Going Abroad Toolkit
What this toolkit explains:
Measures you can take to stop somebody from taking you abroad to be forcibly married or to be subjected to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
Taking your rights abroad
Holiday risk guidance - for teachers, healthcare professionals and others responsible for the protection of children
Who to contact
Measures you can take
Protection orders
A protection order grants you extra protection against a specific person. This can be useful tool to stop somebody from committing FGM against you, forcing you to marry or taking you abroad against your will.
Orders are designed to protect you based on your individual circumstances. Protections may include prohibiting someone from communicating with you or stopping someone from taking you out of the UK.
An FGM* protection order can help if you:
Believe you are at risk of FGM
Know someone who is at risk of FGM
Have already had FGM committed against you
A forced marriage protection order can help if you are:
Being forced into a marriage
Are already in a forced marriage
You can apply for an FGM protection order or a forced marriage protection order for yourself or on behalf of somebody else, but for the latter you will need permission from the court.
If you believe that a specific person intends to take you abroad to force you to marry or to be subjected to FGM, you should state this in your application.
If you need help with your application, contact Citizens Advice or info@thevavengers.co.uk. You can also ask a solicitor to apply for you and you might be able to get legal aid to help you through the process. Read more on FGM and forced marriage protection orders here.
Protecting your passport
If you think that going abroad may increase your risk of harm, you can also cancel your passport so that you cannot be forced or coerced into leaving the UK.
If your passport is lost or has been taken from you, you must cancel it immediately. You can also report a lost or stolen passport for somebody else if they cannot do it themselves. This will reduce the risk of somebody using your identity or from forcing somebody else to use it.
Taking your rights abroad
Female Genital Mutilation
FGM is a crime in the UK, and laws still apply even if you are cut abroad.
Even if someone is taken overseas to be subjected to FGM, it is still a crime in the UK if the mutilation is done by a UK national or a UK resident
It is also a crime if a UK national or resident assists or gets a non-UK national or resident to carry out FGM overseas on a UK national or resident
If FGM is committed against a girl under the age of 16, each person who is responsible for the girl at the relevant time is guilty of an offence
If you think that you are at risk of FGM being committed against you abroad, you can carry the UK's statement opposing FGM - sometimes known as a health passport.
This statement can be used as a protective tool when travelling abroad. It makes it clear that FGM is a serious criminal offence in the UK with a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison. And your parents, or whoever is caring for you, may also be guilty of an offence if they fail to protect you from FGM. The statement is available in 12 languages and can be downloaded online.
Forced Marriage
A forced marriage is where one or both people do not (or in cases of people with learning disabilities or reduced capacity, cannot) consent to the marriage, because they are pressurised or abuse is used to force them to do so. It is a form of domestic or child abuse and a serious violation of human rights.
Forced marriage is a criminal offence in the UK and can result in a sentence of up to 7 years in prison. It is a crime to force someone to marry you, to force somebody to marry someone else, and to arrange a marriage for someone before they are 18. Forced marriage includes:
Taking someone overseas to force them to marry (whether or not the forced marriage takes place)
Marrying someone who lacks the mental capacity to consent to the marriage (whether they are pressured to or not)
Any marriage where one or both people are under the age of 18
Holiday risk and signs
Around the world, FGM increases during holiday periods as being out of school gives more time for girls to physically recover from the abuse. In the UK, 60,000 girls are at risk of FGM, and many are taken abroad to be cut.
We urge everybody, especially teachers and healthcare professionals, to be vigilant during this time of year.
Signs from the National FGM Centre that a child might be at risk of FGM:
Indications might include a child:
Saying she is going to have a ‘special procedure’, or attend a special occasion to ‘become a woman’
Talking about going on a long holiday to a country where FGM risk is high
Telling her friends about FGM
The child’s parents may:
Say they are taking their child out of the country for a prolonged period of time
Ask permission to take their daughter out of school during term time
Talk about going to a country where FGM risk is high, especially during holiday periods
During the summer holidays, forced marriage reports reach their peak.
Signs that somebody may be being forced to marry:
Talking about a long holiday and seeming anxious about going
An announcement of engagement to a stranger not previously mentioned
Parents removing a child from education, preventing further education or extra-curricular activities
Talking about going away for a special celebration where they will bring “honour” to the family
Signs that somebody is already in a forced marriage:
Failure to return home from a visit to a country where forced marriage rates are high
Noticeable levels of absenteeism or lateness at school, college or employment
Stopping spending time with friends and won’t answer calls or texts
Surveillance by siblings or other family members
If you suspect that a woman or girl's safety is at risk, you should immediately follow safeguarding procedures and contact the relevant authorities. If somebody you know has already been taken abroad, you should also contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Who to contact
Emergency
If you are in immediate risk of abuse, contact the police by calling 999
Forced marriage
Forced Marriage Unit
fmu@fcdo.gov.uk
Telephone: 020 7008 0151
From overseas: +44 (0)20 7008 0151
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Out of hours: 020 7008 5000
Contact the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) if:
you’re trying to stop a forced marriage or you need help leaving a marriage you’ve been forced into
you think you’re about to be taken abroad to get married against your will.
Karma Nirvana
“Honour”-based abuse charity
Free confidential helpline: 0800 5999 247 / Mon-Fri 9am-5pm
FGM
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
020 7008 1500
fcocorrespondence@fco.gov.uk
Contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office if an at-risk woman or girl has already been taken abroad.
National FGM Helpline ran by NSPCC
email: fgmhelp@nspcc.org.uk
telephone: 0800 028 3550 / Mon-Fri 10am-8pm
Home Office FGM Unit
If you don’t feel comfortable contacting any of the above organisations yourself, you can confide in a trusted teacher or healthcare professional. They have legal responsibility to safeguard you and contact the relevant authorities.
Resources
gov.uk
National FGM Centre
nhs.uk
Disclaimer
This page does not constitute as, nor should it substitute, legal advice. This resource pack intends to simplify information and promote the equalisation of rights-based education. Please note, the information provided on this site applies to England and Wales law and resources are addressed to people who reside in the UK or British citizens. Readers of this page should always refer to GOV.UK when sourcing legal advice for extensive information.
Notes
*To avoid confusion we use “FGM” instead of our usual “FGM/C” in this article because it is the language used by the authorities who grant protection orders.