BARONESS AMOS LAUNCHES RESEARCH FINDINGS ABOUT FORCED MARRIAGE (12/11/02)

The Foreign Office today launched its research report 'Community Perceptions of Forced Marriage.' The Community Liaison Unit in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was set up in October 2000 to deal with the problem of forced marriage abroad. It is part of our consular responsibility to help British nationals abroad and to protect their human rights.

In her speech, Baroness Amos said "I would like to begin by making it clear that our work is about forced marriage, not arranged marriage. The distinction lies in the right to choose. In arranged marriages, as in traditional western love marriages, both parties ultimately have the right to say no. It is right to remember that forced does not simply mean physical force. In cases of forced marriage the force can be emotional blackmail or other forms of psychological pressure. The international human rights standards are clear and I would like to quote from the Universal Declaration on Human Rights: 'Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.

The Community Liaison Unit has always, and will always, treat forced marriage as a grave human rights abuse, but the breaching of a young person’s right to choose is only one of a whole range of abuses experienced by victims. Some will face physical violence, imprisonment and even rape. Self harm is common among victims and we have recently dealt with two cases involving forced abortions. These abuses are severe and it is vital that we do whatever we can to prevent them taking place.

Concerns have been expressed that in seeking to tackle the issue of forced marriage we are stigmatising Muslims. This is not the case and I would like to make that absolutely clear. Forced marriage is a problem in several communities, not just in Asian communities. What we want to do is to raise awareness of the problem and work with communities on solutions. Of course we are working with the cases that have come to our attention, but we believe that we only see a small proportion of the total number of cases and that is why research like this is so important, because this is part of an awareness-raising process.

We have also focused on prevention, which is best achieved by working in partnership with other government departments, with governmental and non-governmental organisations in the United Kingdom. So for example in May the Foreign Office, with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Home Office, jointly launched guidelines for the police on dealing with cases of forced marriage. These were the result of over a year of consultation with over 300 organisations around the United Kingdom. Through that spectrum of consultation we demonstrated not only our commitment to the protection of young people, but our commitment to working to get it right.

In June, with the support of the Department of Health, we embarked on a similar project with Social Services. Approximately one in five of the victims we deal with is under the age of 18, so Social Services have a vital role to play. And throughout the year members of the Community Liaison Unit attend and speak at conferences, seminars and community events on an almost weekly basis. This increases the awareness of the work we are doing not only in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office but across government and gives our staff an opportunity to discuss policies and initiatives with NGOs, campaigners and with victims themselves.

One issue that is always raised at such consultations is the need for more information on forced marriage, information about options, about who can help and how, about the effects of forced marriage and its causes, and we have made some headway here through the distribution of our video and our advice leaflet for victims.

Today we go a step further in launching the research. The research paper is intended to improve understanding of the nature of the problem of forced marriage and its causes and to provide a solid transparent basis on which to further develop our policy. It will also serve as a useful tool in promoting awareness.

The research indicates that the problem of forced marriage is gaining recognition across generations, and I quote: 'At least their eyes are opening, first it wasn’t happening, now everyone really knows about it, it is a big issue, there is lots of debate about it.' So it is encouraging that forced marriage is becoming an issue that can be openly discussed amongst and between generations in communities. I don’t think we could have said that two years ago, and I hope that in another two years people will be even more open about the issue.

Young people need to be more aware. Parents need to appreciate the extent of the trauma to which they subject their children if they force them. Public authorities need to understand the complexities of the problem and need to be adequately trained to be able to tackle it effectively.

The role of government here is crucial, but the voluntary sector and communities themselves play an equally important role. We need to work together to make real progress.

We have achieved a great deal in the past two years, but we are not complacent. Through research and constant interaction with the community we will continue to improve the service that we offer. And I want to take this opportunity to thank the Community Liaison Unit and staff not just in the Foreign Office but across government for the hard work that they have done on this issue. And I would also like to thank the authors of the report, Yunas Samad and John Eade."

Click here to return to the article about 'Forced Marriages Action Plan forges Ahead'

Click here to download the Research Report 'Community Perceptions of Forced Marriage' (434KB, 18/12/2002 )

Click here to download the report of The Working Group 'Forced Marriages - A Choice by Right' (1,419KB, 07/02/2002

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