Forced marriages

Forced marriage refers to a marriage, or a similar relationship,  where one or both of the spouses have not been able to impact the contract of marriage or choose their spouse. This often includes pressuring by the family or the community (honour-based violence). 

A spouse may have been pressured or forced into the marriage by means of blackmail, threats or violence, or exploited due to a vulnerable position as a minor, dependence on the community, or disability.

Refusal of forced marriage could lead to desertion by the family or community, honour abuse or even death. Pressure from the family or cultural aspects are not always the reason leading to a forced marriage. In some cases, a person has been forced to marry a third-country citizen so that this person would be able to gain a residence permit.

In Western countries, approximately one in every three forced marriages is a child marriage, meaning that either one or the other spouse is under the age of 18. A child may have consented to the marriage or felt that it is their responsibility to marry. In principle, a child marriage is a violation of the rights of a child. However, each case must be reviewed separately (Ministry of Justice, 2020). 

In a situation resembling a forced marriage, a spouse has originally consented to marriage, but is unable to leave it when the spouse so wishes due to being pressured, or other similar circumstances. Even though this is not, strictly speaking, a forced marriage, forcing a spouse to stay in a marriage, i.e. to impede a divorce process, can be punishable as an act of coercion. In Finland, everyone has the right to file for a divorce (Ministry of Justice 2020).

The party forced into a marriage is usually a girl or woman, but boys and men can also be forced into marriage.

A forced marriage is, as such, a crime and a violation of human rights. Such marriage can include subjugation and restrictions as well as sexual, financial and other types of violence. A spouse may be forced to waive their basic rights and freedoms.

Forced marriage in Finland

In Finland, an increase in the number of forced marriages has been detected in recent years. In 2019, a total of 52 individuals, who were considered to have been subjected to forced marriage, were admitted as customers of the Assistance System for Victims of Human Trafficking. The number more than doubled from 2018. Many of these marriages have been contracted when one of the spouses was underaged.

In the case of twenty people, the marriage had a connection to Finland. Usually the marriage had been contracted abroad and continued in Finland after the family had relocated to the country. In some cases, the spouses had married in Finland or the demand to enter into marriage had been presented to an individual living in Finland.

In the light of several reports, an increasing number of cases has been detected in Finland where a girl from an immigrant background (who lives in Finland and is often a Finnish citizen) is sent abroad to marry a man who lives there.

Forced marriages and similar situations of forced circumstances can take place also among Finnish minority groups. The phenomenon is not restricted to immigration alone.

Identification of a forced marriage

Identifying a forced marriage can be challenging. The authorities may become aware of the victim when intervening in an individual case of assault, for example. In this sense, the indicators of forced marriage are in many ways similar to domestic violence. If victims do not dare to speak about their situation or are not given the opportunity to share their story calmly and without fear at the time, indicators of forced marriage may often remain neglected.

The topic of a forced marriage or its threat can be detected at schools, in child welfare, youth work, social work, health service, police, the Finnish Immigration Service or shelters for victims of domestic violence.

People who come into contact with potential victims of forced marriage must take into account that the victim may have experienced many kinds of pressure and/or violence:  physical, mental, spiritual, social, financial, or all the above.

The victim may fear being deprived of his/her whole community or of losing his/her children to a spouse if the victim attempts to leave. The threshold is very high for filing a crime report on one’s own family members, relatives or community.

It is important to see to the well-being and safety of the victim and offer the person a peaceful, confidential opportunity to share his/her situation. Listen carefully and always take the story seriously.

A forced marriage is a form of human trafficking

In Finland, forced marriage has been criminalised as a form of human trafficking, aggravated human trafficking or coercion. Its separate criminalisation, i.e. passing separate legislation on forced marriage, has been under review. 

A report on the annulment of forced marriages has also been completed by the Ministry of Justice. According to the current legislation on marriages, all annulments of marriage are processed as divorces.

A forced marriage is considered to constitute a violation of human dignity, and, in international legislation, the practice is viewed as equal to slavery. The definition of forced marriage is not internationally consistent.

The government bill on human trafficking provisions of the Finnish Criminal Code (HE 103/2014) makes a reference to the United Nations Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery (SopS 17/1959), in which forced marriage is defined as follows:

1. A woman, without the right to refuse, is promised or given in marriage on payment of a consideration in money or in kind to her parents, guardian, family or any other person or group; or

2. The husband of a woman, his family, or his clan, has the right to transfer her to another person for value received or otherwise; or 

3. A woman on the death of her husband is liable to be inherited by another person.

This definition is, however, very narrow. Firstly, it only refers to women. It also excludes situations in which the marriage was initially entered into voluntarily to some degree.

The Finnish Ministry of Justice published guidelines  in 2020 on forced marriages and their consequences in criminal legislation. The guidelines are currently only available in Finnish and Swedish (link opens in new window).