Conclusions and recommendations
1. The increase in the number of cases handled by the Forced Marriage Unit and the number of calls made to the Honour Network Helpline since our predecessor Committee's inquiry in 2007-08 demonstrates that forced marriage remains a serious concern, affecting thousands of young people in the UK. The fact that more young women and, increasingly, young men are coming forward to seek help is encouraging but underlines the requirement for sufficient support mechanisms to be in place to meet their needs.
(Paragraph 5)
2. We are pleased that victims and professionals are utilising the provisions of the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007, with 293 Forced Marriage Protection Orders made during the two years and four months following its enactment. However, the evidence presented to us suggested inadequacies in the monitoring of compliance with an order after it is made and a lack of effective action in cases of breach, with only one person receiving a jail sentence for breach of an order thus far. We echo our predecessors in recommending that the Government undertake and publish a further review of the operation of the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act by the end of this calendar year, and then on an annual basis, in particular to investigate how orders are monitored, the real level of breaches and the judicial response to recorded breaches. It is not at all clear that the Act is wholly effective as a tool in protecting individuals from forced marriage and from repercussions from family members. While the measures in the Act should continue to be used, we believe that it would send out a very clear and positive message to communities within the UK and internationally if it becomes a criminal act to force—or to participate in forcing—an individual to enter into marriage against their will. The lack of a criminal sanction also sends a message, and currently that is a weaker message than we believe is needed. We urge the Government to take an early opportunity to legislate on this matter.
(Paragraph 12)
3. We are also concerned at the level of awareness of the Act's provisions amongst frontline professionals. We look forward to receiving a copy of the review currently being undertaken by the Forced Marriage Unit of the execution of the statutory guidance on forced marriage and recommend that this include consideration of measures to extend its implementation across all agencies in all parts of the country. We further recommend publication of the Forced Marriage Designated Courts Resource Manual so that it is available to all professionals practising in this area.
(Paragraph 13)
4. We have received mixed evidence about the impact of the change in the Immigration Rules in 2008 to require sponsors of marriage visas and their incoming spouses to be over the age of 21. We recognise that the change may be seen as discriminatory and has the potential for young people to be held in abusive situations for longer; however, it has undoubtedly helped a number of young people to resist forced marriage.
(Paragraph 18)
5. We are extremely worried about the fact that many schools continue to refuse to engage in preventative activity with children at risk of forced marriage and have written to the Secretary of State for Education to express this view. We are disappointed by his response. On the basis of the evidence we have received, we do not accept his assurance that "schools will already be aware of the guidance available on forced marriage" or that, if they are, they are acting on it. Teachers who are not trained to respond properly to cases of forced marriage can inadvertently put pupils in greater danger by, for example, contacting their families.
In the light of clear evidence that many schools are not fulfilling their statutory responsibilities with regard to forced marriage, the Department for Education must provide more active support to teachers to enable them to carry out a role which may risk upsetting cultural sensibilities but is nonetheless vital for child protection. We therefore recommend the schools are reminded annually of their responsibilities in this matter by the Secretary of State.
(Paragraph 27)
6. As noted above, the Forced Marriage Unit is currently reviewing implementation of the statutory guidelines on forced marriage, and the Department for Education must act on the findings in relation to schools. In addition, we recommend that Ofsted inspectors pay particular attention to policies in place to deal with forced marriage in their assessments of the safeguarding arrangements of schools where pupils are likely to be at risk of forced marriage.
(Paragraph 28)
7. We welcome the Secretary of State for Education's intention to widen the range of situations where schools must report pupil absence to the local authority, in particular where a child has failed to return to school following an extended family holiday, and to respond to concerns raised by Ofsted about the reasons for missing education and the lack of cooperation between councils and schools. We ask him to report back to us in due course on the action eventually taken to address these matters.
(Paragraph 29)
8. The police have been leading the way in pursuing Forced Marriage Protection Orders for victims and potential victims of forced marriage. However, the response to victims varies greatly on a force-by-force basis. We were greatly disturbed by evidence from a victim of forced marriage that she was required to report her situation to a succession of police officers, none of whom treated it sufficiently seriously.
We are pleased to note that the Government recognises the importance of training for frontline practitioners in its Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls Action Plan and we request information about the outcome of the review of the forced marriage e-learning tool. All appropriate police officers should receive training in recognising and responding to forced marriage and we recommend that the Government consider how best to ensure that this kind of learning is cascaded down to officers, as part of its current review of police training delivery.
(Paragraph 33)
9. We are disappointed by the lack of progress made by the UK Border Agency to resolve the issue of reluctant sponsors being unable to deny the foreign national whom they have been forced to marry a visa because they are afraid that their intervention will become known to their family, who might take action against them. We therefore reiterate our predecessors' call for a power of refusal without the need for an evidential statement to be attached to visa applications in cases of reluctant sponsors
(Paragraph 38)
10. We are also surprised that estranged or abused spouses are routinely treated as 'third parties' under the Data Protection Act by the UK Border Agency in respect of their partner's application for indefinite leave to remain. While we recognise that data protection issues must be taken into account, there are instances where exemptions can be made and the Agency is therefore permitted to disclose information to a spouse. We were pleased to note the Information Commissioner's assertion that the Data Protection Act recognises that sometimes it is appropriate to disclose personal data in circumstances which would otherwise breach the Act. The UK Border Agency should acknowledge this, and encourage its staff to make decisions about disclosure on a case-by-case basis, with the aim of ensuring that British spouses have every opportunity to alert the immigration authorities in confidence to cases of marriage breakdown. Clamping down on these immigration abuses is essential first and foremost in order to protect current and future victims of forced marriage, but also to form part of a controlled immigration policy.
(Paragraph 39)
11. Specialist services run by the voluntary sector provide a vital means of support to individuals at risk of forced marriage, who are often failed by statutory agencies or do not feel able to approach them; 63% of the thousands of callers to the Honour Network Helpline do not contact statutory agencies. We understand that a number of such specialist services, including the highly-respected organisation Southall Black Sisters and the Honour Network Helpline run by Karma Nirvana, are under threat of closure due to potential withdrawal of funding from Government or local authorities. It is our view that the Government should urge local authorities to support these local services and both Government and local authorities should move quickly to make funding decisions affecting these services. The closure of these services would materially damage the UK's ability to protect and support victims and potential victims of forced marriages, and the Government should take steps to avoid this outcome.
(Paragraph 43)
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