A new study funded by the Home Office has estimated that 3,000 women are forced in marriage every year in the UK.
The report noted that this figure is higher than previous estimates and observed that the government's Forced Marriage Unit only deals with 300 cases a year - meaning that only 1-in-10 women forced into marriages are able to obtain help from the government.
The report recommended that teachers should be given a greater role in identifying young women at risk of forced marriage and that they should be encouraged to take action to prevent the abuses taken place.
The study was based on a survey of women's groups in Luton who estimated that they encountered 300 cases of forced marriage every year.
Comments (1)
Disgraceful! I can't wait for the government's new policy announcement on this matter (assuming one is forthcomming) but I bet the government won't go very far. We should know who leaves and enters the country. Then if families returning include people they didn't include when they left, or exclude people who left the country they can be given a month to prove that nobody has been forced into marriage. If they fail, lock every member of the family up for ever!
Posted by Senior | March 10, 2008 10:55 PM
Posted on March 10, 2008 22:55