Fears over forced marriage levels

March 11, BBC News

Figures showing hundreds of pupils from ethnic minorities are being removed from school have sparked concerns many are being forced into marriages abroad.

Compiled for a report for a committee of MPs, they highlight how many children have disappeared from school registers in England.

The MPs fear some have been forced into marriages against their will.

A separate report suggests the number of illegal forced marriages each year runs into several thousand.

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The home affairs select committee has demanded answers with some suspecting that young girls and occasionally even boys are being taken out of education and forced to marry against their will - often because they are deemed to have become too Westernised.

Local authorities have a statutory duty to inform social services if there is no good reason for long-term school absence.

Local councils deny the missing youngsters are likely to have been forced into marriages.

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photo: From pupil to bride, hundreds have gone missing from school registers (BBC)