3,000 Women a Year Forced into Marriage in UK, Study Finds

Although this article does not mention the group by name, we all know who the greatest offenders of forced marriages are. Political correctness triumphs again. For heaven’ sake, don’t mention who the offenders are lest they themselves be offended!

Have you noticed how the term ‘South Asian’ is so often used to avoid the ‘M’ word? And then we have the “problem spread across different ethnic minorities” frequently so stated!

To my knowledge, the practice of forced marriages is far more widespread in the Muslim communities, so for God’s sake just let’s say so. Let’s stop the pussyfooting. - ©Mark

THE GUARDIAN: At least 3,000 young women in Britain are the victims of forced marriages each year, with the scale of the problem far bigger than originally thought, according to a groundbreaking report out this week.

The first study ever conducted in the UK into the prevalence of the custom shows that there are far more victims, spread across different ethnic minority communities, than official figures suggest.

Teachers should be given a key role in talking confidentially to young girls whom they believe may be at risk of being coerced into marriages, particularly if there is suspicion that an older sister has been married off against her will, the report recommends.

But there also needs to be more determined effort within communities to end the practice, so that forced marriages become a matter of shame and humiliation for parents, instead of being a matter of pride.

The Home Office-funded study calls on authorities to take the institution more seriously, so that it is treated as an issue of illegality, domestic violence and bullying.

The study, which looked at cases in Luton, a town with a large south Asian community, found at least 300 cases where victims had contacted community organisations. Yet the government's forced marriage unit, set up to tackle the problem three years ago, handles only 300 cases a year nationwide. 3,000 women a year forced into marriage in UK, study finds >>> By Jo Revill and Anushka Asthana | Saturday March 8 2008

TIMESONLINE:
Forced marriage fear prompts a national count of missing girls By Lucy Bannerman

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