What is forced marriage?
In 2017, the International Labour Organization reported that 15.4 million people, mainly girls and women, are held in forced marriages.
The U.S. State Department defines forced marriage as those in which at least one party did not give consent to be married.
Forced marriage often is a forerunner of sex and labor trafficking. Forced and early marriages are most common in Africa and parts of Asia. But cases have been reported in the United States and Europe.