The demographics of forced marriage of people with learning disabilities: findings from a national database
The Journal of Adult Protection
ISSN: 1466-8203
Article publication date: 11 March 2020
Issue publication date: 21 April 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to compare the UK demographics of forced marriage of people with learning disabilities and people without learning disabilities to inform effective safeguarding practice.
Design/methodology/approach
An analysis of all cases of forced marriage reported to the UK Government’s Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) between 2009 and 2015.
Findings
People with learning disabilities are at five times greater risk of forced marriage than people without learning disabilities. Men and women with learning disabilities are equally likely to be forced to marry, whereas amongst the general population, women are more likely than men to be forced to marry. Patterns of ethnicity, geographic location within the UK and reporters are the same for people with and without learning disabilities.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis is based on cases reported to the FMU, and for some cases, data held was incomplete. More importantly, many cases go unreported and so the FMU data does not necessarily reflect all cases of forced marriage in the UK.
Practical implications
Forced marriage of people with learning disabilities is a safeguarding issue. Practitioners across health, education, criminal justice and social care need to better understand the risk of forced marriage for people with learning disabilities. Links to practice resources developed as part of the wider project are provided.
Originality/value
This is the first time that researchers have been given access to FMU data and the first time that a statistical analysis of cases of forced marriage involving someone with a learning disability have been analysed.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the Forced Marriage Unit for their time and effort in providing anonymised data to facilitate this study. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the funders, NIHR School for Social Care Research, for their financial support.Disclaimer: This report is based on independent research funded by the NIHR School for Social Care Research; the views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR School for Social Care Research or the Department of Health, NIHR or NHS.
Citation
Clawson, R., Patterson, A., Fyson, R. and McCarthy, M. (2020), "The demographics of forced marriage of people with learning disabilities: findings from a national database", The Journal of Adult Protection, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 59-74. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAP-09-2019-0029
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited