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More than 11,000 cases of so-called honour crime were recorded by UK police forces from 2010-14, new figures show.
The Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation, which obtained the data, called for a national strategy for police, courts and schools to follow. The crimes are usually aimed at women, and can include abductions, beatings and even murders. Commander Mak Chishty, head of police policy on the issue, said there was now a better understanding of the problem.
So-called honour crimes are acts which have been committed to protect or defend the supposed honour or reputation of a family and community.
The figures revealed 11,744 incidences of these crimes between 2010 and 2014, consisting of data from 39 out of 52 police forces in the UK. They included forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM).
Read More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33424644
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/
When Bhoke Peter was 14, her uncle married her off to a 55-year-old man. Her husband paid a bride price of 30 cows and set her to work in his field in a remote part of northern Tanzania, where he would whip her with a stick if she made a mistake. When they got home, he would beat her for not making his lunch fast enough.
He also raped her.
“I didn’t have much option because the bride price was already paid and the way the culture here is, once the bride price is delivered, you really have no choice but to obey your husband,” Peter told CBC News, sitting on a wooden chair in the shop where she now sews clothes with other former child brides.
When Peter was 17, she took the two children she’d had with her husband and ran away to her grandmother’s house. She eventually divorced him.
“I even heard that he is dead and I didn’t even go to his funeral because he was torturing me,” she said through a translator.
New figures show England and Wales witnessed an alarming level of convictions for violent crimes against women and girls in 2014.
According to the figures released by the Crown Prosecution Service, 78,773 people were convicted of violence against women, up 16.9% from figures released in the previous year.
The cases include a wide range of sexual offences, child abuse, domestic violence and honor-based violence. However, a majority of those convicted were involved in domestic abuse (68,601)n followed by rape (2,581), sexual offences (7,591) and child abuse (7,469).
The data has also cited an increasing number of successful prosecutions. Accordingly, 107,100 gender related cases were prosecuted over the past 12 months. The majority, nearly 60% of the defendants were in the 25-59 age group. However, there were also defendants as little as 10 years old.
“I think what’s happening is that the society in terms of child protection reporting has really pushed up the number of prosecutions. The pressure on the authorities to actually address survivors’ account and children account has increased absolutely phenomenally in couple of years. So, what we are seeing now is the outcome of that pressure to get justice for survivors’, Liz Davies, Reader in Child Protection at London Metropolitan University told Press TV.
Read More: http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/06/25/417466/Convictions-for-violence-against-women-soar-
A frightened student is at a “confidential address” after her parents abused her following concerns about her “westernised behaviour”, a family court judge has been told.
The woman’s father had told her “I am going to kill you now”, and said she needed to “die in a religious state”, Mr Justice Hayden heard. She had called police and left the family home with the help of officers when her parents were out, her lawyer said.
Barrister Katy Chokowry said the woman’s parents did not like her wearing leggings because they were “western clothing”.
She said the woman, who worked part-time at a McDonald’s restaurant to help her finance her studies, was “in fear for her safety”. Detail of the case emerged late today at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London. The woman was not identified and Ms Chokowry did not give details of her nationality or religion.
But she said the woman was in her 20s, had arrived in the UK several years ago, had a boyfriend in Pakistan and was studying at a university. Mr Justice Hayden was told that there were fears that the woman would be made to marry “the son of a family friend” and he made an order preventing the woman’s parents from forcing her to marry.
Read More: https://home.bt.com/news/uk-news/student-in-hiding-after-abuse-11363978462753
Calgary filmmaker Iman Bukhari is breaking open the hidden reality of forced marriages in Canada in her debut documentary, “Forced.”
Bukhari spoke to 10 men and women who had been forced into marriage, all between the ages of 17 and 27, but only one agreed to appear in the film: a girl who was taken to her birth nation and forced into an unwanted marriage at age 13.
“People think that because we are in a first-world nation, these things don’t happen here, but they do,” she said.
“[This girl] was a child herself and she went through terrible, terrible things, there was a lot of violence involved, and she was 13 years old – that’s Grade 7 – can you imagine?”
To mark the 10th annual National Victims of Crime Awareness Week, the Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association screened the documentary on Tuesday afternoon at the John Dutton Theatre.
Read More: http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/1346815/calgary-documentary-says-forced-marriages-arent-too-far-from-home/
Capita’s Tackling Honour Based Violence (HBV), Forced Marriage (FM) and FGM Conferencecomes as the government amends the Serious Crime Bill to introduce the mandatory duty to report all cases of female genital mutilation, and following the introduction of a new civil protection order that will protect those most at risk.
This event brings together expert speakers from police, education, local authorities, health and the voluntary sector to enhance partnership working and to examine how adopting a stronger multi-agency response can enable prevention, as well as early intervention and support for victims and those at risk.
Attend this event to gain crucial knowledge and make sure that your organisation is fully equipped to deliver effective, holistic services that safeguard vulnerable individuals.
Speakers Include:
Brochure: http://www.capitaconferences.co.uk/pdfgen.html?filename=HBV__FM_and_FGM.pdf&code=SMMK
Source: http://www.24dash.com/news/communities/2015-04-17-Tackling-Honour-Based-Violence-Forced-Marriage-and-FGM-7th-July-Central-London
Police officers will be at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, over the next few days, to talk to travellers about human trafficking.
The officers will be in the departures area working with colleagues from Karma Nirvana and The UK Border Force Safeguarding Team speaking with people and offering them help if they have concerns or information about issues like forced marriage, honour based violence and female genital mutilation.
Detective Chief Inspector Natalie Perischine from the Liverpool Protecting Vulnerable People unit, said: “This is a busy time of year when people will be using Liverpool John Lennon Airport to connect with destinations across the world.
“This operation is all about raising awareness of FGM, forced marriage and honour based violence and encouraging people to speak to us if they have information or concerns.
“School holidays can see an increase in the number of young people being forced to travel abroad and we are determined to work with LJLA and a range of partners to provide a visible presence and show our absolute commitment to tackling these problems and supporting victims.”
Read More: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/police-liverpool-john-lennon-airport-9022691
