Today, on the 32nd International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill reaches the Committee stage of the House of Lords. The Bill introduces a raft of measures covering matters as diverse as dangerous dogs, extradition proceedings, firearms and, tucked away in Part 10, forced marriage. Forced […]

The Government will urge for international action to protect women and girls from violence and sexual exploitation in emergency situations. Girls and women in crisis situations, such as flood, famine and conflict, face a greater risk of abuse, violence, forced marriage and sexual exploitation. Intervention in these cases are often not prioritised because their situation is […]

THE social, humanitarian and cultural (third) committee of the United Nations (UN) has adopted a resolution aimed at ending early and forced marriages. The adopted resolution would be co-chaired and co-sponsored by Zambia and Canada. According to a statement by First Secretary for Press and Public Relations at the Permanent Mission of Zambia to the UN, […]

Calgary police and educators are learning about how to recognize and deal with honour-based violence. Social agencies say such violence is prevalent in the city and often involves child and spousal abuse. “What we see, what makes it into the news, is simply the tip of the iceberg when it comes to these types of issues,” says […]

“We have kidnappings, abductions, assaults, sexual offences. Anything that you can imagine could happen, does happen, in the name of honour,” says Nazir Afzal, Crown Prosecutor for the north-west of England. And murder – 10 to 12 cases a year. Yet as the hyper-active, smartly dressed lawyer concedes in his Manchester office, violence invoked in […]

Schools must do more to warn children about the dangers of forced marriage, the Lords was told today. Labour spokeswoman Baroness Thornton said there was evidence that schools were doing “very little to ensure pupils are informed about forced marriage and offer them necessary support if they need it”. She added: “In fact there is […]

From Sally Al-Sabahi who, after being married at the age of 10, was raped and beaten by her much older husband to 13-year-old Ilham who, in 2010, died from internal bleeding four days after being forcibly married, the plight of Yemen’s child brides makes for harrowing reading. But following international condemnation and campaigns by charities such […]

MSPs are seeking views on whether forced marriage should be a criminal offence. Holyrood’s Justice Committee wants to know if people believe criminalisation would be an improvement or if present safeguards are sufficient. The call for evidence comes after an attempt by Westminster to legislate for Scotland on the criminalisation for forced marriage. The UK […]

An imam caught agreeing to marry off a 14-year-old girl has been welcomed back to his mosque job, despite protests from worshippers. Sajid Zafar Hussain has spent the past month suspended from his post at the Jamatia Islamic Centre on Woodlands Road, Sparkhill. He was caught on film agreeing to arrange the wedding ceremony by undercover […]