Federal police have revealed they had saved 53 potential forced marriages involving mainly Australian woman and children in the past year.

Australian Federal Police Detective Superintendent Jayne Crossling told Gary Adshead on 6PR Mornings they could stop women from being forced to travel overseas to participate in arranged marriages or stop victims from being harmed if alerted in time.

“We are so grateful for people out there who are advocating for these victims… we can intervene in time to stop them,” she said.

Press PLAY to hear how the AFP are protecting vulnerable people

More than 75 per cent of victims who were saved are female, and more than half are children, under the age of 18.