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Forced Marriages & 'Honour'-Based Violence

"marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses"

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 16 (21)

Forced Marriage

What is Forced Marriage?

Forced marriage is any marriage that is performed under duress and without the full and informed consent or free will of both parties. To be 'under duress' means to feel physical and/or emotional pressure. Some victims of forced marriage are tricked into going to another country by their families. Victims fall prey to forced marriage through deception, abduction, coercion, fear and/or inducements. A forced marriage may be between children, between a child and an adult or between adults.

The Forced Marriage Unit in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office deals with approximately 400 forced marriage cases each year. Approximately 85% of these are female (Forced Marriage Unit, 2008).

'Honour'-Based Violence

'Honour'- based violence, i.e., crimes committed in the name of honour, have been defined in various ways, but an 'honour' crime tends to be differentiated from other forms of domestic violence or killing on the grounds that it involves a premeditated act to restore family honour, and that the perpetrators may be fathers, cousins or uncles rather than partners or husbands.

Home Office figures suggest there are around 12 "honour" killings each year, but the total is likely to be far higher. So-called "honour"-based violence occurs in communities where the concepts of honour and shame are fundamentally bound up with the expected behaviour of families or individuals, especially women. "Honour" killings represent the extreme end, but there is a spectrum of other forms of violence associated with "honour" (Source: Home Affairs Select Committee, 2008).

Further Reading

Forced Marriage Survivor's Handbook, Forced Marriage Unit

Samad, Y., Eade, J. (2003) 'Community Perceptions of Forced Marriage', Community Liaison Unit, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London

Forced Marriage Third Party Intervention Consultation Response (Newham Asian Women's Project) March 2008

Selected International Human Rights Materials addressing 'Crimes of Honour'

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