of responses from practitioners who were against criminalisation.
There was a concern that the distinction between an arranged marriage and forced marriage is still
not as clear-cut as is generally perceived. It was felt that there was a grey area where no actual force
was applied and, in such cases, it would be extremely difficult to define whether the threshold for
forced marriages has been reached. There was also the overriding concern that criminal proceedings
could deter victims, which would then lead to fewer civil or criminal sanctions, and ultimately result
in forced marriage being driven further underground193
The arguments for criminalisation included the possibility that ‘specific legislation would transmit a strong
message of disapproval…and could therefore act as a catalyst to change and shape public opinion’ and that
it could assist public sector employees to clarify their responsibilities194. Also:
Many responses highlighted that forced marriage is not a subject victim feel able to openly speak
about unless they fully understand that they have a right to choose their marriage partner195
The offence of forced marriage was introduced in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act (2014)
(the “2014 Act”). An offence is committed if a person:
(a) uses violence, threats or any other form of coercion for the purpose of causing another person
to enter into a marriage, and
(b) believes, or ought reasonably to believe, that the conduct may cause the other person to enter
into the marriage without free and full consent196
Further, if a victim lacks mental capacity to consent to marriage, the offence can be ‘committed by any
conduct carried out for the purpose of causing the victim to enter into a marriage' (s. 121(2) 2014 Act). An
offence is also committed if a person ‘practices any form of deception’ to cause another person to leave the
UK, and they intend that the other person will be subjected to coercion to force a marriage outside the UK
(as in s.121 (1) 2014 Act).
Since 27 February 2023, the definitions of forcing a child to marry and forcing an adult to marry are
different197.
Everything which would count as forced marriage in relation to an adult victim still counts as forced
marriage in relation to a child victim, but…it is now an offence to carry out any conduct for the
purpose of causing a child to marry before their eighteenth birthday, even if violence, threats or
another form of coercion are not used. In other words, causing a child to marry, in any
circumstances, is a crime 198
The change for children was intended to reflect the specific challenges for children in relation to consent i.e.
they may not be aware that they can make choices about their life; they are less likely than an adult to
understand marriage including intimacy; and they typically have less ability to resist demands placed on
them199.
In the UK, one helpful intervention for children has been the Children Missing from Education (CME)
initiatives:
…which involved communicating to parents the importance of education and the school’s
disapproval of students missing classes…this could have a direct impact on the risk of [forced
marriage], as such general messages could persuade parents to postpone marriage plans200
There were three forced marriage convictions in 2018 with a further conviction in 2020 201. A recent
conviction in 2023 involved a man who married a woman to be able to remain in the UK and then subjected
her to physical, verbal, and emotional abuse 202. The defendant was found guilty of forced marriage, coercive
control and controlling behaviour, three counts of common assault and two counts of intentional
strangulation and sentenced to four years and six months203.
Several factors shaped the police’s decision not to pursue a criminal prosecution. These included the
wishes of the victim / survivor, the need to prevent their disengagement, the lack of an evidential
basis for prosecution without the cooperation of the victim / survivor, an assessment about the
realistic prospect of conviction and whether or not prosecution was in the public interest 204
In the 2023 case, the domestic abuse team, at Bedfordshire Police, worked closely with friends of the victim
until she was ready to flee and provided her with support throughout the criminal process:
The victim was left incredibly scared and alone, and I cannot commend her bravery enough for
coming forward and speaking out in such difficult circumstances…there are a number of specialists
trained officers who can support you through any criminal proceedings with respect and care, and
we work with a number of partner organisations who can offer guidance and stepping stones to
rebuilding your future 205
(Detective Constable Chloe Plowman, who led the investigation)
The FMU can make referrals to the police and social services to assist victims with safeguarding or assist
them to find a refuge206. For example, if a victim thinks that their family may be looking for them or report
them as missing to the police, the victim can inform the police of their reasons for leaving and the police
will then tell the family that the victim is safe and well but will not reveal the location207. If a victim is
overseas and their passport has been taken, the consular officials can assist with emergency travel
documents and funding options to pay for repatriation 208.
6.5 Community-based response and social change: India

India has a multipronged approach to addressing child marriage, including civil society engagement and a
criminal offence of forced marriage in the Indian Penal Code. UNICEF has acknowledged the ‘remarkable
progress towards ending child marriage’ in India with steep declines in the last two decades209. These
declines have been ‘associated with improvements in female education, a reduction in poverty and fertility,
the promotion of positive gender norms, and the strengthened capacity of social service, justice, and
enforcement systems, among other factors’210.
The Indian Government started addressing child, early and forced marriage through the National Action
Plan which included training law enforcement agents, seeking to change mindsets, empowering
adolescents, providing cash incentives and awareness raising211. Although implementation and resources
remain uneven across India212.
There is a long tradition of volunteerism and civic engagement in India213. Plan India works in 15 states and
where programmes are implemented, Plan India forms, trains, and empowers child and youth groups to
undertake advocacy activities in the community214. Young people are supported to prioritise concerns in
their community with child, early and forced marriage as one of the most common themes 215.
In general, when initiatives focus on CEFM [child, early or forced marriage], the activities include
advocacy, awareness raising and reporting / follow up through relevant institutions…the types of
initiatives encompass street plays, songs, peer-to-peer education, public protests, and dialogue with
village representatives and local political leaders216
Plan India gives the example of a 15-year-old boy who was being pressured to marry by his parents217. He
was a youth group leader and after discussing it with the group, they decided to approach his parents to
discuss this with the parents218. After a series of discussions, the parents decided not to force him to marry,
and the story was a lesson for all the villagers and those in the district219.
The village environment is where actual and potential victims of CEFM live and where face-to-face
interactions shape power relations among CEFM-related actors. At this level, with adequate support,
achievements are feasible and realistic, particularly when youth groups manage to involve the entire
community and mobilise internal resources in a united endeavour [to] eliminate CEFM220
Another NGO is Akshara Centre, a women’s rights organisation which believes in changing society by
empowering women and girls’ through a program called ‘Empowering Dreams Project’ which enhances the
skills and confidence of girls221.
The underlying philosophy for this approach to the Empowering Dreams Project is that ‘young women have
agency to break the cycle of violence and poverty in their lives…they know what is best for them and are
‘experts’ in balancing, juggling, and negotiating for opportunities in the face of opposing values and
forces’222. This reality is important to retain when considering any intervention. The young women who
navigate these power dynamics have wisdom to share about how to advance their own interests.
In terms of self, the Empowering Dreams Project focused on assisting the young women to negotiate within
their family as ‘it is a mark of empowerment to see young women negotiate and try to get their way within
the family’223. Akshara referred to a series of strategies deployed by the young women such as: coming up
with alternatives; barter tactics; delaying tactics and rehearsing a roadmap 224. According to the evaluation
by participants, the project enabled the young women to ‘grow significantly in self-confidence, and their
own voices verify this achievement’225.
Girls Not Brides is a global network of civil society organisations from over 100 countries committed to
ending child marriage226. They have highlighted a case study of an Indian NGO, Population Foundation of
India who conducted ‘a multi-media edutainment initiative called Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon’ (i.e. I, a
Woman, Can Achieve Anything)227. The initiative sought to enhance knowledge of social issues including
child marriage and to challenge discriminatory social norms228.
The key part of the edutainment was a soap opera which followed a young woman working as a doctor in
Mumbai and the show was broadcast on national television229. The show was watched by 58 million viewers
in the primetime slot of Saturday and Sunday night230. In addition to the broadcast, the ‘Population
Foundation of India adopted a 360-degree behaviour change communication approach’ by using different
media and was successful in increasing the awareness about child marriage 231.
India has criminalised marriage by force under the Indian Penal Code and has separate legislation to
prohibit child marriage, the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 232. Despite these legal protections, the
estimate is that 30,000 women and girls are forced into marriage every year233.
In part this is because, ‘various courts continue to uphold the customary practices and personal laws of
different religious communities’234. Another practice which is often viewed as obstructive is that there is no
compulsory registration of marriages across India235. This means that if a child marriage is registered, the
perceived validity of the marriage is reinforced236.
6.6 Reflections
The variety of responses to forced marriage demonstrates the inherent complexity of the issue.
Governments and NGOs have struggled with the multiple causes of forced marriage and the deeply
personal impact on the victims involved. There is general agreement that forced marriage is a breach of
human rights and an abuse of the rights of the individual. Although, there are themes which echo within
the global response there is clearly no one solution which has been found to end forced marriage.
There is diversity of opinion about the efficacy or even appropriateness of some of these measures. Shariff
characterised and critiqued the ‘three possible approaches – regulation, exit and community engagement
with most states favouring the first and second of these’237.
● “Regulation, often framed as protecting vulnerable individuals, sets minority cultural practices
against the ‘universal principles’ of human rights…this approach has been found to harbour a racist
and exclusionary narrative and one that demonises cultural minorities and essentialises culture as
‘backward’ or oppressive” 238
● “The second approach, exit, seeks to enable the individual, as free agents, who are unable to realise
their own preferences within a culture to leave that group. The right to agency through exit has,
however, been found to be meaningless for women of culture, as it forces women to choose
between their culture and their freedom and fails to understand the connection between culture
and identity”239
● “The third approach, community engagement, and it’s theoretical companion inter-cultural
dialogue, is largely dismissed by states and in the literature as risky – potentially endorsing cultural
hegemonic power hierarchies through the privilege of self-designated spokespersons – and buying
into a false representation of cultural groups as homogenous” 240
These issues are undoubtedly sensitive. Involving policy and legislation with family life and the intimate
decision about marriage is challenging. As Shariff expresses it, the use of regulation (i.e. criminalisation /
immigration law) puts into opposition a human rights analysis with specific cultural practices. The concern is
that this can empower racism in relation to ethnic groups by labelling cultures as antithetical to human
rights, as opposed to practices and behaviours.
This is part of the challenge of work in this area, the intimacy of the subject matter and the delicacy of
examining behaviours which are often situated within minority communities. What is clear is that
interventions need to be considered and responsive to the needs of the individuals and the community.
When engaging and informing a community, a range of approaches can be used, preferably in a
complementary manner. Focusing on the damaging aspects and the harm caused by a practice can
motivate a change in attitude; while measures such as criminalisation, prosecution, child protection
intervention and other deterrents, can enforce a behaviour shift. While this is a practical and potent
approach, it also can be beneficial to focus on the future an affected community can build by
abandoning harmful practices. Such an approach frames the shift as a positive investment that the
community can make and aims to enable and promote a behavioural change within the community
with their active participation and affirmation241
Another challenge is the nature of forced marriage itself. Forced marriage is often seen as a crisis or an
event at a point in time, however, the conditions for forced marriage are constructed over time, as an
individual is denied agency or with inculcation from a young age that their marriage has been contracted.
The problem is that the preoccupation with ‘free will’ that informs the legal discourse ignores the
fact that consent itself is constructed in the context of power imbalances and gendered norms…the
legal subject as an autonomous agent who is able to choose and act freely is not a gender-less, race-
less being; this notion of the free self is predicated on the normative experiences of a white man 242
It is important to recognise that free and full consent does not exist within a vacuum and is a construct
which is necessarily impacted by the reality within which the victim exists. This means that interventions
need to be nuanced and multipronged. For example, there has been criticism of the Australian
criminalisation strategy in that it focuses on the event of the forced marriage, rather than on the process of
coercion243. As a Scottish professional explained forced marriage, ‘is rooted in gender-based violence [and
is] … synonymous to “grooming.’’’244
Shariff described community engagement as ‘largely dismissed’. Much of the community engagement which
exists focuses on empowering girls and women. Designing interventions which are impactful and respectful
to communities is key to shifting beliefs. Whilst empowering women and girls is part of the equation, real
change will require shifting mindsets and perspectives of communities as whole.
While education efforts are typically geared towards children and young adults, older generations
can also benefit…equipping adults with a solid and critical understanding of the harm caused by
these practices, and their opportunities to build a more positive future for themselves, their children
and their community, is a further contributor to the shifting attitudes and the building of new social
and cultural behaviours and norms. Equally, when done in tandem with the efforts to inspire
intergenerational dialogue, families can come together to end these harmful practices in a
supportive, collective and collaborative manner 245
If you reject the human rights analysis that forced marriage is an issue which needs to be combatted, there
remain practical reasons to end this practice including the risks of domestic violence and health implications
e.g. ‘forced pregnancy, lack of control of the number and spacing of children’, etc. 246
To this can be added the loss of opportunity for what these women could contribute to the societies in
which they live. A forced marriage usually leads to cessation of their education and typically of their ability
to engage with society outside the home. What has been lost to all communities from the energy, wisdom
and abilities of these women is another reason to find ways to end forced marriage. Reframing forced
marriage as a loss of opportunity for girls and women and their communities is one way in which to engage
with parents and communities.
Recommendations
7. Introduction
We suggest there are four key areas in which our recommendations fall for Hong Kong: 1) understand forced
marriage, 2) provide safety and support, 3) support mindset change and 4) consider enacting laws and
policies. Consideration of these stages will lead to a range of options set out in the table below and
described in more detail in this section. These stages are not mutually exclusive and can both build on each
other and coexist to address this issue. For example, understanding is a prerequisite to some actions and
also an ongoing journey.
Chart 9: Forced Marriage- Areas of Intervention Framework
Recommendations need to be formulated which are cognisant of the needs, resources, and context of the
community in which they are made. Hong Kong is subject to obligations in relation to international law and
domestic protections for victims of forced marriage. However, as can be seen from the interviews, forced
marriage is a problem that occurs in Hong Kong. As such what are the recommendations which could
address this issue?
The ILO in reviewing forced marriage has advised that when creating change, it is critical that we ‘put those
vulnerable to forced marriage, especially women and girls, at the centre…as women and girls are
disproportionately affected, legislative and policy responses should have a gendered lens’ 247.
Chart 10: Types of Interventions Available to Hong Kong
STAGE 1: UNDERSTAND
Recommendation 1:
Understand that Forced Marriage affects Hong Kong children physically, emotionally and sometimes sexually
and ensure that the upcoming Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse law, its training guidelines and other
resources, makes clear that forced marriage to those under age 18 constitutes child abuse.
Recommendation 2:
Create a Forced Marriage Assistance List to help victims and civil society organisations navigate the various
services required to assist forced marriage victims. This is an immediate need and will be even more
important when Hong Kong enacts its law on Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse.
Recommendation 3:
Collate and collect data on the incidence of forced marriage in Hong Kong to enable resources to be
deployed appropriately and meaningfully. Ensure that any data collected is publicly available to ensure
public awareness and accessibility for NGOs and researchers.
A. Mandatory Reporting on Child Abuse Law and Accompanying Practice Guides, Training and Resources
We know from this research that children are directly impacted by forced marriage. The Mandatory
Reporting of Child Abuse Bill was introduced into the Legislative Council of Hong Kong in June 2023. This bill
specifies that certain professionals (for example, teachers, social workers, doctors, clinical and educational
psychologists) must make a report if they have a reasonable ground to suspect that a child has been
suffering or is at real risk of suffering harm248. This new law will cover physical, emotional and sexual abuse
as well as neglect. Training guidelines must provide culturally appropriate training to sensitise mandatory
reporters to the nature of forced marriage and how to recognise warning signs. The government is
encouraged to include forced marriage case studies and examples in training guidelines and provide
mandatory reporters with resources to seek help if unsure about cultural nuances. Also, mandatory
reporters must be made aware that culture cannot be used as a defence and all children will be protected
under the same law.
B. Forced Marriage Assistance List

We have learned that Hong Kong women who face a forced marriage feel alone, they do not know where
and to whom to turn to for help. We too at The Zubin Foundation have sometimes struggled to navigate
individual cases, because of the intersectionality of safety, social welfare, family dynamics, culture, financial
dependency, international marriage and much more. A Forced Marriage Assistance List will help individual
victims, social workers, schools, educators, health care providers and others:
● Which civil society organisations can a victim/ schools/ teachers/ social workers approach for help?
● How to access immediate support from the Hong Kong Police if the victim’s physical being is in
danger?
● How can a victim inform her social worker, teacher, or healthcare worker that she needs help and is
a victim of forced marriage?
● How can immigration be informed at the airport that a young woman, child is being taken abroad
for forced marriage and offer help?
● How can a victim and her siblings seek safe shelter for the immediate and medium-term?
● What assistance (government and civil society) is available to Hong Kong children and adults who
have been taken abroad for a forced marriage?
● How can a victim seek assistance from immigration if she doesn't want her husband to receive a
dependent visa to live in Hong Kong?
● Where can women seek medium- and long-term gainful employment?
This Forced Marriage Assistance List is an important resource especially as Hong Kong adopts its law on
Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and cases may become more apparent. Forced marriage is a complex
subject and in respect to individual cases, it requires a multi-disciplinary approach. In time, a government
ad-hoc committee to address specific cases of forced marriage is recommended.
C. Data Collection
One overarching recommendation is to ensure the collection of data in respect of forced marriage. The
counting of anything enables it to be seen and recognised as existing. If forced marriage is not counted,
then it does not exist.
There are no statistics relating to forced marriage which are collated by the Hong Kong Government e.g.
Hong Kong Police Force (“HKPF") or Social Welfare Department (“SWD”). Creating data in relation to forced
marriage would enable the Government and NGOs to assess this issue and to ensure that resources are
used in the most beneficial and impactful manner.
Reliable information and statistics on…forced marriage are critical to promoting awareness and
understanding of the problem, and to informing policy responses 249
STAGE 2: SAFETY AND SUPPORT
Recommendation 4:
Consider means to provide short term (e.g. shelter, social welfare assistance) and long-term support which
extends beyond the immediate crisis responses recognising the special nature of isolation and loss
experienced by victims of forced marriage.
Recommendation 5:
Recognise the special nature of loss experienced by victims of forced marriage and consider if and how a
reconnection process with the family could be supported safely for victims possibly building on the combined
approach of mediation and a safeguarding team of professionals.
C. Support Services
Globally, NGOs provide an extraordinary level of support to victims and potential victims of forced marriage.
These can range from shelter, health services, legal services, mental health support or social workers.
One consideration is whether the forced marriage victim is a child or not. Given that forced marriage is a
process, coercion and child abuse may occur prior to the age of 18 years. This may not be an issue which
support services are aware of for younger children in Hong Kong. How can the needs of these children who
are being forced to marry be addressed and protected?
One critical aspect for safety, is the 'one-chance rule':
The idea behind the One Chance Rule is that you might only have one chance to speak to a potential
victim and, therefore, have one chance to save a life...this effectively means getting as much
information as possible about the person's circumstances and referring them...for immediate help250
In the Australian model, they have now delinked victim engagement with the criminal process and access to
the Support Program. This enables victims to have 200 days of support and assistance provided through the
Red Cross.
As noted by some of the civil society leaders, there are different needs at different points in time:
● Short term needs: these are typically immediate and can arise because the situation is at a crisis
point. For example, a girl has run away from home and needs immediate shelter, social welfare
assistance and possibly referral to the police. This can also necessitate medical and mental health
assistance. Ensuring there is robust funding for facilities including shelters is critical to supporting
safety.
● Long term needs: these needs are more complex and arise because of the special situation caused
by forced marriage. For example, if a domestic violence victim is in a shelter, it is possible that they
will not have lost access / contact to their entire family and community support network. Forced
marriage represents a significantly and qualitatively different experience from a typical family
violence victim. Considering how to support victims’ long term will require an approach that
addresses their lack of social and community network.
The loss of all family and community requires support to be tailored to the additional needs of victims of
forced marriage which are distinct from those of family violence victims. Victims of forced marriage need to
find ways to rebuild their social networks and reconceptualise their identity.
Family from Pakistani Muslims’ perspective is a bit different from what Hong Kong people
understand. Weiss mentions that the Pakistani family works as a basis of a social system. It is not
merely a living place but provides protection and identity to individuals251
In Denmark, another process which has been used to manage the familial and societal losses caused by
forced marriage is CCTM. The use of CCTM originates in the realisation that for many victims of forced
marriage, reunification with their family is something that they long for. The loss of their family can lead
victims to return to the family even with the risk of continuing coercion. Using CCTM is designed to provide
a network of professionals around any interactions to try and ensure the safety of the victim whilst
enabling reconnection.
One similarity that Denmark (population 5.8 million) and Hong Kong (population 7.4 million) share is that
we are both relatively small jurisdictions. Unlike a larger jurisdiction in which a victim can leave the area and
resettle to build a new life without any contact, Hong Kong’s size can make that unrealistic. Even the
interviewees who said that their family had physically, emotionally, and psychologically abused them still
yearned to have contact and connection with their families. This will not be the case for all victims, but for
some this will be a powerful and even an overwhelming need.
Finding ways to facilitate reconciliation safely should be a priority. It could be that with appropriate training
CCTM could be offered in Hong Kong. What is needed as a corollary of this is the second part of the Danish
approach – the professional support and oversight.
Merely providing CCTM without the mechanisms to support victims as they establish their lives and connect
with their families and community would be extremely dangerous. If CCTM were to be considered in Hong
Kong, then participation would need to be predicated on professional support surrounding and
safeguarding the victim.
STAGE 3: MINDSETS
Recommendation 6:
Create and deliver a tailored, education programme for Hong Kong which considers global experience and
our local context to provide frontline responders with the tools they need to be able to address forced
marriage in an agile, sensitive and victim-centred manner.
Recommendation 7:
Create culturally sensitive and Hong Kong appropriate materials to engage youth in Hong Kong, including
both boys and girls.
Recommendation 8:
Consider creating material tailored to engage young readers with these topics similar to “But It’s Not Fair’.
Recommendation 9:
Engage with religious and community leaders to raise awareness of forced marriage and to engage with
their communities to consider the opportunities available to girls / women in Hong Kong.
Recommendation 10:
Engage with parents to seek opportunities for their daughters which encourage their completion of
education, empowerment and agency.
Recommendation 11:
Engage with older forced marriage victims to amplify their voices, to seek out role models and to find ways
to support them to create empowerment for women and girls in their community.
D. Education for Frontline Responders

In the Dreams Report, one of the key recommendations was for increasing cultural sensitivity and
awareness for schools, social workers and NGOs including 252:
● Schools: workshops for teachers and parents (Chinese and non-Chinese) to create a culturally
sensitive school environment
● Social Workers at schools / IFSCs and FCPSUs, NGOs: mandatory training and workshops to create
culturally appropriate screening mechanisms, risk assessments and interventions…training should
be grounded in research and data on the particular circumstances of the Hong Kong Pakistani
population.
● NGOs and Community Centres: mandatory training and workshops for staff, including management
to create a culturally sensitive community environment.
The HKPF and the SWD are often the first responders to a situation where a young person is resisting
marriage. In their own training in relation to protecting children from maltreatment, the SWD include a
potential indicator of child maltreatment as ‘child disclosing that he / she has been forced into marriage by
parents (e.g. children of ethnic minorities)’ which demonstrates an awareness of forced marriage as an
issue in Hong Kong253.
Notably in one of the Interviews conducted for this report, the young person ran away as a child under the
age of 18 years, and her first interaction was with the HKPF and the SWD. She found both to be supportive
and helpful to enable her to avoid the forced marriage. Her needs and vulnerability were qualitatively
different due to being a child. Education for frontline responders, especially in the schools, needs to
communicate that forced marriage may impact school age children.
Specialised education for frontline responders such as HKPF, SWD, hospital workers, mental health
professionals, lawyers and educators can ensure that professionals have the resources they need to
understand that the situation they are experiencing, or how the words spoken by a child are an indicator of
forced marriage. This would include ensuring that frontline responders are aware of and have strategies to
manage the 'one-chance rule'.
For example, some of the interviewees noted that they had seen examples of girls who had long absences
from school without questions being raised, and that these absences were used to enable the marriage to
occur outside Hong Kong. Having red flags which are specific to Hong Kong circumstances should be part of
any training and education. Recognising the reality that a child may be subject to coercion and child abuse
as part of the forced marriage process is key. This highlights the vital role of educators and schools in
safeguarding children.
The recommended European Union responses includes four key elements254:
● Recognise – the potential indicators of early or forced marriage e.g. running away, negative change
in schoolwork, self-harm, etc. ‘most young people refrain from seeking out professional help out of
family loyalty and they do not want to have to choose between their parents and their right to
choose who they will marry’255
● Risk Assess – professionals need to be experienced in gathering as much information as possible so

that a proper risk assessment can be conducted. The professional needs to determine the level of
risk – ‘there are three levels of risk: requires immediate protection (immediate action is required to
prevent further serious violence of forced marriage) …elevated risk (number of significant factors
which require risk management including safety planning) …at risk (some factors present but
structures are already in place)’256
● Respond – use a ‘victim-centred approach…victims are listened to and they are able to
communicate their needs and wishes…victims are given accurate information about their rights and
choices…victims’ wishes are respected about the level of intervention they require’. Also, a ‘rights-
based approach…analysis in accordance with principles of human rights and child rights…principle
of ‘do no harm’ to protect victim from being exposed to further harm’ and finally ‘ensure
confidentiality…professionals have to be able to differentiate between breaking confidence
(involving the child or young person’s family without consent) and sharing information with consent
with another appropriate professional’257
● Refer – ‘inform the potential victim of options and services available’ and ‘help and support the
individual to develop an individual safety plan’ and ‘follow up with multi-sectoral support to ensure
continued support’258
The AFP has prepared their own education programme for local, state and federal agencies, the LALD
program which focuses on empowering professionals to know the indicia of forced marriage and to be able
to respond appropriately.
In addition, recognising the important role of educators and schools means that they need to be able to
identify warning signs and to know how to respond and to be able to connect with available resources.
E. Engagement with young people

Many efforts globally have been aimed at young people. This may be around creating participation
structures such as Plan India or more commonly around education.
One project in Pakistan, the Humsathi: Empowering Girls to become their Own Advocates and Boys to End
Early Child and Forced Marriage sought to: 1) strengthen girls to be their own advocates, 2) effect
sustainable community-owned changes, and 3) promote an environment where adolescent girls and allies
can engage with decision-makers259. The interventions included260:
● providing girls with ‘adolescent friendly spaces’ to gather and gain new knowledge
● forming core 15-member female youth groups in each district
● creating 15-member male youth allies and mothers, including fathers
It is common for education efforts to target young people and specifically girls. Education efforts focus on
the empowerment of girls and increasing their sense of agency. The Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for
Human Rights, recommended that:
…a tailored education / vocational advice program is established in schools that recognises the
unique challenges young Muslim women face and the potential consequences for young women
who do not have educational or vocational options 261
In the Dreams Report, the recommendations included262:
b. Keeping Children in School: Raise the bar beyond the minimum age of schooling (Year 9). Provide
financial incentives through scholarships, curriculum or afterschool support for children to
encourage them to complete matriculation (Year 12).
c. Life Enrichment Course: Introduce a life enrichment course as a form of personal, social and health
education in which topics which are generally not covered in other subjects can be covered,
including sex education, reproductive health education, gender stereotypes, child abuse and
violence against women, preparing for further education or employment, negotiating cultural and
professional demands and expectations, and building resilience.
One of the civil society leaders suggested that empowerment efforts should address both boys and girls
when they are in primary school. Engaging boys and girls with material designed to enhance their
understanding and respect for others could be something which is done with children at an earlier age.
There are NGOs who have prepared education packs which can be used with young people, such as the
Forced Marriage Project – Status of Women Canada which has created toolkits to engage with youth
including workshop materials263.
The Australian Attorney-General’s Department funded a kit of learning and teaching materials for secondary
schools to run learning sessions with secondary students 264. The Kit stresses that teachers need to ensure
that the cultural backgrounds of the students are respected and that prior to using the Kit, aspects of
students’ safety and welfare need to be considered265. Some of the topics include: “How am I able to
become the adult that I want to be?”, “What are my human rights and from where do they come?” and
“What is forced marriage and how does this practice take away a person’s human rights?”266.
Aneeta Prem, the founder of the Freedom Charity in the UK, wrote a young adult novel called titled ‘But It’s
Not Fair’267. In her book, Prem introduces sisters Sofia and Vinny who live in London and who are Pakistani-
British. As the story develops a new friend’s situation becomes increasingly concerning until it becomes
clear she is being forced to marry. The book introduces complex issues in a way which is accessible
and compelling.
F. Community Engagement
The Dreams Report made several recommendations for engagement with the community and parents:
Parental engagement: A series of workshops for parents (both fathers and mothers) to understand
the school’s expectations, the role of the school and the responsibilities of parents in facilitating
their children’s educational development and growth as well as coverage of other topics including
relationships, a healthy home environment and dealing with conflict and inter-generational
differences 268 .
Develop Life Enrichment Courses: Introduce life enrichment course for families, targeting women and
girls but also men and boys as a form of personal, social and health education in which topics which
are generally not widely discussed within the community, including gender stereotypes, child abuse
and violence against women with a focus on ethnic communities to integrate their cultural
knowledge with the available resources and networks in Hong Kong 269.
Raising Awareness: Engaging the Imams to raise awareness with their members about the status of
the Pakistani population and their life experienced in Hong Kong…in addition, raising awareness
specifically about:
i) What the Holy Quran says about girls’ education;
ii) The link between education and poverty; and
iii) Education of a daughter as a means of educating a family
Harness Cultural and Religious Knowledge to Educate Members About Commitment to Equality:
Present role models from within the community, discuss current issues especially, topics that are
taboo to cultivate a more enlightened understanding…offer platforms and safe spaces for families,
including women and girls, men and boys to discuss gender stereotypes, child abuse and violence
against women, negotiating religious, cultural and professional demands and expectations 270
In Australia, the Australian Muslim’s Women’s Centre for Human Rights (“AMWCHR”), made several
recommendations for community engagement following their report271:
● Women’s leadership program: that a women’s leadership program is developed and established to
engage younger and older Muslim women and enable discussions in safe places. This program
could explore women’s rights, economic independence, educational / vocational pathways,
reproductive health and healthy relationships within the cultural framework of women’s lives.
● Muslim women’s network: that a network of successful Muslim women is established as role
models for young Muslim women. This network could: present at school career days; host events
that engage young women in positive settings; mentor young Muslim women and set up a social
media network to engage and inspire young women.
● Parenting programs: that parenting programs targeted to Muslim communities adopt a strength-
based approach. This programme needs to engage with cultural norms that support the practice of
early and forced marriage.
The recommendations regarding the empowerment of women, particularly older women recognise their
place in the community. As noted in a local study of another ethnic minority group in Hong Kong:
Changes in gender relations among the Nepalese in Hong Kong are taking place. While women at the
familial level contribute to constituting and reproducing the patriarchal system, they are also active
agents in making changes within it at an individual level. The single most important catalyst for this
change is public participation, especially in social service programs for South Asians organised by
non-governmental organisations and, to a lesser extent, their attendance in government-sponsored
activities and ethnic community-based programs272
Recommendations to engage with the community need to be culturally sensitive and engage with
community leaders, such as religious leaders and elders. There were a significant number of
recommendations made by the AMWCHR which are not included above because they related to the
Australian context i.e. the legal framework. Unless and until Hong Kong has a specific criminal offence of
forced marriage or civil protection, it is key to engage with the community by highlighting the positive
aspects of supporting girls and women’s education and empowerment. As one of the civil society
perspectives noted, helping parents to understand the opportunities which could be available to their
children in general and their girls in particular is critical to discouraging forced marriage.
It may seem that the opportunities and life options which are created by education and financial
empowerment are obvious. However, consider the educational attainment level of most of the
interviewees’ parents and it becomes clear that this may well not be obvious to their parents. For all but
one of the families, the interviewees’ educational level was the highest level of education attained in their
family. It can be easy to underestimate how our own experience limits our perceptions of what is possible.
The Forced Marriage Project in Canada also provides material for workshops with parents to engage with
them in relation to forced marriage273:
● Parental responsibility for finding their children’s appropriate marriage partner – encouraging them to
do so in a way that respects their children’s needs, rights and future.
● Parents have a part to play in choosing children’s partners, respecting their children’s rights to decide
who / when to marry.
● Passing on community values to their children which consider the circumstances of life where they live.
● Assist parents to discuss issues with their children.
STAGE 4: LEGISLATION
Recommendation 12:
Consider specific legislation such as the draft Modern Slavery Bill to provide for a cohesive criminal and civil
regime dealing with forced marriage.
Recommendation 13:
Collate and collect information regarding sponsorship of spousal visas. Consider interviewing sponsors
individually to provide an opportunity for them to speak confidentially with the Immigration Department.
Recommendation 14:
Consider the option of criminalisation of forced marriage, including passing the current Modern Slavery Bill.
However, any criminalisation needs to be tied to supportive services to ensure that victims are supported
and not re-victimised.
G. Civil Protection
In the UK, FMPOs have provided another tool to ensure the safety of victims of forced marriage. They are
part of a structured response to forced marriage, and have been useful in protecting the rights of potential
victims. As they exist within the family court, they have avoided the stigmatisation of a criminal offence.
The ILO sees FMPOs as an important part of a victim-centred approach:
Central to providing criminal or civil remedies to protect victims and those at risk is a trauma-
informed, victim-centred approach that empowers survivors to make informed choices as to the best
solution for their individual situation. Not everyone wants to prosecute, particularly where family
members are perpetrators; therefore, a suite of remedies should be made available, including
alternatives to criminal prosecution274
Some relief may be available in Hong Kong under the Domestic and Cohabitation Relationships Violence
Ordinance (Cap. 189) which provides for injunctive relief from various forms of violence and harassment. It
may be that these provisions are sufficient to protect victims of domestic violence, however an argument
exists that specific wording and protections relating to forced marriage are worthwhile. Firstly, they enable
forced marriage to be counted and recognised as a specific set of circumstances. Secondly, injunctive relief
like the FMPO would raise public awareness about this issue.
H. Immigration
In Denmark various methods which were used to deter forced marriages for the purpose of immigration by
reducing the number of family reunifications. One of the most controversial aspects of the 2003 changes
was the supposition rule which applied to consanguineous marriages. For the interviewees this rule would
have impacted several of the marriages.
In the UK, it is possible for sponsors of spousal visas to discuss concerns with the FMU. This can result in an
open statement that the spousal visa is not supported (i.e. a Public Statement) or a confidential discussion
which may examine alternatives275. Anyone denied a visa in the UK is entitled to understand the reasons for
the denial and therefore any steps taken need to be nuanced and compliant with immigration rules 276.
Given that the right of the spouse to come to Hong Kong was noted as a motivation in at least some of the
Interviews, this could be an area which it would be worth exploring and understanding.
I. Criminalisation
At present in Hong Kong, there is draft legislation which would criminalise forced marriage as a specific
offence in Hong Kong277. Introducing legislation is a significant step, however, other countries have
criminalised forced marriage, often as part of complying with SDG5. The number of convictions seems to be
low (e.g. UK) to non-existent (e.g. Australia) in some jurisdictions which might mitigate against the utility of
criminalising this behaviour.
As noted by some of the civil society leaders, the lack of a specific criminal offence in Hong Kong can make it
difficult for the police, professionals and even the public to be clear about the parameters of coercion.
Criminalisation of this behaviour may make it easier for victims to access resources. For example, some of
the civil society leaders noted that accessing Legal Aid for annulment can be difficult. If forced marriage was
better understood, it may be easier to access Legal Aid.
As one civil society leader noted, even if there were one case which resulted in a conviction this can assist
with ensuring community understanding of forced marriage as not acceptable in Hong Kong. The ILO notes
that criminalisation:
…has a symbolic effect in communicating that the practice will not be tolerated, can deter
perpetrators, and empower victims to come forward and report incidents 278
1 ILO, Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage (2022), 5
2
Hirani v Hirani [1982] EWCA Civ 1, as relied upon in the Hong Kong case, RM v AY [2023] HKFC 59 at para.23
3 Khatidja Chantler, Nughmana Mirza and Mhairi Mackenzie, Policy and Professional Responses to Forced Marriage in Scotland, British Journal of Social Work
(2022) Vol. 52, 843
4 Ibid.
5 ILO supra note 1, 5
6 Ibid.
7 ILO, supra note 1, 63
8 Tahirih Justice Centre, A Framework for Identifying and Responding to Cases of Forced Marriage, 6
9 Kaye Quek, A Civil Rather than Criminal Offence? Forced Marriage, Harm and the Politics of Multiculturalism in the UK, The British Journal of Politics and
International Relations (2013) Vol.15, 629
10 Ibid.
11 Lam Ching Sum, Identity and Agency of Pakistani Youth and their Families in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Anthropologist (2022) Vol. 12, 71
12
Dr Naseem Akhter and Dr Arshad Munir, Forced Marriages in Pakistan (From Islamic Perspective), Research Journal Al Basirah (Vol. 5, Issue 2), 33
13 Muhammad Muzaffar, Zahid Yaseen and Aisha Ahmad, Child Marriages in Pakistan: Causes and Consequences, Journal of Indian Studies (2018), Vol. 4 No. 2,
203
14 Zara Ahmed, Evolution of Pakistani Marriages, Canadian Journal of Family and Youth, (14)2, (2022),2
15 Tahirih Justice Centre, supra note 8, 5
16 Khatidja Chantler, Geetanjali Gangoli and Marianne Hester, Forced Marriage in the UK: Religious, cultural or economic or state violence? Critical Social Policy
(2009) Vol. 29, 596
17
Sundari Anitha and Aisha Gill, Coercion, Consent and the Forced Marriage Debate in the UK, Feminist Legal Studies (2009) Vol. 17, 176
18 Ibid., 172
19 Ibid.
20 Yunas Samad, Forced Marriage among men: An unrecognised problem, Critical Social Policy Vol. 30(2), (2010), 197
21 Ibid., 198
22 Ibid., 196
23 Ibid., 200
24 Bushra Rauf, Nadia Saleem, Rachael Clawson, Mandy Sanghera and Geoff Martson, Forced marriage: implications for mental health and intelligence disability
services, Advances in psychiatric treatment (2013), Vol. 19, 136
25 Editors Raees Baig, Sally Ka-wing Lo and Stephanie Kwok, Minority Girls and Gender Justice project under The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Guidebook on
Honour-based Violence – Experiences from Hong Kong, (2022), 25
26 Mohammad Mazher Idriss, Abused by the Patriarchy: Male Victims, Masculinity, “Honor”-Based Abuse and Forced Marriages, Journal of Interpersonal
Violence, Vol.37 (2022), 907
27 Lam, supra note 11, 34
28 Ibid., 38
29 Chantler et al., supra note 16, 599
30 Wanru Xiong, Does the Shortage of Marriageable Women Induce the Trafficking of Women for Forced Marriage? Evidence from China, Violence Against
Women, 0(00) (2021), 3
31
Helen McCabe and Lauren Eglen, "I bought you. You are my wife": 'Modern Slavery' and Forced Marriage, Journal of Human Trafficking (2022), 7
(https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/23322705.2022.2096366)
32 UNICEF, https://data.unicef.org/resources/is-an-end-to-child-marriage-within-reach/
33 Ibid.
34 UN OHCHR, https://www.ohchr.org/en/women/child-and-forced-marriage-including-humanitarian-settings
35 Human Rights Council, UN General Assembly, strengthening efforts to prevent and eliminate child, early and forced marriage, A/HRC/RES/29/8 (2015), 3
36 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 16 (https://www.ohchr.org/en/human-rights/universal-declaration/translations/english)
37
UN OHCHR, (https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Publications/FactSheet2Rev.1en.pdf)
38 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 23 (3), (https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/ProfessionalInterest/ccpr.pdf)
39 Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, Article 16(e),

(https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/text/econvention.htm#article16)
40 IASC, Guidelines for Integrating Gender-Based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Action,5
41ibid., 321
42 Ibid.
43 https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda/
44 https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/tag/193-member-states/
45 https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/
46 United Nations, supra note 43
47 United Nations, https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goals#5progress_and_info
48 Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Thematic Report – Ethnic Minorities, (2022), 6
49 Ibid., 14
50 Ibid., 18
51 Ibid., 20
52
Ibid., 64
53 Puja Kapai and Ravina Lalwani, Dreams of Pakistani Children (2019) (The Zubin Foundation, Plan International Hong Kong and CCPL)
54 Ibid., 9
55 Ibid., 9 and 10
56 Ibid., 44
57 Ibid., 45
58
Ibid., 45
59 Ibid., 36
60 Ibid., 36
61 Ibid., 37
62 Ibid., 38
63 RainLily, Understanding Gender-based Violence of Girls of South Asian Ethnic Groups in Hong Kong Survey Report (2018)
64 Ibid., 8
65 Ibid., 30
66 Ibid., 32
67 Ibid., 34
68 Ibid., 34
69 Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, Government of Hong Kong (https://www.cmab.gov.hk/en/issues/human.htm)
70 Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance (Cap. 383), Section 8, Article 19
71 see R v Chan Wing Kuen and Another [1995] 1 HKC 470
72 Domestic and Cohabitation Relationships Ordinance (Cap. 189)
73 Ibid., s. 3
74 HHJ Melloy, P v C (FCMC 9655 / 2005), para.s 22 and 24
https://legalref.judiciary.hk/lrs/common/search/search_result_detail_frame.jsp?DIS=57588&QS=%24%28molestation%2Cmay%2Ctake%2CplaCE%29&TP=JU
75 Matrimonial Causes Ordinance (Cap. 179), s. 20(2)(c)
76 Evelyn Tsao, Obtaining the first ‘get out of marriage’ card for a Muslim victim of forced marriage, https://www.patriciahoassociates.com/advocacy-updates-
1/obtaining-the-first-get-out-of-marriage-card-for-a-muslim-victim-of-forced-marriage
77 Ibid.
78 HHJ Kwan, RM v AY [2023] HKFC 59
79 Ibid., paras.26 and 27
80
Fauzia Shariff, Towards a Transformative Paradigm in the UK Response to Forced Marriage: Excavating Community Engagement and Subjectivising Agency,
Social & Legal Studies (2012), 9
81 Rais Nouman Ahmad, Faiz Bakhsh, Rao Imran Habib and Muhammad Danyal Khan, Social Cultural and Religious Factors of Forced Marriages in Pakistan and its
Legal Concerns, Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 40 No.2 (2020), 1122
82 Shariff, supra note 80, 9
83 Salma Nawaz, Mouna Koser and Malik Shahzad Shabbir, The Conceptual Framework of study to analyse the status of women in the Pakistani family system,
Pakistan Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 4, Issue 4 (2021), 340
84 Muzaffar et al., supra note 13, 199
85 Choong Pui Yee, Eradicating Child Marriages in Southeast Asia: Protecting Children, Challenging Cultural Exceptionalism, Penang Institute Issues (2021), 5-6
86 Yunas A. Samad and J. Eades, Community Perceptions of Forced Marriage, University of Bradford, 84
88 Centre for Legal Aid Assistance & Settlement UK, Submissions on child, early and forced marriage in Pakistan addressed to the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights, (Ref: WHRGS /GA/RES/75167), 2
89 Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, Forced Marriage: A ‘New’ Crime Against Humanity, Northwestern Journal of Human Rights, Vol. 8 Issue 1 (Fall 2009), 53
90 Ahmad et al. supra note 81, 1122
91 Legislative Council, A brief overview of the Modern Slavery Bill 2017, LC Paper No. CB(2) 1480/17-18(05)
92
HHJ Kwan, supra note 78, 59
93 Rosie Heselev, FECCA, Forced Marriage in Australia: a literature review, (2019), 15 - 16
94 Ruben Timmerman, Responses to Early or Forced Marriages, International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy (https://icclr.org/wp-
content/uploads/2019/06/Child-Forced-Marriage-Final-Revised-
2.pdf?x21689#:~:text=Community%2Dbased%20Response%20and%20Social%20Change&text=The%20specific%20efforts%20that%20may,services%20and%20su
pport%20for%20victims.), 6
95 Ibid., 7
96 Ibid., 7
97 Frances Simmons and Grace Wong, Learning from Lived Experience: Australia’s Response to Forced Marriage, UNSW Law Journal Vol. 44(4) (2019), 1623
98 Commonwealth Criminal Code Act 1995, (https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A04868/latest/text/2)
99 Australian Government, https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2018A00153/latest/text
100 Australian Government, Forced marriage: Fact Sheet for Media, (https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/criminal-justice/files/forced-marriage-fact-sheet-media.pdf)
101 ABC, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-04/nsw-forced-marriage-police-fear-spike-as-travel-resumes-/101317834
102 AFP, https://www.afp.gov.au/news-centre/media-release/human-trafficking-reports-continue-increase-australia
103 Simmons et al., supra note 97, 1625
104 Ibid., 1626
105 Australian Federal Police, supra note 102
106 Ibid.
107 Ibid.
108 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-02/man-who-killed-forced-marriage-bride-jailed/100342086
109 Ibid.
110 Ibid.
111
The Australian Muslim Women's Centre for Human Rights, Child and forced marriage: A guide for professionals working with the Muslim community (2019), 5
112 Australian Government, supra note 100
113
Department of Social Services, Increased Support for Forced Marriage Victims, (https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/05_2018/d18_479015-
forced-marriage-stream-trial.pdf)
114 Ibid.
115 MyBlueSky, https://mybluesky.org.au
116 Laura Vidal, Rethinking Australia’s Response to Forced Marriage, (2020) (https://lens.monash.edu/@politics-society/2020/10/26/1381571/rethinking-
australias-response-to-forced-marriage)
117 Ibid.
118 Ibid.
119 Kathleen Stacey and Sheryl Boniface, Australian Red Cross Forced Marriage Stream Trial Evaluation – Final Evaluation Report (summary) (2019), 3-4
120 Ibid., 4
121 Ibid.
122 Ibid.
123
Ibid.
124 Australian Government, Australian Government response to the Human Rights sub-committee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence
and Trade report: Advocating for the elimination of child and forced marriage, (2022)
125 Ibid.
126 Ibid.
127 Ilpo Kauppinen and Panu Poutvaara, Family Migration and Policies: Lessons from Denmark, CESifo DICE Report, ISSN 1613-6373, ifo Institut - Leibniz-Institut
für Wirtschaftsforschung an der Universität München, München, Vol. 09, Iss. 4, 37
128 Ibid.
129 Ibid.
130 ed. Alison Shaw and Aviad E. Raz Bergahn, Cousin Marriages: Between Tradition, Genetic Risk and Cultural Change, Chapter 6, A Cousin Marriage Equals a
Forced Marriage, 134-135
131 Ibid., 135
132
Kauppinen et al., supra note 127, 38
133 Shaw et al. supra note 130, 138
134 Kauppinen et al., supra note 127, 38
135 Eleonore Kofman, Integration Discourses, the Purification of Gender and Interventions in Family Migrations, Ethnic and Racial Studies, Vol. 46 No. 14, (2023)
3039
136 Nicole Stbynarova, Self-Restrained Adjudicator Meets (not so) Self-Restrained Lawmaker: Danish Human Rights Protection Tested on the ‘Forced Marriage
Presupposition Rule’, Nordic Journal of Human Rights Vol. 39, No. 3 (2021), 269
137 Ibid., 272
138 Ibid. 270
139 Ibid.
140 Ibid., 271
141 Shaw et al., supra note 130, 147
142 Maria Barcons Campmajo, Forced Marriages in Europe: A form of gender-based violence and violation of human rights, The Age of Human Rights Journal,
(June 2020), 8 - 12
143 Council of Europe, Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, Council of Europe Treaty Series – No. 210 (2011),
Article 37
144 The Danish Institute for Human Rights, Submission for the General Assembly Resolution 73.153 on ‘Child, Early and Forced Marriage’ and to Human Rights
Council Resolution 41/8 on Consequences of Child, Early and Forced Marriage, Doc.No.19/02743-2 (2019), 2
145 Daniela Danna and Piera Cavenaghi, Transformative mediation in forced marriage cases, Interdisciplinary Journal of Family Studies, XVII, 2 (2011), 47
146 Laura Vidal, The art of helping: Lessons for Australia in taking a mediation approach to forced marriage, 2019
(https://www.powertopersuade.org.au/blog/the-art-of-helping-lessons-for-australia-in-taking-a-mediation-approach-to-forced-marriage/18/3/2019)
147 Vidal, supra note 146
148 Danna et al. supra note 145, 48
149
Ibid., 50
150 Ibid., 51
151
Ibid.
153 Danna et al., supra note 145, 51
155 Danna et al., supra note 145, 51
157 Danna et al. supra note 145, 48
158
UK Government, Forced Marriage Protection Orders, (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/forced-marriage-protection-orders-fl701/forced-
marriage-protection-orders)
159 Kyla Noack-Lundberg, Aisha K. Gill and Sundari Anitha, Understanding forced marriage protection orders in the UK, Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law,
Vol. 43, No. 4 (2021), 372
160 Ibid., 387
161 Ibid., 388
162 UK Government, supra note 158
163 Ibid.
164 Sundari Anitha and Aisha K. Gill, Understanding Protection and Prevention Responses to Forced Marriage in England and Wales, University of Bristol and
University of Lincoln (2023), 96
165 UK Government, Forced Marriage Protection Orders and Female Genital Mutilation Orders, (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-court-statistics-
quarterly-july-to-september-2023/family-court-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2023#forced-marriage-protection-orders-and-female-genital-mutilation-
protection-orders)
166 Noack-Lundberg et al., supra note 159, 375
167 Anitha et al., supra note 17, 175
168 Ibid., 176
169 Lisa V. Martin, Restraining Forced Marriage, Nevada Law Journal Vol. 18, 973
170
Noack-Lundberg et al., supra note 159, 375
172 Anitha et al.(2023), supra note 164, 47
173 Noack-Lundberg et al., supra note 159, 382
175 Anitha et al.(2023), supra note 164, 104
176
Ibid.
177 UK Government, supra note 158
178 Ibid.
179 Ibid.
181 UK Government, The Right to Choose: Multi-agency statutory guidance for dealing with forced marriage and Multi-agency practice guidelines: Handling cases
of forced marriage (2023), 42
183 Ibid.
184 Ibid., 5
185 Ibid.
186 Ibid.
187
Ibid.
188 Noack-Lundberg, et al., supra note 159, 372
189 UK Government, Forced Marriage Unit statistics, (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/forced-marriage-unit-statistics-2022/forced-marriage-unit-
statistics-2022#:~:text=In%202022%2C%20235%20cases%20(78,victim%20has%20mental%20capacity%20concerns)
190 Ibid.
191
Frances Simmons and Jennifer Burn, Without Consent: Forced Marriage in Australia, Melbourne University Law Review, Vol. 36 (2013), 998
192 Geetanjali Gangoli and Khatidja Chantler, Protecting Victims of Forced Marriage: Is Age a Protective Factor?, Feminist Legal Studies, Vol. 17 (2009), 272
193 Home Office UK, Forced Marriage – A Consultation Summary of Responses (2012), 9
194 Gangoli et al., supra note 192, 272
195 Home Office UK, supra note 193, 11
196 s. 121 Anti-social behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/12/part/10/enacted)
197 s. 2 Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022
198
UK Government, supra note 181, 30
199 Ibid.
200 Anne Kazmirski, Peter Keogh, Vijay Kumari, Ruth Maisie, Sally Gowland, Susan Purdon and Nazia Khanum, Forced Marriage: Prevalence and Service Response,
Department of Children, Schools & Families (2009), 5
201 UK Government, Forced Marriage – a survivor’s handbook, (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5e995d5de90e07049676101f/Forced_Marriage-
_survivor_s_handbook.pdf), 13
202 Bedfordshire Police, (https://www.beds.police.uk/news/bedfordshire/news/2023/08-august/man-jailed-after-forces-first-ever-forced-marriage-conviction/)
203 Ibid.
204 Anitha et al. (2023), supra note 164, 120
205 Ibid.
206 UK Government, supra note 202, 9
207 Ibid.
208 Ibid., 44
209 UNICEF, Ending Child Marriage – A profile of progress in India (2023), 28
210 Ibid.
211 PLAN International, Their Time is Now – Time to Act, (2019), 16
212
Ibid.
213 Ibid.
214 Ibid.
215 Ibid., 17
216 Ibid.
217 Ibid.
218 Ibid.
219 Ibid.
220 Ibid., 42
221 Aksharacentre, Girls Map Change (2019), Introduction
222 Ibid., 5
223 Ibid., 0
224
Ibid., 20-21
225 Ibid., 28
226 https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/about-us/
227 Girls Not Brides, Multi-media Edutainment Initiative ‘Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon’ – I, A Woman Can Achieve Anything, (2015), 1
228 Ibid.
229 Ibid., 2
230
Ibid.
231 Ibid., 2-3
232 Satyarthi Global Policy Institute for Children and the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation, Forced Brides in India (2022), 2
233
Ibid., 6
234 HAQ Centre for Children’s Rights, Child Marriage in India: Achievements, Gaps and Challenges – Response to Questions for OHCHR Report on Preventing Child,
Early and Forced Marriages for Twenty-sixth Session of the Human Rights Council (2010), 3
235 Ibid., 4
236 Ibid.
238 Ibid.
239 Ibid.
240 Ibid.
241
Council of Europe, Steering Committee for Human Rights, Guide to good and promising practices aimed at preventing and combating female genital
mutilation and forced marriage, CCDH (2017) R87 Addendum II, 35
242 Anitha et al., supra note 17,171

243 Simmons et al., supra note 97, 1624
244
Chantler et al. supra note 3, 843
245 Council of Europe, supra note 241, 48
246 Quek, supra note 9, 629
248 https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202305/31/P2023053100588.htm
250
NIHR School for Social Care Research, My Marriage My Choice Toolkit
(https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/mymarriagemychoice/documents/toolkit.pdf), 51
251 Lam, supra note 11, 46
252 Kapai et al., supra note 53, 47-49
253 SWD, Protecting Children from Maltreatment Procedural Guide for Multi-disciplinary co-operation (Revised 2020) – An Introduction (2020), 49
254 editor Mathilde Sengoelge, EU Roadmap on Forced/ Early Marriage (FEM) Referral Pathway for Frontline Professionals, (2016), 32
255
Ibid., 14
256 Ibid., 15
257 Ibid., 33
258 Ibid., 16-17
259 Farida Shaheed, Ghausia Rashid Salam, Madiha Shekhani and Bushra Shehzad, Humsathi: Empowering Girls to Become Their Own Advocates and Boys as
Allies to End Early Child and Forced Marriage, Final Technical Report (2019), 1
260 Ibid., 2
261 Australian Women’s Centre for Human Rights (AMWCHR), Marrying Young, 2
262 Kapai et al., supra note 53, 47
263 South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario, Forced Marriage Project, Service Provider Training 3 - Engaging Youth (http://idoproject.ca/wp-
content/uploads/2016/04/FMP_TOOLKIT_3YOUTH_v1.pdf)
264 Australian Catholic Religious against Trafficking In Humans (ACRATH), My Rights – My Future – forced marriage – A Kit of Learning and Teaching Materials and
Support Documents for Australian Secondary Schools (2020) (https://acrath.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/My-Rights-My-Future-forced-marriage-Kit-
updated-June-2020.pdf)
265 Ibid., Update
266 Ibid., 4
267 Aneeta Prem, But It’s Not Fair, (2d ed. 2011)
268 Kapai et al., supra note 53, 47
269 Ibid., 50
270
Ibid., 51
271 AMWCHR, supra note 261, 37
272 Siumi Maria Tam, Dealing with Double Marginalization: Three Generations of Nepalese Women in Hong Kong, Asian Journal of Women’s Studies Vol. 16 No. 2,
34
273 South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario, Forced Marriage Project, Service Provider Training 2 - Working with Parents (http://idoproject.ca/wp-
content/uploads/2016/04/FMP_TOOLKIT_2PARENTS_v1.pdf)
275 UK Government, supra note 201, 91
276 Ibid., 30
277 Legislative Council, supra note 91

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THE ZUBIN FOUNDATION

Improving the lives of Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities

About the Zubin Foundation

Authors: Sala Sihombing and Shalini Mahtani

Intellectual Property Rights

About the Authors

Having originally qualified as a solicitor in the UK (1995); and Hong

In 2011, Sala attended the Straus Institute (Pepperdine University,

Shalini Mahtani, co-author of The Zubin Foundation Section

Shalini is the Founder and CEO of The Zubin Foundation (TZF), a

Shalini has authored and co-authored work on ethnic minorities in

Shalini is a member of the Commission for Children of the Hong

As always, I welcome your comments and views.

Characteristics of the interviewees

In terms of the coercion applied, the methods included:

Why do they think forced marriage happens?

What are some of the choices they made?

What would they say to their families?

What do they all have in common?

● Immigration legislation such as in Denmark. In 2003, Denmark introduced a raft of immigration

Chart 1: Forced Marriage in Action Flowchart

Chart 3: What can we do in Hong Kong?

“ ‘My voice was never heard by my parents.’

1.2 What is forced marriage?

Chart 4: Forced Marriage in Action Flowchart

Forced marriage is a ‘process’ which is rooted in gender-based violence, synonymous to ‘grooming

1.3 What are some myths about forced marriage?

● Forced marriage is the same as arranged marriage.

Myth 1: Forced marriage is the same as arranged marriage

Lam found that in Hong Kong:

Myth 2: Forced marriage is condoned by religion

Myth 3: Forced marriage means only physical violence

Myth 4: Forced marriage only happens to girls

Myth 5: Forced marriage does not happen in Hong Kong

2.2 What is the demographic composition of the group?

● Felt pressured to marry: Eight of the women felt pressured to marry.

● Felt forced to marry: Six of the women felt forced to marry.

● Emotional abuse: Six of the women described emotional abuse.

● Physical abuse: Two of the women described physical abuse.

2.3 What are their views on early and forced marriage?

As one woman noted that she was:

Another young woman explained, she strongly feels that:

2.4 When did they know that a marriage was planned?

Another woman explained in relation to the marriage:

2.5 How did they respond?

2.6 What was the nature of the coercion?

2.7 Why do the interviewees believe forced marriage happens?

She feels that her father:

Another woman who was interviewed, she explained that:

‘They wanted to get rid of me so they wouldn’t have to spend money on me or my

2.8 What sustains them?

2.9 What would they wish to say to their families?

Reflecting on her own experience in marriage, one woman said:

For someone who is being pressured to marry, another woman suggested:

Some had simple wishes for their daughters:

For her own children, another woman expects that:

A young woman whose parents arranged her marriage, expressed that:

For her own daughters, another woman says that:

“ ‘I want her to be confident...happy in marriage because I cannot do anything. If she’s

Chart 5: Family Characteristics

3.1 What is the global context?

The ICCPR echoes the UDHR and notes that:

3.2 What is the Hong Kong demographic context?