ABSTRACT
The year 2018 proved to be a pivotal year that saw two consecutive forced marriage convictions within a week – in the first, a mother was found guilty on two counts of forcing her daughter to marry in Pakistan and in the second, a Bangladeshi couple was convicted for tricking their daughter into visiting Bangladesh with the underlying motive of her marriage (Summers, 2018; Taylor, 2018). During the same time, a young man from South Yorkshire was the first male victim of forced marriage to be issued a Forced Marriage Protection Order (Parveen, 2018). This chapter aims to intersperse debates about female victims of forced marriages with those of male victims, identifying the similarities and differences in perception, understanding and experience of forced marriage between the two groups. Against the backdrop of socio-cultural expectations and masculinities, this chapter demonstrates the specific contexts in which men become victims of forced marriage. In doing so, it contributes to the research lacuna of the nature and pattern of forced marriages that men face, the impact that it has on them and in particular how men themselves understand their experiences. This chapter utilises the wider literature on male victimisation to frame a better understanding of the issue of forced marriage of men, highlighting the similarities that men face during and after victimisation in a variety of contexts. It calls for serious attention towards male victims of forced marriage and cautions against the ridicule, disbelief and trivialisation that they may face. It is important that men’s overall experiences of forced marriage is recorded and mobilised adequately so that they are not treated as a minority and are able to obtain appropriate intervention.
