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Posts Tagged ‘cultural stereotypes’

Forced marriage and the “lawfully wedded” wife

Published: December 1st, 2013 Updated: November 30th, 2013

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 marriage is to be criminalised. “Was it not already?”, you may ask. The current law Forced marriage is where one or both parties to a marriage lack consent and duress is a factor. Forcing an individual to marry is a breach of Article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights: the right to marry and found a family (a right which includes the requirement that parties to the marriage have given full consent). It has been the subject of legislation since the introduction of the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007, which made a civil remedy available to victims.

This took the form of a Forced Marriage Protection Order (FMPO). Under the Act, victims of forced marriage and those facing forced marriage are able to apply for a FMPO. Relevant third parties, such as local authorities, are also able to apply for FMPOs and third parties not designated “relevant” can apply for the order with the permission of the court. A power of arrest can also be attached and the breach of a FMPO is treated as contempt of court. A FMPO made under this legislation is wide reaching and can apply to conduct both inside and outside England and Wales. How this will change The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill will criminalise the breach of these civil orders, as well as creating the specific offence of forcing someone to marry. Under the new legislation, breach of a FMPO will now carry a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment.

Tags: cultural stereotypes, forced, forced marriage, forced marriage unit, Foreign Office, halo project, honour, honour based violence
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Groups dealing with ‘honour’ crime victims need better tools: women’s council

Published: November 5th, 2013 Updated: November 3rd, 2013

Quebec’s Council for the Status of Women says groups that deal with children and families should be given better tools on dealing with cultural differences and so-called ‘honour’ crimes.

The Council studied 26 instances of honour crimes that have taken place in Canada since 1991. Twenty-one of those women or girls were murdered; five survived their attacks. Researchers, however, say the numbers could be higher and much is hidden.

The four murders of the Shafia women and girls in 2009 is considered the most severe case.

In fact it was the Shafia murders that prompted the provincial government to ask the Council to examine honour crimes and see what could be done to stop them.

“We feel it’s urgent to train the groups; the social workers who are dealing with potential victims of honour-based violence, said Julie Miville-Dechene, president of the Council on the Status of Women. The analysis says in many ways honour crimes are similar to conjugal violence, except that instead of just one person attempting to control a woman, with honour crimes members of an extended family can seek to exert control over a woman or girl.

Honour crimes can consist of confining a woman to her home, forcing her to wear certain clothing, arranged marriages, genital mutilation or murder. “These violent acts are not exclusive to any one culture or religion,” said Miville-Dechene. “It wasn’t that long ago that in Quebec underage and unmarried women were sent away from home if they got pregnant,” and often forced to give up their children.

The Council said there should be legal changes made to make it easier to grant injunctions against family members — and not just spouses. “What we are saying is that in certain cases related to honour-crime violence, parents could be complicit,” said Miville-Dechene.

Tags: Asian, criminalisation, cultural stereotypes, forced marriage, halo project, honour, victims
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Child marriage campaigners in south Asia receive $23m cash injection

Published: September 7th, 2013 Updated: November 16th, 2021

By the age of 17, Zeenat had been divorced three times after forced marriages. She first wed shortly after puberty to a man who abused her, an experience that recurred in her subsequent marriages.

She became so isolated that she did not go to the hospital or ask for help. Neither had she heard of India’s Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act of 2005, which made her husband’s violent outbursts not just wrong, but illegal. Sadly, her story is all too common. Every year about 10 million girls become child brides, and one in seven girls in the developing world marries before the age of 15. Bangladesh, Nepal and India have three of the highest rates of child marriage, with 68.7%, 56.1% and 50% respectively of girls married before the age of 18. Child marriage is not just a question of poverty – although that is a critical issue – but also of how girls are viewed in society.

“Even with higher levels of income, there is the practice of child marriage,” said Care International’s gender director, Theresa Hwang. “It is an issue of status; girls are valued in a lesser way. In India, girls are not seen as ‘added value’. The issue is squarely tied to gender equality and social norms.” Care USA, the US arm of the anti-poverty NGO, and the American Jewish World Service (AJWS) this week received grants of $7.7m (£4.9m) and $15.3m respectively from the Kendeda fund to tackle child marriage in south Asia. Both organisations will use the money to support local NGOs.

Founded 10 years ago, the Kendeda fund worked initially on environmental sustainability in the US, but last year created a girls’ rights portfolio. AJWS will focus on India, Care on Nepal and Bangladesh.

Tags: Asian, attacks, bride, child brides, child exploitation, cultural stereotypes, halo project, marriage, victims, violence
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Human rights student reporter of the year on life after forced marriage

Published: August 13th, 2013 Updated: December 1st, 2021

The winning entry in Amnesty International UK’s annual competition, in conjunction with the Observer and the NUS, is by Lauren Wilks of the University of Edinburgh

Parents, family, friends – I left everyone because he was after me and my daughter,” says Tehmina, explaining how she came to leave Pakistanin 2002 and claim asylum in the UK. “It was an arranged marriage, but when I married him he turned out to be another person. I was beaten and abused for 10 months.” After escaping, Tehmina was rejected by almost everyone in her family. While her father was sympathetic, he told her that she and her daughter no longer had a life in Pakistan. She received death threats from her brothers and the police ignored her cry for help, saying it was “her own matter”. “The situation in Pakistan is very difficult,” she says. “It’s impossible to live as a single woman or single mother … honour killings are everywhere.”

Within the UK, confronting the issue of forced marriage is not new. Campaigners have long called for greater attention to the issue; and in recent years policymakers have pushed aside claims of cultural difference and introduced a range of measures – aimed at both the UK and overseas – to work towards ending the practice. However, tougher laws and awareness campaigns, while important, fail to address the needs of those living in, or trying to escape from, a forced marriage. For women such as Tehmina, running away is not an end to the trauma. “It’s an uphill struggle; very often as bad as the forced marriage itself,” says Angela Voulgari of Saheliya, an Edinburgh-based organisation that supports black and minority ethnic women. Voulgari wants to see more intensive support to protect those trapped in and escaping from forced marriages. She says that fleeing a marriage can mark the beginning of another, more frightening chapter.

Tags: Child Marriage Act, cultural stereotypes, Female genital mutilation, forced marriage, forced marriage unit, haloproject, honour based violence, violence
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Forced marriage ruins the lives of too many girls, so we’re working to end it

Published: August 12th, 2013 Updated: December 1st, 2021

The summer sees an increase in girls from the UK being forced into marriage abroad. This can’t just be fixed at our borders

For most of us, the summer holidays are something to look forward to; a time when we can get away from it all and relax. But for some girls from UK diaspora communities, the summer is the beginning of a nightmare, when they return to their home country to visit family, only to find themselves getting married. The UK government’s forced marriage unit, set up to support girls and women at risk, sees double the number of cases reported during the summer holidays. This year the coalition is raising awareness of this by issuing “Marriage: it’s your choice” cards, which provide help and information for potential victims, signposting them to confidential advice. We are also reminding young people that they can speak to police or airline staff if they find themselves at an airport with nowhere to turn.

But this isn’t a problem that can simply be fixed at UK borders. While our campaign to raise awareness in the UK is necessary, we are also encouraging an international approach to tackle this problem. In the developing world, one in three girls will be married by the time they reach the age of 18, with the highest rates in south Asia and Africa. Girls as young as eight are being forced into marriage, often with men decades older than themselves. The UN predicts that more than 140 million girls will become child brides by 2020 if current rates of early marriage continue. Girls who are forced into marriage are often trapped in poverty with no means to lift themselves out. These girls are robbed of an education, vulnerable to death in childbirth and at a greater risk of domestic violence and contracting HIV. Early marriage is also inextricably linked with girls suffering domestic abuse and being coerced into sex. Put simply, it endangers life.

Tags: awareness, child brides, cultural stereotypes, domestic violence, forced marriage, halo project, haloproject, nightmare, rape
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Female genital mutilation: 30 million girls ‘at risk’

Published: July 25th, 2013 Updated: December 1st, 2021

The challenge is to let people – men and women – have their voices heard on the issue, Unicef says

More than 30 million girls are at risk of being subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) over the next decade, a study by Unicef has found.

It said more than 125 million girls and women alive today had undergone a procedure now opposed by the majority in countries where it was practised. Ritual cutting of girls’ genitals is practised by some African, Middle Eastern and Asian communities in the belief it protects a woman’s virginity.

Unicef wants action to end FGM. The UN Children Fund survey, described as the most comprehensive to date on the issue, found that support for FGM was declining amongst both men and women. FGM “is a violation of a girl’s rights to health, well-being and self-determination,” said Unicef deputy executive director Geeta Rao Gupta, “What is clear from this report is that legislation alone is not enough.”

‘Speak out loudly’

The report, ‘Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A statistical overview and exploration of the dynamics of change’, was released in Washington DC. The study, which pulled together 20 years of data from the 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East where FGM is still practised, found girls were less likely to be cut than they were some 30 years ago. They were three times less likely than their mothers to have been cut in Kenya and Tanzania, and rates had dropped by almost half in Benin, the Central African Republic, Iraq, Liberia and Nigeria.

Tags: abusive, child exploitation, criminalisation, cultural stereotypes, cutting, Female genital mutilation, halo project, haloproject, virginity
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Schools must do more to protect students from female genital mutilation

Published: July 25th, 2013 Updated: December 1st, 2021

Many teachers have little knowledge or training about FGM. Louise Tickle looks at what they can do to safeguard students.

Mots of teachers aren’t even aware that female genital mutilation (FGM) goes on, says Lisa Zimmerman, a teacher at Bristol City Academy. She campaigns against FGM through the charity Integrate Bristol, which she co-founded five years ago. Zimmerman runs high-profile extra-curricular activities including plays and films looking at the issues raised by FGM in order to combat the practice. Despite all this, she says, “the girls in my project had to tell the health and social care teacher what FGM was”.

That teacher is not alone in being ignorant of the cultural practice of genitally mutilating young girls, or the physical and mental health disaster – sometimes even death – that can result from it. It’s reportedly practised in 48 African countries, as well as in the Middle East and Far East, and it’s estimated that 24,000 girls – mostly of primary age – are at risk of FGM in this country. Indications are that it is becoming more widespread in the UK as a result of immigration from countries where the practice is prevalent.

But teachers’ ignorance could result in schools failing the safeguarding element of an Ofsted inspection, as the regulatory body has included a section on FGM in their ‘Inspecting Safeguarding’ briefing, issued in January. Given that a recent NSPCC survey of 1,000 teachers demonstrated a shocking lack of knowledge of FGM, it may well be that when Ofsted inspectors ask about how their school deals with the issues it raises, senior leadership teams struggle to answer.

Tags: abusive, child exploitation, criminalisation, cultural stereotypes, Female genital mutilation, forced, halo project, honour based violence, victims
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Nada’s Escape From Forced Marriage Highlights Child Marriage Epidemic

Published: July 25th, 2013 Updated: December 1st, 2021

Nada Al-Ahdal must be one of the bravest people alive today. This 11-year-old Yemeni girl managed to escape the fate that befalls so many girls of her age: a forced marriage.

Her story is harrowing. Nada, one of eight children, lived with her uncle in Saudi Arabia since she was three. According to Nada, her uncle, Abdel Salam al-Ahdal, was the only thing standing between her and life as a child bride.

Abdel Salam told NOW:

“When I heard about the groom, I panicked. Nada was not even 11 years old; she was exactly 10 years and 3 months. I could not allow her to be married off and have her future destroyed, especially since her aunt was forced to marry at 13 and burnt herself. I did all I could to prevent that marriage. I called the groom and told him Nada was no good for him. I told him she did not wear the veil and he asked if things were going to remain like that. I said ‘yes, and I agree because she chose it.’ I also told him that she liked singing and asked if he would remain engaged to her.”

According to NOW, the groom then ended the engagement. When he told Nada’s parents that he did not want to marry their daughter anymore, they were disappointed since they would no longer receive the bride price.

Despite her tender age, Nada is no stranger to arranged marriages. Her 18-year-old sister has been engaged several times, and her maternal aunt committed suicide by self-immolation after being forced to marry an abusive man. Even though Nada made her preferences very, very clear, her parents tried to marry her off again. That’s when Nada made this haunting video.

Tags: child brides, child exploitation, Child Marriage Act, criminalisation, cultural stereotypes, forced marriage, halo project, honour based violence, marry, pregnant, rape, victims, violence
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On BBC Tees Radio

Published: November 29th, 2012 Updated: April 29th, 2013

Barry Coppinger, The Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland and Yasmin Khan, Vela Group – Talk about Honour Based Violence and Forced Marriages in our Region.

https://www.haloproject.org.uk/img/page/halo-inverview.mp3_page_image.mp3

Tags: criminalisation, cultural stereotypes, forced marriage, Foreign Office, halo project, honour, honour based violence, marriage, marry, murder, victims, violence
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Posts Tagged ‘cultural stereotypes’

Forced marriage and the “lawfully wedded” wife

Groups dealing with ‘honour’ crime victims need better tools: women’s council

Child marriage campaigners in south Asia receive $23m cash injection

Human rights student reporter of the year on life after forced marriage

Forced marriage ruins the lives of too many girls, so we’re working to end it

Female genital mutilation: 30 million girls ‘at risk’

Schools must do more to protect students from female genital mutilation

Nada’s Escape From Forced Marriage Highlights Child Marriage Epidemic

On BBC Tees Radio

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