The revelation from Karma Nirvana, a Derby-based charity which runs a helpline for victims of forced marriages, comes after a Government warning to teachers, doctors and airport staff that school pupils who seem to be going away on holiday may in fact be heading towards an arranged marriage.
Forced marriages are especially common during the summer holidays, when there’s less of a chance the child’s absence will be noticed.
The Foreign Office’s Forced Marriage Unit received 400 reports in the three months up to the end of August last year, though it is believed that many more cases go unreported. More than a third of those affected are under 16.
Karma Nirvana, which was set up by Jasvinder Sanghera who was disowned by her Sikh family aged 16 when she refused to marry a man in India, takes about 600 calls a month.
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