If you are being pressured into a marriage you do not want, or you are worried about someone who is, this page explains, gently and in plain terms, what the law recognises and what can be done. Your safety and your confidence come first.
A marriage should rest on the free consent of both people. Where that consent is missing, because someone has been pressured, threatened or coerced, the law does not simply treat the marriage as settled and final.
A forced marriage is one that a person enters without their free and full consent, because of pressure, threats or coercion. It is different from an arranged marriage, where both people freely agree even though families have made the introduction. The line between the two is consent: freely given, or not.
Pressure is not always loud. It can be emotional as well as physical, and it can come from people a person loves and depends on. That does not make it any less real, and it does not make the law any less able to help.
Hong Kong law recognises that a marriage entered into without true consent can be brought to an end by a decree of nullity, which is a court's declaration that the marriage is not to be treated as a valid one. In RM v AY [2023] HKFC 59, the court granted a decree of nullity on the basis that there had not been true consent to the marriage. We acted as the solicitors in that case.
What that means, in ordinary terms, is that a person who was forced into a marriage has a route out that acknowledges the marriage should not have bound them in the first place. It is a recognition, not a punishment, and it belongs to the person who was forced.
Anyone who has been pressured into a marriage they did not freely consent to, whatever their background or circumstances. It can also help the people around them, a friend, a teacher, a social worker, who can see what is happening and want to know that there is a lawful way forward.
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, contact the police on 999. Your safety matters more than any legal step, and the legal steps can follow once you are safe. If it is not safe to keep messages or documents where you are, that is understandable, and a lawyer can work with you around that.
For a teacher or a social worker, the most helpful things are often quiet ones: listening without judgement, not confronting a family in a way that raises the risk, and helping the person reach confidential advice when they are ready. There is no need to have all the answers before making contact.
What you tell a solicitor is confidential. We understand that in these situations discretion is not a nicety but a matter of safety, and we work accordingly. You are in control of the pace, and of what happens next.
We act in nullity and related family matters, and we do so with care and without judgement. We work in six languages, English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu, and we are used to matters that need to be handled quietly. You can read more on our family and modern family page, or simply get in touch when you are ready.
This page is general information, not legal advice on any specific situation. For advice on your circumstances, contact us.
You will hear back from a person within two working days. If it is urgent, call the office on (852) 2114 1616 during office hours, or call or WhatsApp us on (852) 6483 1803. If you are in immediate danger, contact the police on 999.
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