A Times Investigation has found how young women who are sent abroad by their families for forced marriages are charged by the Foreign Office for the cost of rescuing them. The department helped to repatriate 27 victims of forced marriage in 2017 and 55 in 2016, according to the figures released under the Freedom of Information Act.
British victims who call for help are told that they have to find hundreds of pounds for their flight home, basic food and accommodation. Anyone over 18 who cannot pay the amount are made to sign emergency loan agreements with the Foreign Office before boarding their flight home and have their passports confiscated until repayment. If they fail to clear their debt within six months, officials add 10 per cent to their bill.
Four young British women who were found imprisoned at a “correctional school” in Somalia were charged £740 each. They were sent by their families to the religious institution, where they were chained to walls, whipped with hosepipes and told that they would be forced to get married.
The victims spoke to the Times that the government loans had left them destitute, with some having to claim benefits or use university loans to fund repayments. Two are living in refuges and two have become drug addicts since returning to Britain. Theresa May has described forced marriage as a “tragedy for each and every victim” and said that the government was working to “secure a better future for the thousands of women and girls at risk”.
A spokesman said: “Given these are from public funds, we have an obligation to recover the money. The [government’s] forced marriage unit provides funding for safe houses and non-governmental organisations to ensure victims of forced marriage can get to a place of safety as soon as possible. We do not charge British nationals for this service and work with organisations to support them on return.”
“Protection should not have a price tag. Charging vulnerable women escaping forced marriage abroad is morally wrong and inhumane. Those who find themselves in such dangerous and life threatening situations should not be punished when seeking protection from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.” said Professor Aisha K. Gill. CBE, Professor of Criminology at the University of Roehampton.
