ePolitix.com - Time to act on forced marriages

Forced marriage is an abominable abuse of human rights, with implications for the victim which can include serious emotional and even physical abuse.

It has been linked to incidents of rape, self harm and suicide.

Every year, the government’s Forced Marriage Unit deals with 250 to 300 cases. This figure is just the tip of the iceberg.

Data has shown that victims prefer local support groups over statutory agencies and national charities, which makes it very difficult to know for sure the number of people forced to marry.

With the small amount of data available and the unwillingness of victims to speak out, getting to the bottom of such a sensitive and complex issue is a colossal task. To develop adequate policy is harder still.

The lack of quantitative data means we must listen to the experiences of those brave few who step forward to tell their tale. We have to reach out by learning from their experiences to help others at risk.

The Home Affairs Select Committee is currently holding an online consultation in which MPs, victims or anyone with a knowledge of forced marriage can do their bit to help improve government legislation by sharing information. Please log on to http://forums.parliament.uk/dvec.

An effective change in attitude must first be achieved within communities and local groups with a good understanding of the cultural issues at hand. The shame must shift from the victim to perpetrator.

Teachers, church leaders and others in positions of local authority need to take a leading role in protecting those around them. Teachers of children of marriageable age must be particularly vigilant to behavioural problems.

And this is not only a women's issue. It is estimated that 15 per cent of the victims are men, who will require different kinds of support from the women.

It is critical that forced marriage is not seen as simply a "cultural issue" but one of basic human rights.

It is time to act.

Ministerial Comment

I am delighted and greatly encouraged by this online debate.

I agree wholeheartedly with the comments from Fariha Thomas and The Ethnic Minority Foundation.

Forced marriage is a marriage without the full and free consent of both parties. It is a form of domestic violence and an abuse of human rights. Forced marriages are not arranged marriages. In an arranged marriage the family will take the lead in arranging the match but the couples have a choice as to whether to proceed. In a forced marriage there is no choice.

Forced marriage is an appalling and indefensible practice that the government is working hard to stop. The government’s Forced Marriage Unit was launched in January 2005 and is the UK's 'one-stop shop' for providing support and information to those at risk and developing government policy on forced marriage. In the past two years, the Forced Marriage Unit has produced guidelines on tackling forced marriage for police, social services, health and education professionals.

The FMU sees cases from around the world - including East and South Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Approximately 65 per cent of cases are in families of Pakistani origin and 25 per cent are in families of Bangladeshi origin. Around a third of cases the FMU deals with are children, some as young as 13, and 15 per cent involve men. The FMU works closely with NGO's and lawyers in countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh to raise awareness of Forced Marriage. As well as awareness raising NGO’s provide counselling, medical assistance and legal advice to victims.

One key development we are working on is the introduction of The Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2007/ukpga_20070020_en_1. This Act received Royal Assent on 26 July 2007. The Act comes into force in the autumn, and offers civil remedies to protect victims or potential victims of forced marriage, and protecting those already in such marriages.

Under the Forced Marriage Act:

Courts can make a Forced Marriage Protection Order to prevent or pre-empt forced marriages from occurring.
The order may contain prohibitions or restrictions to those who would force the victim into marriage.
Where a forced marriage has taken place, courts can make orders to protect the victim and help remove them from that situation.
The court may add a power of arrest where violence is threatened or used and the court considers that there will be inadequate protection without it.
Breach of an order made under the Act is not a criminal offence, but a constable may arrest a person whom he has reasonable cause to suspect is in breach of the order.
Breach is dealt with as contempt of court and the courts will have the full range of sanctions available to them, including imprisonment.
The Act enables county courts to hear forced marriage cases which can presently only be heard by the High Court. Initially, a number of specified County Courts will hear applications.
The Government listened carefully to stakeholders and decided not to make forced marriage a criminal offence for fear that this would deter victims who would not wish to criminalise members of their family from seeking police assistance.

It is important to note that the police and courts will be able to treat many of the practices associated with forced marriage such as kidnap and assault as criminal offences and deal with them accordingly.

Applications for a Forced Marriage Protection Order can be made at the same time as a police investigation or criminal proceedings. Equally, the existence of a Forced Marriage Protection Order will not remove the duty of the police and CPS to conduct enquiries. A Forced Marriage Protection Order can be made to protect the victim even where the police conclude there is insufficient evidence to bring a criminal prosecution.

Crucially, as victims of forced marriage may be unable to protect themselves, the Act also enables third parties to apply to court for protection on behalf of the victim. We have conducted a public consultation inviting key stakeholders and groups such as the Ashiana Network, Iranian and Kurdian Women's Rights Association and Karma Nirvana to provide their views, and this has just been concluded. More information on this is available from the following link: http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/cp3107.htm.

The Forced Marriage Act is a powerful tool and will go a long way to ensuring that no-one will be forced into marriage against their will and those already in such marriages will receive protection.

The Ministry of Justice is working with the Foreign Office http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/fco-in-action/nationals/, the Home Office, the Department for Children, Schools and Families: http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/familyandcommunity/childprotection/usefulinformation/typesofabuse/forced_marriage/ and the Crown Prosecution Service: http://www.cps.gov.uk/ to raise awareness of this terrible practice. Forced marriage is not a religious or cultural issue – it is a global human rights abuse and is a complex social problem requiring cross-government and 3rd sector co-operation.

The work Government is taking forward in conjunction with community and faith organisations such as the Ashiana Network: http://www.ashiana.org.uk/, Karma Nirvana: http://www.karmanirvana.org.uk/ and Southall Black Sisters: http://www.southallblacksisters.org.uk/ to name but a few, will help highlight and stop forced marriage.

I welcome any comments on this important debate.

More speeches and information:

http://www.justice.gov.uk/news/newsrelease110308e.htm

http://www.justice.gov.uk/news/newsrelease281107a.htm

http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/cp3107.htm

http://www.justice.gov.uk/news/newsrelease121207c.htm

Bridget Prentice MP
Ministry of Justice, London
Thu, 3 Apr 2008 14:15:52 GMT+00

The practice of forced marriage is not only a violation of an individual’s human rights, but it often results in physical and psychological harm inflicted on the victims; ending in extreme cases in their violent death.

It is wholly unacceptable that such acts of aggression against women are allowed to take place in British society. It is the more shocking given the sheer scale of the problem.

Against this background, the Ethnic Minority Foundation fully supports the enactment of the Forced Marriages (Civil Protection) Act 2007. This is an important step towards eradicating the appalling abuse of minority ethnic women and girls who continue to be forced into entering marital unions without their free and full consent.

While the law now provides much needed protection to the victims of forced marriages, this complex social problem requires a concerted multi-agency approach featuring an array of interventions at different levels. Whether the courts, the police, welfare and immigration services, local authorities, the school system or grass-root support groups, a strategic approach matched by long-term funding must be taken. Governmental short-term policies accompanied by temporary funding will certainly not effect long-lasting change.

In trying to eliminate this problem though, attention must ultimately be paid to the role played by communities themselves. Here, a combination of obsolete cultural attitudes towards women, a conspiracy of silence by those closest to the victims, a lack of community leadership together with a refusal to engage in collective self-introspection continues to see hundreds of minority ethnic women being exploited.

It is within this context that EMF calls upon those in position of authority within communities to show some real leadership, speak up against this outreach, engage in difficult conversations and lead the way forward, towards genuine and enduring change.

Great news! A desperate dilemma for women seeking to remain in the UK was finally resolved yesterday.

At yesterday’s Home Affairs Select Committee’s Inquiry into domestic violence & forced marriage it was announced that domestic violence victims awaiting the resolution of their status in the country will now be retrospectively assisted with their accommodation.

Let me paint a picture: once when a women married and came into this country, being beaten and abused by her husband, she had no choice but to stay with him, otherwise she would have no legal right to stay in the UK. Often in these situations the prospect of returning home could render her a disgrace to her family. All this means abandonment, poverty or worse.

This has been a major issue among campaign groups who have been highlighting the plight of women in such circumstances for years. They are women who have no recourse: they are unable to access public funds and unable to escape their abuser. They are being forced to choose between enduring domestic violence and being left on the streets destitute.

But no longer. Organisations like Southall Black Sisters have worked tirelessly to highlight this desperate situation and now we have won.

The announcement which indicated that the Home Office will provide funding to refuges where domestic violence survivors are given leave to remain will end the torment for hundreds of vulnerable women.

The government is to be congratulated on listening to the plight of the most vulnerable.

This Tuesday 11th March is the launch of a report by Dr Nazia Khanum investigating Forced Marriage and honour based violence in Margaret Moran’s Luton constituency. It is commissioned by Margaret Moran’s office, the Metropolitan Police and the Home Office and is the first of its kind.

Luton is also one of only areas of the country to run a forced marriage unit- a safe haven for those facing the tragedy of being forced to marry. My organization is involved in follow up schemes following the report’s recommendations on victim support. I have read the report and it brilliantly sets out a local context against a national picture.

If you want to find out more about the report or the launch this Tuesday you can email me at sophie@equalitynetworks.org.uk

Also Margaret’s point above: congratulations! I only hope the government can go further to support the infrastructure of refuges like the Southall Black Sisters. Every governemnt needs to learn that throwing money at a problem isn't always enough.

The issue is also about what the government is doing to prevent domestic violence and to improve the chances of couples enjoying good relationships. The role of local authorities in marriage preparation and in promoting domestic and social cohesion is never discussed:

- local authorities should publish a local policy for the promotion of domestic and social cohesion and follow a code of practice approved by the Local Government Association

- the Statistics and Registration Service Act alters the employment position of registrars who become employees of the local authority. All couples expressing an intention of marrying whether as a sponsor or when attending a register office should be invited to complete a pre-marital inventory

- unmarried couples registering a birth should be offered the opportunity to undertake a relationship development inventory and a parenting education programme

- couples completing approved programmes in good faith should be rewarded with a choice of retail store vouchers

- failure to complete the inventory satisfactorily should be sufficient grounds for Registrars or Entry Clearance officers to decline to process applications if they are suspicious that an intended marriage is bogus or forced

- failure to obtain a certificate from a facilitator that a pre-marital inventory had been completed in good faith together with the completion of a programme of marriage preparation should be sufficient grounds to revoke leave to remain in the UK

- the evidence provided by one of the couple following the completion of a pre-marital inventory in conjunction with a registered facilitator would be crucial in determining if abuse of marriage is occurring, and sufficient grounds for referral to the senior legal officer in the local authority

- if a sponsor or partner is aware that they will be expected to complete a premarital inventory it is more likel

Most forced marriage is not of the violence & abduction kind, which current law can deal with. Much of it is about emotional pressure, including threats of exclusion from the family. Legislation can only be a minor part of any strategy to overcome forced marriage. Public education on arranged and forced marriage, work by and with community and faith organisaitons to highlight the wrongness of this cultural practice, publicity about how help can be obtained, support for the community organisations who can assist those facing the dilemmas of going against parental wishes are all essential strategies. While forced marriage must be condemned, excessive and salacious media publicity may actually make it harder for people to speak up. Forced marriage should be seen within the overall context of domestic abuse within this country to prevent racist assumptions and stereotypes. Probably more women suffer abuse as a result of the 2 year rule so the news on accommodation support for them is great news and a smallstep in the right direction.

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