the other day i was having my dad pick me up from shopping and as he was driving he said that my mum had found some explicit pictures of me on my old phone he said i wasnt aloud my phone anymore and i was grounded.my mum didnt talk to me for two days on the 3rd day i appologised and mum forgave me but i was still being punished. i overheard my mum and dad talking about sending me back to my home country to get me married and force me into headscarf i thought they were jiking untill today when my mum walked into the room and saw me on the laptop having some free time she said to me to give her the laptop or she was going to call my dad i said i will call the police but she said that shes going to wait till the summer holidays to send me back to my home country and marry me to somone i said i would call the police and she said that she didnt care. i am only 13
Sam
Hi there,
Its illegal for someone to try and take you out of the country if they plan on forcing you to marry someone. Its called forced marriage. The police would take you seriously if you told them.
If you are told you're going abroad very suddenly and youre not sure why, its always okay to question this and tell people about it. If theres a normal explanation then theres no harm in telling an adult you trust. But if they plan to break the law it might mean they can be stopped.
Theres a special section of the police who deal with forced marriage. They are called the Forced Marriage Unit. There are ways of contacting them directly if you feel able to do that safely you can either email [email protected]or call on 020 7008 0151.
You can always tell someone like a teacher at school, an adult you trust or ChildLine. At ChildLine we can help you to stay safe and this might mean us telling someone else for you. If youd like that to happen then you could talk to a counsellor and let them know what you'd like to say.
Its important that if youre worried you might be taken abroad and forced to be married that you get help as soon as possible. But even at the airport its not too late and you can tell someone who works there and they should know what to do.
I hope that helps do get in touch with us before the summer and we can talk about what to do next.
Take care, Sam
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