- Find a person you trust: friend, teacher, or social worker with whom you can talk about your legal questions, housing, counseling, and additional support. See “Info & Help” for more information.
- Talk to your parents: only if you feel safe, talk about your concerns, but try to have someone there who can mediate the situation if necessary
- Slow down the process: if you feel safe, try to make sure that your parents have plenty of time to consider your own views
Remember that there can be legal consequences for those who force you to get married. The actual consequences can either be a monetary fine or imprisonment. Depending on the offence, the person engaging in the illegal activity can get a criminal record. Once a person has a criminal record, the ability to travel, get a job, receive child custody, etc. will be very negatively affected.
You have the right to consent or refuse to be married. You have the right to choose whom you marry.
In Canada, you have the right to:
- refuse to be married
- be free of emotional blackmail
- be treated equally and with respect
- live in security
- be free of physical or mental abuse
- refuse to have sexual relations
- have an abortion without telling anyone but your doctor
- leave your husband through divorce or separation
My family is taking me back to our home country for me to get married – what can I do?
First off, you must seriously consider contacting the police because if you are being forced to leave the country against your will, you could be in a dangerous situation.
If you are not ready to contact the authorities yet, you can still take other precautions to insure your safety.
■ Speaking to a professional
– You can discuss your situation with a school counselor, a social worker, a nurse, a teacher, etc.
■ Making photocopies of important documents
– You can make photocopies of your passport and your personal identification (e.g. driver’s license) along with writing down the address and telephone number of where you will be staying, a detailed summary of your travel schedule, your arrival and departure dates, the names of the people you will be staying with and your future spouse’s information. These documents are to be given to someone you trust so that they can contact the police on your behalf if anything happens to you and you do not return to Canada.
■ Notify those you trust
– You can notify people who you trust and who are not subject to pressure from those who are forcing you to get married.
– Notify the Canadian consulate and embassy in the country you will be traveling to
– Notify the local authorities (e.g. the police) of the country you will be traveling to
– Notify any organization that may exist in the country you are traveling to who help women
■ Bring along foreign currency :
– You can bring along foreign currency for phone calls, food, and hotels.
■ Have a way you can be contacted while traveling
– Bring a mobile phone that is reachable or purchase a SIM card.
I was married against my will, but I have no legal proof of the marriage. Can I have my marriage annulled?
If you do not have legal proof of your marriage, you are not considered to be legally married in Quebec. You therefore have no ground to apply for your marriage to be annulled. Note that an annulment is distinct from divorce, because annulment establishes that the marriage never existed, whereas divorce recognises that the marriage once existed but that the marriage is now over. Grounds for annulment include bigamy, marrying a brother or sister, not following statutory procedure, errors in identity, and duress.
Alternatively, if you are seeking a divorce, you can ask the government of the place where your legal marriage occurred to reissue your marriage certificate, and which point you can apply for a divorce.