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Posts Tagged ‘honour based violence’

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Forced Marriages. They are happening right here in Australia

Published: January 4th, 2014 Updated: December 1st, 2021

According to Human Rights Watch, 14 million girls are married, worldwide, each year – with some as young as eight or nine. While early and forced marriage appears most prevalent in countries of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, several recent cases have shown Australia is not immune to the practise.

If the global trend continues, Human Rights Watch estimates that 142 million children will be married by 2020.

Snapshot of Australia

There is no Australian research on the prevalence of forced marriage but the issue was brought to the fore following several recent high-profile family court cases.

A 2010 case involving a 13 year-old Victorian girl began when her school alerted the state’s child protection service that she was not attending school. The school suggested the girl’s absence may be due to her parents preparing her for marriage to a fiance they had chosen for her – a 17 year-old living overseas.

Consequently, the Department of Human Services initiated proceedings in the Family Court that eventually resulted in the court ordering the girl not be removed from Australia before she turned 18. The court also ordered that her passport be surrendered, that her parents be restrained from applying for another passport on her behalf and that her name be placed on the Australian Federal Police watchlist until her 18th birthday.

Read More: http://www.mamamia.com.au/news/forced-marriages-in-australia/

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Progress in tackling honour-based violence

Published: January 3rd, 2014 Updated: January 2nd, 2014

Protecting women and girls in Scotland from honour-based violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM) requires action in a number of ways, but the first major step is to increase awareness among those at risk that help is available.

Scotland has not yet got to grips with these problems but the latest figures do at least show that progress is being made. Reporting of incidents is up. For instance, police have dealt with 19 cases of honour-based violence and six cases of forced marriage this year in Edinburgh alone, while officers across Scotland have also dealt with nine cases of FGM this year, compared to none last year. Work to increase awareness is bearing fruit.

These are crimes that typically take place behind closed doors in ethnic minority communities that can be hard for police and social workers to reach. In the past, when police have been called to disturbances where honour-based violence is involved, they may have sometimes failed to identify what has been going on, recording the incidents as domestic disputes or abuse instead. Change is afoot.

It is heartening to hear from DCS Gill Imery of Police Scotland that the amalgamation of Scotland’s eight police forces has helped the service improve and standardise its approach, through training.

Some forces had developed a degree of expertise in dealing with honour-based violence and forced marriage, but clearly women and girls have a right to expect that police will take the same approach wherever they happen to live in Scotland. The police are not the only ones who are facing up to the need to improve their handling of such incidents. Last month The Herald reported how families have brought their daughters to Scotland to undergo FGM because the country is seen as a “soft touch”. A majority of Scotland’s health boards are unable to say how many cases of FGM they have encountered and fewer than one-third of the country’s 32 councils have local guidelines on FGM as they should.

 

Read More: http://www.heraldscotland.com/comment/herald-view/progress-in-tackling-honour-based-violence.22847201

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UN children’s expert praises Canada’s focus on fighting forced marriage of girls

Published: January 2nd, 2014 Updated: January 1st, 2014

OTTAWA – A top United Nations official is praising the Harper government’s foreign policy initiative to end forced marriage of young girls, even if Canada won’t fund projects that would allow victims access to an abortion.

The Conservative government’s practice of not allowing aid dollars to go towards organizations that offer abortions to victimized girls or war-rape victims has sparked heated criticism in some quarters.

But a seasoned expert on international child protection said that doesn’t diminish Canada’s emerging international leadership on the issue because there are other ways for the government to make a difference in helping young girls.

“We’re trying to leave that off the table … we’re talking about everything but that, frankly,” Susan Bissell, associate director of the child protection branch of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said in an interview from New York.

She called abortion funding “an obstacle to negotiate around” and said she is urging Canada to be the international standard bearer for a worthy cause that needs a champion.

Bissell was in Ottawa earlier this month and met with policy makers in the offices of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird. She said she was struck by their deep understanding of the complexities of a problem that has health, justice and education components.

 

Read More: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/childrens+expert+praises+Canadas+focus+fighting+forced/9332075/story.html

 

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Police: WA man forced woman into wedding trip

Published: January 1st, 2014 Updated: January 1st, 2014

BAKER CITY, Ore. — A Moses Lake, Wash., man has been accused of trying to force his girlfriend into a trip to Las Vegas to get married.

The trip ended last week at a truck stop in Baker City, Ore., when the woman got out of the car near the gasoline pumps, laid down and called for help.

The Baker City Herald reported Monday that her screams attracted attention, and someone called police.

Baker City Police Chief Wyn Lohner says 23-year-old Virginia Valdez told officers after the arrest Friday that her boyfriend threatened her with a knife, forcing her and their 22-month-old daughter to make the trip. The daughter was released with her mother.

Lohner says 22-year-old Thomas Martin Pfeiffer was charged with kidnapping, coercion and other crimes. His bail set at $155,500.

 

 

Source: http://www.kgw.com/news/Police-Boyfriend-forced-woman-into-marriage-trip-238125091.html

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Published: December 29th, 2013 Updated: December 1st, 2021

Police reveal rise in cases of honour-based violence

Chief Reporter

Cases of honour-based violence and forced marriage in Scotland are rising as a result of increased public awareness, according to police.

Speaking at a conference at the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan, Clackmannanshire, Detective Chief Superintendent Gill Imery, the lead on public protection for Police Scotland, said there had been an increase in cases of honour-based violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation across the country.

Honour-based violence often involves people who believe family members have brought shame on them by behaving in a way that contradicts their traditional beliefs, such as marrying someone from a different religion.

It mostly affects girls and women but can also affect male family members.

Figures show that in Edinburgh alone there have been 19 cases of honour-based violence and six of forced marriage dealt with by the police between January and November this year. Last year, in the full 12 months, there were 23 cases of honour-based violence and one of forced marriage.

Not all of these cases would have resulted in a report to the procurator fiscal but might have involved removing or relocating the adult or child at risk.

Figures also show police have dealt with nine of female genital mutilation (FGM) across Scotland this year, against none last year, following revelations in The Herald last month that families have brought their daughters to Scotland to undergo the practice because the country is seen as a “soft touch”. Outlawed in the UK in 1985, the practice takes many forms but traditionally involves the full or partial removal of young girls’ genitals.

There is increasing concern that these “hidden” crimes go unpunished.

In August, Mohammed Riaz Inayat, 56, was imprisoned for 22 years for murdering his wife and injuring his three daughters in an “honour” crime. He deliberately set fire to his house in Birmingham to stop his daughter from flying to Dubai to marry her boyfriend because he believed it would bring dishonour to the family.

Detective Chief Superintendent Imery said: “We are getting much better at recognising honour-based violence. We are seeing an increase in incidents being recorded as confidence in coming forward increases. Since the formation of Police Scotland our approach has significantly improved. Awareness is improving nationally and we are starting to get the messages out there.

“We are holding the conference because we want to improve Police Scotland’s understanding of these issues. We want to enhance the understanding of not just police but all the agencies involved.”

DCS Imery also called for a civil remedy for female genital mutilation – akin to the one on forced marriage that the Scottish Government is considering amending.

She added: “I think it would be a fantastic idea to have a preventative order for FGM. I think forced marriage protection orders are a good parallel. I would far rather prevent these things from happening than solely having a crime prosecuted.”

Women’s support agencies in Scotland say they have also seen a surge in the numbers of cases of forced marriage and honour-based violence since new legislation was introduced in 2011.

Since the law was introduced some support agencies have seen their referrals double. Scotland has had eight forced marriage prevention orders. However, the Scottish Government now plans to criminalise forced marriage, despite opposition from specialist support agencies who warn it will drive the practice underground because children do not want to criminalise parents.

Under the current legislation, courts in Scotland can issue protection orders that aim to prevent forced marriage.

Source: http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/crime-courts/police-reveal-rise-in-cases-of-honour-based-violence.22859111

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Woman with IQ of 49 ‘was targeted for sham marriage’

Published: December 28th, 2013 Updated: December 27th, 2013

A young woman with learning difficulties was “deliberately targeted” for a sham marriage to bolster a man’s immigration case, a High Court judge has ruled.  A wedding ceremony was found to be invalid and declared a “non-marriage” in the Court of Protection case. The 19-year-old woman, known only as SY to protect her identity, has an IQ of just 49 with a learning disability that leaves her “extremely vulnerable”. A 23-year-old man from Pakistan, known as TK, approached her for a relationship in August 2011, just two months after he had exhausted all appeal rights in his immigration case. In June 2012 there was a purported Islamic marriage ceremony at his home but no legal registration of the marriage took place.

Mr Justice Keehan said in a written ruling: “I can reach no other conclusion than he deliberately targeted SY because of her learning difficulties and her vulnerability. The courts will not tolerate such gross exploitation.”

TK lost his final legal bid to stay in the UK in July 2012. He had used the marriage as the basis of an appeal against his asylum refusal, saying that he feared his family would kill him if he returned home, since his new ‘wife’ was white British.

Justice Keehan said: “It is plain on the facts of this case, especially taking account of the immigration judgement handed down on 17 July 2012 in respect of TK’s asylum appeal, that TK exploited and took advantage of SY for the purpose of seeking to bolster his immigration appeal and his prospects of being permitted to remain in this country.”

The tribunal judge at TK’s immigration appeal said of his ‘marriage’ to SY: “The relationship, if there is one, does not have the necessary qualities of commitment, depth and intimacy to demonstrate family life.” He later added: “viewed objectively her best interests are likely to be served by there being no further interference by [TK] and his friends”.

Brought up in foster care for much of her life, SY now lives in a specialist residential home with five other people. The Court of Protection was asked by SY’s local authority to rule on whether it could make decisions on her behalf and what was in her best interests.

She has been known to the council since 2005, when she was just 11 and there were concerns about her missing school and staying overnight at older men’s homes. The judge described “numerous incidents” involving SY being known to local authority over the years, including underage sexual relations, physical and sexual assaults including alleged rapes and witnessing domestic violence.

 

Read More: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/woman-with-iq-of-49-was-targeted-for-sham-marriage-8980291.html

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Signed up for work, forced into marriage

Published: December 27th, 2013 Updated: December 27th, 2013

Wed, 18 December 2013  and 

 

An NGO is working to free two Cambodian women forced into marriage in China, a representative of the organisation said yesterday. Huy Pichsovann, program officer at the Community Legal Education Center (CLEC), said that the two women, aged 22 and 27, were enticed from their Kampong Cham homes in March to accept work in Shanghai.

Once they arrived, however, they were both forced into marriage. “A broker lured them to go to China, where they were told they would have a job with a high salary, but when they arrived, they were forcibly married to men they do not love,” Pichsovann said.

“One of the women is rarely allowed out of the house, while the other was forced to get a job but the husband keeps her salary.” The women’s families contacted CLEC in October seeking their help to ensure the girls are released safely.

The mother of one of the women said the offer from the broker had been too good to refuse, but now she is terrified for her daughter’s safety. “The broker said my daughter would get paid $1,000 a month, so she decided to go because the pay in Cambodia is so much less,” the mother said.

“My daughter is given only little bits of plain noodles and rice to live, while she struggles with the cold,” she said. CLEC have been in contact with police in Shanghai and have sent the case to the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Police are now searching for the broker,” Pichsovann said.

Kuoy Kong, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman, could not be reached for comment yesterday. Meanwhile, a man and three women appeared in court yesterday after being arrested last week on human trafficking charges. They are accused of ordering two Kratie-based women to pay them $1,600 each after the duo backed out of a plan to be married to Chinese nationals.

Deputy prosecutor of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, Ek Chheng Houth, said he had charged the group and the case had been sent to another judge for further investigation. “They were officially charged by the court with producing fake documents, buying or selling a human being, human trafficking and sexual exploitation,” he said.

The four suspects and their lawyers could not be reached for comment yesterday.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA

Source: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/signed-work-forced-marriage

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Woman with learning disability was forced to have Pakistani’s baby so he could stay in UK

Published: December 24th, 2013 Updated: December 1st, 2021

Mrs Justice Parker at the Court of Protection described the ‘grossly cruel’ ordeal of the woman who has a reading age of seven

A British woman with serious learning difficulties married a Pakistani immigrant and had his baby as part of a plan to help him remain in the UK, a secret court heard.

The 37-year-old woman – who has a reading age of a child of seven – was even slapped around the face by her mother to force her to smile for the wedding photograph. On the day the couple attended a register office to give notice to marry, an anonymous caller rang the office to allege that her parents had been paid £20,000 to marry off their daughter to the Muslim student.

Incredibly, although registrars were concerned about the ‘demeanour and vulnerability’ of the bride and feared she was being ‘manipulated’ as part of a visa scam, the civil marriage went ahead two months later. By then, the woman was pregnant and she went on give birth to a boy. Her 33-year-old husband, from Lahore, is now using his human right to a family life to try to stay in the UK, and lawyers expect him to be granted indefinite leave to remain.

The case was heard earlier this year by the Court of Protection, which has the power to make life-or-death decisions on behalf of people deemed to lack mental capacity.

It emerged with the publication of an ‘anonymised’ judgment. In her ruling, Mrs Justice Parker said: ‘I think there is a very significant possibility that this marriage was entered into, and indeed this child created, for reasons solely to do with immigration status. ‘To inflict pregnancy and childbearing on a person who cannot consent to that state is about as gross a physical interference as can be imagined.

Read More: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2528192/Woman-learning-disability-forced-Pakistanis-baby-stay-UK.html

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Cultural fears hinder war on ‘honour’ killing, says film-maker

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

Political correctness is hampering the fight against so-called honour-based violence in Britain, a campaigner has warned.

Deeyah Khan, whose documentary about the victim of an “honour” killing from London recently won an Emmy, called for the police to set up a specialist unit to deal with the problem.

The UK-based film-maker, whose parents are from Pakistan and Afghanistan, said there were police departments dealing with witchcraft and gang violence, but none dedicated to investigating “honour” violence.

Speaking at an international conference on women’s rights in London, Ms Khan compared it with organised crime. She said it needed specialist policing because there were multiple perpetrators.

“The victims have to be protected in a certain way. They are at risk from their entire communities,” she said. “There are aunties and cab drivers and even people in dole offices looking out for the women. There are bounty hunters and hitmen who don’t even take money to kill them, they do it because they see it as a necessity.”

Ms Khan’s film Banaz: A Love Story documented the case of Banaz Mahmod, an Iraqi Kurd from Mitcham who was murdered by her family in 2006, and her body buried in a suitcase in Handsworth, Birmingham. The film won an Emmy for best international documentary in October. She said: “It is awful that these crimes happen anywhere, but the fact it is happening here in the UK is unacceptable.” She added that people were afraid to get involved because of political correctness and a sense that “we don’t want to step on the toes of communities”.

She said: “But if the outcome is our young people die or suffer,  what good is that kind of politeness? Our silence allows this to happen.”

Read More: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/cultural-fears-hinder-war-on-honour-killing-says-filmmaker-8988229.html

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