Addressing forced marriage in the EU: legal provisions and promising practices

Forced marriage is marriage without consent. It is a form of domestic violence. It violates the right to freely decide whether, when and whom to marry. Most of the victims are women but it can be imposed on men, too. Children and those with learning disabilities are particularly vulnerable. With this paper the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) encourages European Union institutions to look at the issue of forced marriage in a comprehensive manner. It suggests that the EU should consider acceding to the 2011 Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention), given that the convention envisages this possibility.