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Posts Tagged ‘forced marriage’

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Girls in Rotterdam told how to avoid forced marriages

Published: July 6th, 2015 Updated: December 1st, 2021

A Dutch organisation which campaigns against forced marriages is on Thursday issuing hundreds of girls in Rotterdam with a special pen containing tips on how to avoid being married off during the summer. The pen contains the contact details of organisations which can help if they fear their parents plan to force them to marry during the summer break. It also contains tips such as concealing a teaspoon in their clothes so they will set of alarms at airport security checks and can then call for help. A similar campaign was carried out in The Hague last year. Femmes voor Freedom founder Shirin Misa told news agency ANP last year’s campaign generated a lot of positive feedback.

Read more at DutchNews.nl: Girls in Rotterdam told how to avoid forced marriages http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2015/07/girls-in-rotterdam-told-how-to-avoid-forced-marriages/

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46 forced marriage cases prosecuted in first year

Published: July 5th, 2015 Updated: December 1st, 2021

Forced marriage prosecutions are under way in Britain with 46 completed in the first year since the law was changed, Solicitor General Robert Buckland has announced.

New laws introducing criminal responsibility for people who coerce others into marriage were passed in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

Mr Buckland said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has been flagging forced marriage cases since 2010, leading to 46 prosecutions last year.

During law officers questions in the Commons, the Solicitor General said: “From 2010 particular offences that involve forced marriage as a key element have been flagged by the Crown Prosecution Service and I’m happy to report that the volume of completed prosecutions in the last year – 2014-15 – rose to 46, which is the highest volume ever.

“More work to be done but encouraging progress.”

Mr Buckland said the joint Foreign Office and Home Office forced marriage unit had given advice in 1,300 cases in Britain and overseas in the last year. He stressed the need for agencies working with children to report any suspected forced marriage, saying it is a form of child abuse.

Read More: http://www.asianimage.co.uk/news/13366427.46_forced_marriage_cases_prosecuted_in_first_year/

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How Australia can help end child marriage in Bangladesh

Published: June 24th, 2015 Updated: December 1st, 2021

Rahela* married at age 13, about a year after both of her parents were killed by Cyclone Aila, which struck Bangladesh in 2009. “They had left me at my grandmother’s house. [Our house] was swept away. No one saw their dead bodies,” she said. Rahela went to live with her aunt and uncle but they were struggling to afford education for their own two children. “You know orphans don’t get education,” Rahela said. “My aunt and uncle asked me not to go to school— they said I should work in their house and look after their children.”

About a year later, her aunt and uncle arranged a marriage for her. “I can’t really blame them,” Rahela said. “They don’t have enough money to provide for their own children.” When Human Rights Watch interviewed Rahela last year, she was 17 and was struggling to care for her one year old son, saying she’s never recovered her strength after her pregnancy. “I really wanted to continue my education so I could get a job and stand on my own feet.” she said.

Read More: http://www.womensagenda.com.au/talking-about/opinions/how-australia-can-help-end-child-marriage-in-bangladesh/201506245935#.VYsB7s9Viko

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Britain’s first forced marriage sentence: a lot more still to do

Published: June 16th, 2015 Updated: December 1st, 2021

Last week, the British courts handed down its first ever sentence to a perpetrator of forced marriage. The perpetrator – a 34-year-old businessman from Cardiff – raped and imprisoned a woman, before forcing her to marry. It was just a year ago today that forced marriage became a crime in the United Kingdom.

What does this sentencing mean? Well, first and foremost, it will be a huge relief for the survivor, a young woman who had reportedly been dragged through the long and tortuous process of the defendant flip-flopping on his plea. This is all we can know about the case without putting the survivor at risk.

This unknown woman can now begin to try to put her life back together. Yet, she is the only one of an unknown number of victims living in this country to have been brought justice, those whose families – those who are supposed to support and love them no matter what – would often sooner see dead over shaming the family.

Read More: http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/06/britains-first-forced-marriage-sentence-lot-more-still-do

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First anniversary of law criminalising forced marriage

Published: June 16th, 2015 Updated: June 16th, 2015

The Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation has marked the first anniversary of the criminalisation of forced marriage.

A year ago today, forcing someone to marry against their will became a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment. The law, designed to help people in England and Wales but also UK nationals overseas, was part of a move to protect against the devastating effects of forced marriage which can involve physical, psychological, emotional, financial and sexual abuse including being held unlawfully captive, assaulted and raped.

This month saw the first conviction under the new legislation and the government has announced their intention to continue to work alongside police and the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice. Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation Karen Bradley said, “We made forced marriage a crime to better protect victims and send a clear message that this brutal practice is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the UK. We also hope that criminalisation will act as a deterrent.

Read More: http://www.asianimage.co.uk/news/13334301.First_anniversary_of_law_criminalising_forced_marriage/

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Child accused of killing husband to be freed in Nigeria

Published: June 13th, 2015 Updated: June 13th, 2015

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — A child forced to marry at just 13 who then poisoned her 35-year-old husband and three friends is set to be freed in Nigeria, lawyers and a judge said Wednesday, amid fears for her safety and future.

 Human rights lawyer Hussaina Aliyu Ibrahim said she convinced the prosecutor to drop the case and on Tuesday a High Court judge in Gezawa ordered Wasila Tasi’u to be released from juvenile detention.

She can count herself lucky. Another 13-year-old who killed her 35-year-old husband remains on death row despite a ruling, exactly one year ago from the West African Community Court of Justice, that her sentence is illegal because she was a minor.

Forced marriage and child marriage are also against the law here, but widely practiced.

Both girls had become second wives in the Muslim northern part of Nigeria where polygamy and child marriage is common. Neither had ever been to school and couldn’t read or write.

Read More: http://news.yahoo.com/child-accused-killing-husband-freed-nigeria-100125801.html

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Forced marriage: ‘My father threatened to kill me’

Published: June 11th, 2015 Updated: June 10th, 2015

The first sentence has been handed down under the new legislation to crack down on forced marriages.

A 34-year-old man from Cardiff, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was jailed after he admitted making a 25-year-old woman marry him under duress in September 2014, having threatened to kill her father unless she went through with the ceremony. He also pleaded guilty to charges of rape, bigamy and voyeurism and was sentenced to a total of 16 years in jail.

Courts have been able to issue civil orders to prevent victims being forced into marriage since 2008 but the new law brought in last year makes forced marriage a criminal offence.

Read More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33078979

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Forced marriage bigamist given 16 years in jail in landmark case

Published: June 10th, 2015 Updated: December 1st, 2021

A businessman has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for forced marriage and sexual offences. In what is believed to be the first case in the UK since new legislation was introduced in 2014 the 43-year-old man from Cardiff pleaded guilty to four counts of rape, one count of bigamy and one count of voyeurism.

Merthyr Crown Court heard the already married man systematically raped his victim for months before threatening to go public with hidden camera footage of her showering unless she became his wife. The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, developed an “irrational obsession” with his victim and lured her to his home under the promise of a get-together with friends.

But when she arrived at his home in Cardiff, the woman found the property empty before the curtains were drawn and the front door locked. A judge then told of how the terrified woman – a devout Muslim – was bound and gagged with scarves before music was played loudly to drown out her cries for help.

Read More: http://www.itv.com/news/wales/2015-06-10/forced-marriage-bigamist-given-16-years-in-jail-in-landmark-case/

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Why are there so few forced marriage prosecutions?

Published: June 10th, 2015 Updated: December 1st, 2021

Last year the Forced Marriages Unit (FMU), run jointly by the Home Office and the Foreign Office, gave advice and support in 1,267 cases of possible forced marriages.

So why are there so few prosecutions? Many say the problem lies in deep-rooted cultural traditions and that young people are reluctant to come forward to the authorities.

Nazir Afzal, former head of the North West Crown Prosecution Service, says the new legislation with the threat of seven years in prison is needed to make progress. “One of the major things stopping victims coming forward is the codes of silence that exist in the family.

“It’s like the mafia. You cover up, as you are so scared of the consequences,” he says.”Victims are not receiving the justice they deserve and this is why this new legislation matters. It’s to help victims – it’s all victim-led.”

Campaign groups say the actual numbers of forced marriages are much higher, with between 8,000 and 10,000 each year in the UK, though this remains an estimate and actual numbers are hard to prove.

Read More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33073875

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