Forced marriage

Red Cross can help people who are in a forced marriage or are being worried about being forced into marriage.

Our program can help you recover and rebuild your life by providing financial support, access to health and accommodation services, counselling, building community supports and more. We can also help you find other organisations and agencies that might be able to help you.

How to get help

Currently, eligibility to the Support Program is determined by:

• The Australian Federal Police. To report or discuss a concern, call the Australian Federal Police on 131 AFP (131 237) or make a report online.
• The Salvation Army. You can contact the Salvation Army on 1800 000 277 or visit their website.

You can also contact Red Cross by calling 1800 113 015 or sending us an email national_stpp@redcross.org.au if you are worried about a friend, family member, colleague or someone you know that might be experiencing or at risk of forced marriage and want to receive confidential advice and discuss how to get help.

My Blue Sky is a national forced marriage service. You can also contact them for advice.

If you think someone is in imminent danger, please call the police on 000.

How we can help

People impacted by forced marriage can now access up to 200 days of holistic support without having to participate in a criminal justice process. For more information visit Support for Trafficked People Program | Department of Social Services.

Red Cross might be able to help if you:

• are or were being threatened, coerced, pressured or tricked into getting married
• have not freely and fully consented to being married
• were under 16 years old at the time you were married or
• did not have the mental capacity to consent to your marriage.

If you are not eligible for this program we might be able to help by referring you to other Red Cross support or community support organisations.

Participation in the program is voluntary and you can choose to leave at any time.

What is forced marriage?

A person is in a forced marriage if they did not freely and fully consent to being married. It is illegal in Australia.

Learn more about forced marriage by watching these videos.