Quarantine hotel costs risk forced marriage victims dying in ‘honour’ killings or being trapped abroad

Exclusive: Victims Commissioner warns forced marriage victims ‘face many barriers’ to escaping and expensive ‘hotel quarantine should not be one’. By Maya Oppenheim

Honour-based abuse includes forced marriage, coercive control, and female genital mutilation (FGM), as well as assault, threats to kill, attempted murder, and murder (AFP via Getty)

The government’s strict rules around travel are placing forced marriage victims at grave risk of being trapped abroad or potentially murdered in so-called honour killings, experts have warned.

In a letter, shared exclusively with The Independent, campaigners raised fears British girls forced into marriages abroad or facing “honour”-based abuse overseas will be fearful of returning to the UK due to not being able to afford the cost of staying in a quarantine hotel once home.

Pandemic travel restrictions mean Britons travelling to England from countries on the red list have to isolate in a quarantine hotel for 10 days, costing up to £1,750. And those who are required to go to a special quarantine hotel yet do not come into England at one of the selected entry ports can face a penalty of up to £10,000.