31. Supplementary memorandum
submitted by UKvisas
FORCED MARRIAGES
1. BACKGROUND
— A forced marriage is a marriage
conducted without the valid consent of both parties where duress
(emotional pressure in addition to physical abuse) is a factor.
It is a form of domestic violence, child abuse and an abuse of
human rights.
— Motivation for forced marriages
is complex and varied and not necessarily about abuse of the immigration
control. Motives for forced marriages include preventing "unsuitable"
relationships, eg outside the ethnic, cultural, religious or caste
group. It might also be driven by peer group or family pressure,
long-standing family commitments or wish to strengthen family
or cultural links. Forced marriages may take place in the UK or
overseas.
— The problem of forced marriage is
not confined to Muslim communities but the majority of cases brought
to the attention of posts overseas or the Forced Marriage Unit
affect British nationals with a cultural background in South Asia.
This largely reflects demographic factors in the UK. However,
there have also been reported cases from East Asia, Africa, the
Middle East and Europe.
There are some visa categories that may involve
forced marriage victims. They are:
Reluctant sponsors
I. A Reluctant Sponsor is defined as a married
person who is being forced against their will to support a settlement
application for their spouse to gain entry to the UK. They may
be forced to support the application from the UK, or compelled
to join their spouse abroad.
Abandoned spouses
II. Normally an Abandoned Spouse is a woman who
has been issued a visa to settle in the UK for two years and has
returned to their country of origin with their spouse on the pretext
of taking a holiday. Upon arriving at their destination, the sponsor
destroys the spouse's passport and returns to the UK alone. Children
are either left in the UK and separated from their mother, or
abandoned with their mother.
Vulnerable adults
III. This category refers to applications for
settlement for a spouse by sponsors suffering from learning difficulties
or mental health problems such as depression, schizophrenia etc.
In these cases sponsors may have been manipulated into supporting
applications for entry clearance made by their spouses. Such cases
may be referred to posts by the Social Care Services or the Forced
Marriage Unit (see below).
2. STATISTICAL
INFORMATION— Since
2000 the FCO has dealt with over 1,000 cases of forced marriage.
Currently some 300 cases are reported to the Forced Marriage Unit
each year, the majority of which involve families with a cultural
background in the Indian sub-continent. As an example, the following
are statistics from our post in Pakistan which handles the largest
number of cases (by contrast, the Forced Marriages Team in Dhaka
dealt with around 55 cases of forced marriage in 2005).
Islamabad— 100 Forced Marriage cases
dealt with in 2005.
— 35 rescues conducted in 2005, involving
47 individuals.
— Most cases involved young women
between the ages of 16 and 22, but 15% of cases involved young
men. In almost all cases, individuals were being forced into a
marriage with a Pakistani national, often a cousin or other relative.
Ongoing visa cases involving forced marriage
victims in Islamabad (as at 8 February 2006):
|
| Reluctant Sponsor | Abandoned Spouse
| Vulnerable Adult |
Miscellaneous* | Total
|
|
| 216 | 22 |
35 | 26
| 299 |
|
* Includes cases where a victim of forced marriage, whose
husband has been refused a visa, feels intimidated by the application
made by a member of her husband's family, normally a brother.
There is a genuine risk of intimidation and, at worst, honour
killings.
3. ADDRESSING THE
PROBLEM
(i) Forced Marriage Unit
In January 2005 the HO and the FCO established a new joint
Forced Marriage Unit (FMU). The Unit provides a central point
of confidential support and information for all potential victims
and concerned professionals. The FMU operates a telephone helpline
and has a team of caseworkers aware of the cultural, social and
emotional issues surrounding the abuse. The FMU also develops
policy and undertakes projects, such as the publication of guidelines
for education, police and social care services professionals.
In September 2005 a consultation was launched on whether forced
marriage should be made a criminal offence. The findings of the
consultation are due to be published in April.
The FMU deals with around 300 cases a year. Figures have risen
slightly over the last year. Consular staff in the FMU work with
overseas posts, UK police, Social Care Services and education
and health professionals to help and support victims. This may,
in some circumstances, involve consular staff overseas rescuing
or arranging the repatriation of British nationals.
The FMU undertakes a considerable amount of targeted, preventative
outreach work aimed at raising awareness with key professionals
and those communities most affected in the UK. In 2005 FMU staff
spoke at some 150 events and held a Legal Briefing Session in
October 2005 to raise awareness of the legal remedies available
in forced marriage casework.
Overseas
The Consular Team in Islamabad has been involved in a number of
initiatives to raise awareness both in Pakistan and the UK of
the Human Rights abuses involved in forced marriage. In terms
of media coverage this has included co-operation with a recent
Sky News documentary and articles in the Guardian and Daily Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/01/03/bvhostage03.xml
In March 2005 the FMU hosted a Forced Marriage Conference in Dhaka
for posts to share best practice. An immediate benefit of this
event has been improved information sharing between posts on forced
marriage issues, and between consular and visa colleagues within
posts. FMU expect to hold a follow-up Conference next year.
(ii) Consular-based work
— Islamabad established the Consular Immigration
Link Team (CILT) in September 2005 to meet the increasing rises
in numbers of reluctant sponsors and abandoned spouses seen in
Pakistan. The team works in a secure environment to protect vulnerable
clients. Some cases are given passwords because of impersonation
and corruption. Denunciations are received from the Risk Assessment
Unit (RAU) in Islamabad as well as the FMU in the UK.
— The team works closely with entry clearance officers,
the FMU and other sections within the Home Office, and liaises
with SACH (Struggle for Change and, literally, "truth"
in Urdu) an NGO in Pakistan, with a view to preventing the problem
at its source. Islamabad works in partnership with SACH who provide
the High Commission with a secure women's refuge, support with
forced marriage rescues and specialised training for the team.
SACH also run awareness-raising campaigns on forced marriage and
women's rights for the High Commission.
— Best Practice Processes are in place to deal
with cases identified by entry clearance officers (ECOs) as possibly
involving forced marriage victims. For example, if a reluctant
sponsor is willing to make his or her objections public, and has
written a letter to this effect, the visa application can be refused
on the basis that the marriage is not subsisting.
— A team from the National Audit Office visited
Islamabad in May 2005 as part of their review of Consular work.
Their report commented favourably on the help provided to victims
of forced marriages. Consular Directorate are working to implement
the overall NAO recommendations—influencing and changing
behaviours of travellers, improving consistency of service and
equipping consular services to meet emerging change.
(iii) Immigration and Nationality Directorate
— The Immigration and Nationality Directorate's
Evidence and Enquiry Unit fast-track post requests for confirmation
of the immigration status of Abandoned Spouses. Forced marriages
can be reported to the Managed Migration Intelligence Unit who
can take the information into account in any future application
for indefinite leave to remain.
Mandie Campbell
UKvisas/FMU
27 February 2006
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