• Use relatives, friends, community leaders and neighbours as interpreters or translators.

Please see HM Government (2010) The Right to Choose: multi-agency statutory guidance

Role of Children's Services

The minimum age of consent to marriage is 16. Young people between the age of 16 and 18 can only marry with parental consent unless they are a widow or widower. Although currently there is not a criminal offence of ‘forcing someone to marry’ within England and Wales there are a number of criminal offences which may be committed including:

  • Threatening behaviour
  • Theft (e.g. of passport)
  • Assault – physical and sexual
  • Kidnap, abduction and/or imprisonment
  • Rape

Any professional or member of the public concerned that a child may be at risk of significant harm, should make a referral to Wolverhampton's Children's Services, by telephone without delay.

Where the child concerned already has an allocated social worker, referrals to Children's Services should be made to the child's social worker, the team leader or a team colleague.

Forced Marriage is a Child Protection issue. Children's Social Care has a duty to investigate allegations of abuse and is seen as one of the agencies with a key role to play in the statutory guidance of 'Handling Cases of Forced Marriage'. If an allegation of forced marriage is made, or a child/young person discloses that they are at risk, a section 47 investigation should take place. This will be done without parental consent.

A referral should be made to the 'Central Referral Hub' 01902 555392 or, if out of hours, 01902 552299.

The following information is needed for the referral; (If you do not have all the information listed, still make the referral - do not delay.)

  • Name of child/young person (check all names are spelled correctly)
  • Age (check date of birth as accurate as possible)
  • Details of any siblings
  • Parent's name(s) (check the surname of the parent is accurate)
  • Home address (telephone number if available)
  • Special circumstances; for example, language barriers, context disclosure