ForcedMarriage.net

archive

• It is not part of anyone’s culture to be abused. Tulay Goren’s death won’t be the last so long as misplaced cultural sensitivity stops us acting against forced marriages. (18/12/2009)

• Honour crime up by 40% due to rising fundamentalism. Police have seen 'honour' crime surge by 40 per cent due to rising fundamentalism, new figures show. Reported instances of intimidation and attempts at forced marriage have also increased by 60 per cent. Up to 12 people are murdered every year in the name of honour and police fear a further 500 people are forced into an arranged marriage or attacked. (07/12/2009)

• Twice as many women as expected helped to avoid forced marriage. In the 12 months since the new forced marriage protection orders were introduced,86 women have been granted the civil safeguards to prevent them being married against their will.The orders allow police and councils to confiscate the passports of potential victims.Relatives can be forced to tell the authorities where women have been taken if they are no longer in Britain.Justice Minister Bridget Prentice stated that the Ministry expected around 50 people to be helped by the legislation. (26/11/2009)

• Honour based violence is biggest problem facing women. The new cross-Government strategy aimed at tackling violence against women will only be effective if issues that most affect ethnic minority women are properly addressed.That means including such topics in the planned compulsory lessons, revealed yesterday, for all pupils on gender equality and sexual violence, one campaign group said. (26/11/2009)

• New Indian brides abandoned by British Asian husbands. The Forced Marriage Unit reports that they are seeing an increase in the number of male victims of forced marriage. (23/11/2009)

• Honour based violence is biggest problem facing women. One year since the forced marriage protection order was introduced, the Forced marriage Unit has intervened in 86 cases. (22/11/2009)

• An end to male-run faiths and 'honour' crimes. The MP for Blackburn is the Justice Secretary,Jack Straw, and earlier this year the Government's forced marriage unit started holding confidential forced marriage surgeries in the town. In the first nine months of last year, the unit gave advice or support in 1,308 cases nationally and intervened directly in 388, a 100 per cent increase on the same period in 2007. (22/11/2009)

• Profile:Cathy Ashton. Peer Cathy Ashton, is set to become EU Foriegn Minister. She has pushed proposals to allow victims of forced marriages to seek compensation under the forced marriage (civil protection) bill,which would also empower courts to prevent such weddings. She also has a strong background in equality,civil liberty and social justice. (19/11/2009)

• The first Forced Marriage Protection Order success since law introduced last November: see Forced marriage protection order (19/11/2009)

• Cooperation with Judith Trust: see stories of survivors with mental health needs and mild learning difficulties. Judith Trust is concerned with those diagnosed with a mental illness and learning problems and to ensure emotional/social needs are attended to.

• Forced marriage: 'I can't forgive or forget what they did to me': Dr Humayra Abedin talks for the first time to Nina Lakhani about the international storm that began when she visited her parents in Bangladesh (05/07/2009).

• Rahila Gupta: The government's forced marriage guidelines recognise the dangers of mediation – and that this is not a gender-neutral issue (04/07/2009).

• Hundreds of girls from the Indian subcontinent are being forced into marriages in the UK, often to preserve "family honor", a British Government report has revealed (02/07/2009).

• Schools are being urged to be vigilant about potential cases of forced marriage as the summer holidays approach. New Government guidelines have been issued to teachers, doctors and police to help identify and tackle the problem (02/07/2009).

• As many as 8,000 cases of forced marriage were reported in England last year, according to a Government report (02/07/2009).

• VICTIMS of forced marriage in Lancashire are receiving more protection than ever before thanks to police and other agencies working in partnership to better identify those at risk (02/07/2009).

• The government's Forced Marriage Unit says it has received 770 calls for help so far this year - up 16% on 2008. One woman who was a victim of this crime has told her story to Adam Pasternicki, politics reporter for the BBC Asian Network (02/07/2009).

• Teachers have been told how to spot cases of potential forced marriage as the summer holidays approach. The guidelines, issued to schools, doctors and the police aim to to identify families in which girls are made to marry against their will while abroad in the summer (02/07/2009).

• The government's Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) received almost 800 calls for help in the first six months of this year, some allegedly from children under 16 years old (02/07/2009).

• Male victims of forced marriages: Blackmailed and beaten, then forced to marry someone they do not love, or even know (29/06/2009).

• ForcedMarriage.net was launched on 30th April at an event chaired by Lord Amir Bhatia, OBE, and featured the following keynote speakers:
  • Bridget Prentice MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice
  • Maria Eagle MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Government Equalities Office (GEO)
  • Sarah Russell, Head, Forced Marriage Unit (FMU)
  • Dr Krishna Sarda (Hon), Chief Executive, Edutrust Academies Charitable Trust (EACT)