Forced marriage

In a forced marriage, the future bride or groom is forced by their parents or family to enter into a marriage against their will. Girls and young women in particular are often no longer allowed to finish school, are unable to learn a profession, quickly become pregnant and are dependent on their husband in every respect.

In order to enforce the forced marriage, the girls and women are often put under pressure through physical and psychological violence. It is not uncommon for those affected to be lured abroad under the pretext of wanting to visit their families in their parents' countries of origin during the vacations in order to marry them off there.

In reality, it is not always easy to distinguish between a forced marriage and an arranged marriage, which is legal and in line with cultural traditions.

Girls and women who have been forced into marriage or are at risk of forced marriage can find multilingual help and advice at the specialist advice centers against forced marriage in Bielefeld and in Cologne as well as the general women's advice centres in NRW (Please open the list of general women's advice centres and the list of specialist advice centres against sexualized violence in NRW). The specialist advice center against forced marriage in Bielefeld offers multilingual online advice and can also be contacted via the internet, social media and cell phones. Relatives and friends can also seek advice here free of charge.

Find help quickly

Further information on the state-funded specialist advice centers against forced marriage can be found on the website of the Ministry of Equality of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.