Get Help
If you are facing or fleeing a forced marriage or know someone who is, contact the Forced Marriage Initiative at Tahirih Justice Center.
Email: FMI@tahirih.org
Phone: 571-282-6161 (9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. EST, M-F)
All of the information you share will be kept confidential.
We can offer you support regardless of your age, race, class, gender, immigration status, nationality, sexual orientation, or religion.
We will discuss your rights and your options, guide you through steps you can take to keep safe, and help you to find resources in your area, including emergency shelter, legal services, counseling, and other forms of assistance.
Be aware that your communication can be monitored. This can include emails, texts, phone calls, and Internet use. We encourage all of our clients to conceal information about research they have done and contacts they have made in an effort to get help. We urge everyone to:
- Create an anonymous email account that no one knows about in order to communicate safely when reaching out for help.
- Only use a device that you solely control, and avoid shared devices such as family computers and cell phones on a family plan. Using a secret, pre-paid phone or accessing computers at school or the library can be a safer way to communicate.
Tahirih’s Forced Marriage Initiative is here to help you find ways to protect your privacy and enable you to communicate safely and freely with people who can help.
Please keep in mind that although we do our best to respond to service seekers as soon as possible, we are not a 24-hour hotline. We are in the office between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. EST, Monday-Friday.
24-Hour Assistance – If you find yourself in need of assistance outside of our normal business hours, you may contact the following national hotlines for assistance:
- Human Trafficking – National Human Trafficking Resource Center 24 hour Hotline: 1-888-373-7888
- Sexual Abuse – Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) 24 hour Hotline: 1-800-656-4673
- Suicidal Thoughts – National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 24 hour Hotline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
- Domestic Violence – National Domestic Violence Hotline 24 hour Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
If you are in immediate danger call 911 and your local police will provide you with emergency help.
FORCED MARRIAGE OVERSEAS
If you believe you may be facing a forced marriage overseas, Tahirih staff are available to help discuss your options, and to provide support and referrals if you going to be traveling or are already overseas.
We encourage all individuals to avoid traveling overseas if a forced marriage is possible or imminent.
However, for individuals who plan to travel overseas we advise sharing the following information with a trusted friend or ally:
- All flight/travel details
- Passport information (full name as it appears on passport, number, date and place of issue, date of expiration)
- Location of final destination (country, city/village, house number, and street)
- Contact information overseas (phone number, email, name, etc.)
We also advise individuals who are U.S. citizens to register with the State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, which provides the U.S. government with information about you and your travel plans.
Also, bring the Forced Marriage Initiative contact information with you if you decide to travel (email: FMI@tahirih.org; phone: 571-282-6161).
The Department of State Office of Overseas Citizens Services can provide limited assistance to Americans in crisis overseas. In some instances, the department can provide airfare back to the United States and issue emergency passports.
- Call: 1-202-501-4444 between 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. EST; after-hours call 202-647-4000 and request to speak with the OCS Duty Officer.
- You can also contact or go to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate for help. For the location and contact information of the closest Embassy or Consulate to where you are traveling, go to http://www.usembassy.gov/.
