First vacation, then marriage: New warning against forced marriages
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Summer holidays can become a serious trap for some young people in Germany. Authorities are warning that families may use trips abroad to force teenagers into marriage, with schools urged to recognize warning signs before students disappear.
The Kultusministerium Baden-Württemberg (Ministry of Education of Baden-Württemberg) has warned that a student who fails to return to school after the holidays without explanation could, in some cases, be the victim of a forced marriage or being held abroad against their will.
Schools in the state are receiving an emergency information sheet designed to help teachers identify possible warning signs. Authorities in Berlin have issued similarly serious warnings, saying some young people travel abroad believing they will still be able to reject a planned marriage once they arrive.
According to the authorities, that expectation can prove to be a dangerous “Trugschluss” (false assumption). In some cases, young people may have their passports, mobile phones and money taken away after arriving abroad. Once this happens, bringing them back to Germany can become extremely difficult or even impossible.
Authorities use the term “Heiratsverschleppung” (abduction for forced marriage) for cases in which people are taken abroad, often under the pretext of a holiday, and then forced into marriage against their will. The GesellschaftsReport, published by Baden-Württemberg’s Social Ministry, identifies such situations as a particular concern during the holiday period.
Experts also stress that forced marriage and being taken abroad against one’s will are not limited to the summer holidays. The Berlin-based Papatya support organization has previously warned that these dangers exist throughout the year, although the period before school holidays often brings more requests for preventive advice from young people worried about being left abroad.
German authorities are therefore urging schools to take unexplained absences after the holidays seriously. A student who suddenly fails to return from a family trip may not simply be extending a vacation—officials warn that, in some cases, the absence could signal that the young person is trapped abroad and needs urgent help.