My family has been hinting about my marriage plans.  I’m worried they are going to force me into a marriage that I don’t want to be part of, and we are going overseas soon. What can I do?

If you plan to travel overseas, or you think you may be taken overseas, and are afraid that you may be forced into a marriage to which you have not and do not consent, keep in mind the risks that you may face:

• You may be alone, isolated, and unable to contact other family or friends
• You may be in unfamiliar surroundings
• You may face duress from members of your family
• You personal freedoms may be curtailed, or you may not be allowed to leave the home
• Your money, plane ticket, and or passport may be taken away from you
• You may not have access to the phone or the internet

Here are some ideas to help you avoid some of these risks:

• While you are in the United States, report the situation to your local authorities
• If possible, take a call phone with you, and have the contact numbers for the U.S. Embassy in Bangladesh stored in it.  Also, you may want to write down the numbers for the U.S. Embassy in Bangladesh and keep them separate from your phone in the event it is confiscated
• If you have your own financial resources, you may want to take some money and keep it with you in a place that only you know about
• You should keep your passport in a safe place.  You may also want to keep a copy of your passport as well as an additional form of identification in a separate place
• You should leave the following information with a trusted friend or adult outside of your family with instructions to contact the U.S. Embassy in Bangladesh on your behalf should they be unable to contact you.  You may also wish to leave them a code word that you can tell them in the event of a forced marriage if your conversations are being monitored:

If you are an American citizen (including dual-nationals) we can provide confidential assistance with issues faced by victims of forced marriage by:

• Intervening and negotiating on your behalf with members of your family
• Locating a temporary shelter or safe haven for you
• Helping arrange travel back to the U.S. on your behalf, and, if necessary, providing a loan to pay for your ticket and subsistence
• Providing a list of legal service organizations and attorneys who have notified the Embassy that they are interested in assisting American’s with a wide array of cases.
• Providing a list of doctors and hospitals, and information on the types of treatment and care they provide.

You should contact the U.S. Embassy in Bangladesh and ask to speak with the American Citizen Services Unit.  You will be asked for specific information that will allow us to confirm the identity of your missing friend or family member, as well as locate them.  To the greatest extent possible, be able to provide their:

• Full name, date of birth, and place of birth
• Local address and contact information
• U.S. passport number, date of issue, and date of expiry
• Flight information