Forced Marriage Protection Order

You can apply for a FMPO if you have been forced into a marriage or you believe you are being forced into a marriage. The marriage does not have to have occurred for you to gain protection.

A FMPO is a court order containing provisions that can restrict a person’s actions or require them to take certain steps in order to protect you from abuse and to stop the person(s) making arrangements for the marriage. This could mean that the order is made against one person or many people who are involved in the forced marriage.

An order can be made against any persons in the UK or outside, who is, or has been, involved in the forced marriage in any way. This could be your mother, father or other close family member; or someone who you do not know but is involved in the forced marriage.

The person’s involvement in the forced marriage does not have to involve them physically abusing or threatening you, or involve any other type of abuse, it could be made against a person who is making arrangements for your wedding or for flights to take you to another country for the purposes of your marriage. For example, an imam or a priest who is going to conduct the ceremony or wider family members who are acting in a harassing way, could be subject to a FMPO.

The order can include anything the judge at court feels is necessary to protect someone from forced marriage.

Here are some examples of what the FMPO might say:

1. The Respondent must not take the Applicant out of the Sussex area.
   
   
2. The Respondent must not harass, pester or molest the Applicant, directly or indirectly.
   
   
3. The Respondent must halt any arrangements for the wedding of the Applicant.

The person making the application is called the Applicant. The person the FMPO order is made against is called the Respondent.

You can request that the order be reviewed by the court at intervals to see if it is still needed. If the judge feels it is no longer need, it can be removed.

A Forced Marriage Protection Order can be used alongside other court orders such as Emergency Protection Orders and Restraining Orders

You can make an application for a FMPO at the Family Court. The application form is an FL401A which is available from any court or to download from the Ministry of Justice’s website.

You or your solicitor will need to prepare a witness statement setting out details of your situation, any violence or threats that have been used against you, the arrangements for your marriage or details of the marriage if it has taken place. You should also set out what you want the order to do and the persons you want the order to be made against.

There is no court fee for applying for a FMPO. For more information on other legal costs see A Guide to Family Law Legal Aid

Yes, but they might not know until you get the order.

You or your solicitor can start the application for a FMPO without telling your family. This is called a ‘without notice’ application. If the without notice FMPO is made this means that you will have protection before your family knows you have made the application.

The application must be sent to them by a process server (a person whose job is to give documents to people) or the court bailiffs.

The family court will then set a hearing at which your perpetrators will have the opportunity to defend the order, or they can agree to let the order continue. This might mean that you have to give evidence at court with your perpetrators there.

You will usually have to attend court. In certain situations, you can give evidence from another location, so that you do not have to face your perpetrators at court. If you do not wish to or do not feel you can attend court, you should ask your solicitor to request that you can give evidence from a different location. If this is not possible, you or your solicitor should ask for special facilities to be put in place to protect you at court and giving evidence. If you or your solicitor call the court in advance and ask for special measures.

A friend, relative or someone else can make an application for an FMPO. As you are not the victim you will have to ask for the court’s permission first and set out your relationship with the victim.

For example, if it is your sister, you should state this and provide any proof in support, if it is your friend or your girlfriend you should explain this and how long you have known the victim and provide any evidence you have to show this.

Your application will need to set out your knowledge of the circumstances of the victim’s situation and the court will also consider what the victim thinks about the application, if their wishes can be ascertained. If the court grants permission, then the application can be made for a FMPO to protect the victim.

If you are not able to make the application yourself, for example, you cannot leave the house or access the courts, or are in another country, or you are too frightened, then someone else can make the application.

See above: I am concerned that someone close to me is being forced into a marriage, can I apply for a forced marriage protection order to protect this person

Someone else making the application means it is not being made by you, but it is being made to protect you, which might make it easier for you to take steps to protect yourself without it coming directly from you. As forced marriage often involves parents and other family members it can be difficult for you to make the application in your own name, it might not be safe or possible for you to do so.

The person who is making the application, for example, you, your solicitor, social services or someone supporting a victim, is responsible for serving the FMPO on the perpetrator. This means giving the respondent a copy and it should be done using a process server or the court bailiff. A copy should also be sent to the Forced Marriage Unit and the police. The

respondent must know there was a FMPO in place to be responsible for breaching any part of it.

It is a criminal offence to breach any part of a FMPO and you can call the police if any part of the order is ignored or not complied with. For example, if the order states that the perpetrator is not allowed to text you and you receive a text from them, this is a criminal offence. If your perpetrator is found guilty of breaching the FMPO then there are a range of sentences that they could receive. The maximum sentence is 5 years imprisonment. For information about criminal proceedings see Reporting an offence to the police: A guide to criminal investigations