Support for Stalking, Harassment and Domestic Abuse

A forced marriage is one in which one or both of the people getting married do not, or cannot, consent to the marriage and coercion is involved.  Coercion may include emotional force, physical force, threats of violence, or financial pressure. Forced marriage is a criminal offence in the UK.

There is a clear difference between forced marriage and arranged marriage. In arranged marriages, while families may take a lead, the choice of whether to accept the arrangement remains with the prospective spouses.

If families have to resort to violence or coercion to make someone marry, that person’s consent has not been given freely and it is therefore considered a forced marriage.

Support for forced marriage

Click here for the Government information on forced marriage

Click here for Karma Nirvana

Click here for the West Midlands police outlining your options

Click here for Black Country Women's Aid

There is no single definition of honour-based violence, as it is a complex issue. It can be described as a collection of practices, which are used to control behaviour within families or other groups. This is done to protect perceived cultural and religious beliefs and or honour. Abuse and violence can happen when perpetrators think that a relative has “shamed” the family or community by breaking their “honour” code.

Most victims of honour-based violence are women and girls, although it can affect men and boys too. Often there is no single perpetrator and victims can be at risk from close or extended family or community members.

Honour-based violence is not justified by any culture or religion and is a human rights issue.

Support for honour-based violence

Click here for the West Midlands police outlining your options 

Click here for Karma Nirvana

Clck here for Black Country Women's Aid

Sexual violence is any unwanted sexual act or activity. If someone intentionally grabs or touches you in a sexual way that you don’t like, if you’re forced to kiss someone or do something else sexual against your will, this is sexual assault.

If you are forced to have sex with someone, or someone has sex with you without your consent or agreement, this is rape.

If this has happened to you, it is important to remember that it is not your fault. No-one ever asks to be raped or assaulted, or deserves it. Rape and sexual assault are criminal offences, and the blame lies with the abuser.

Support for rape and sexual violence

Click here for Horizon sexual assault referral centre

Click here for Crisis Point

Stalking means persistent and unwanted attention that makes you feel pestered, harassed and threatened. This can include a range of behaviour, the important thing is that you find it unwanted and unwelcome. Stalking can happen to anyone. Most people know their stalker in some way, but some people don’t or may have only had a brief encounter with them.

Stalking can build up slowly over time, and it may be very subtle or even feel flattering at the beginning. This this can make it hard to recognise. Stalking can also go on for a long time, which can make you feel overwhelmed and worried that it will never stop.

However, stalking is a crime and is not something you should have to put up with.

Are you being stalked? Do you recognise any of the following?

• Repeated unwanted contact, by phone, text, in person or online

• Unwanted gifts, even if they seem like nice things such as flowers

• Gifts that might not seem strange to anyone else, but might have significant meaning to you which makes you feel threatened

• Persistently trying to get around any measures you may take to avoid contact, such as making fake online profiles to contact you if you block them

• Contacting your friends and family in person, online or by phone, as a way of getting to you

• Always seeming to know where you are and what you are doing, making you feel like you are being watched

• Turning up at work or school

• Hanging around places you may be, even if they don’t speak to you

• Damaging your property or property of your family and friends

• Using threats to coerce you into meeting them

• Spreading stories about you to other people

• Persistent breaching of orders that may have been put in place to protect you

• Making you fear that violence will be used against you. They may have been violent to you in the past, making this threat feel very real

These are just some of the ways a stalker may try to get to you, you may have experienced others.

Support for stalking and harrassment

Click here for Black Country Women's Aid

Click here for Victim Support

Click here for Suzy Lamplurgh Trust

Useful Apps

Click here for information on Hollie Guard, a free personal safety app

Click here for information on Uniguard, the University’s safeguard app