SURVEY FINDS 3,000 FORCED MARRIAGES SUSPECTED AMONG IMMIGRANT GIRLS AND WOMEN IN AMERICA

October 9, 2011 (Washington D.C.) – The Tahirih Justice Center, which seeks to protect women in the U.S. from gender-based violence, reports “an increasing number of forced marriage cases involving young women and girls from traditional immigrant communities in the United States.” Some are U.S. citizens; others are legal permanent residents, refugees, asylees, or have other immigration statuses. 

A new Survey on Forced Marriage in Immigrant Communities in the U.S. conducted by Tahirih this summer identified up to 3,000 known and suspected cases of forced marriages in America in the past two years. 

San Diego County took in more refugees and asylees last year than any other city in the U.S., as well as many other immigrants. Tahirih won’t disclose specifics on individual cities, but confirmed that forced marriages have occurred in California.
 

The survey was distributed to thousands of people nationwide who work with immigrants, including service providers, law enforcement officers, educators and community leaders. Over 500 responded from 47 states. The survey focused only on immigrant communities, not other populations, so likely undercounts total forced marriages in America. 

Other findings include:
 

• Forced marriage is being seen in immigrant communities from 56 different countries, and affects people of many different faiths.
 

• Two out of three respondents (67%) felt that there were cases of forced marriage not being identified in the populations with which they work, suggesting a significant population of “hidden victims” beyond the potentially 3000 cases identified through Tahirih’s survey.
 

• Less than 10% of respondents said they had a working definition of forced marriage at their agency, and less than a quarter of respondents (22%) said their agency’s screening and referral process enabled them to identify cases where forced marriage may be of concern.
 

• Less than one in five respondents (16%) said that their agency was properly equipped to help individuals facing forced marriage.
 

• Almost half of respondents (46%) who provided information on particular tactics used against victims reported that victims had been subjected to actual physical violence.
 

The reasons behind these forced marriages are complex and varied, particularly in an American context. Parents may regard a forced marriage as a way to prevent their daughter from becoming too Americanized, protect the family’s honor, or gain economic security. Whatever the rationale, the result may subject the woman or girl to severe and sustained harm, including domestic abuse, marital rape, and other forms of violence.
 

Although the United Kingdom and a few other countries have begun to recognize and address the issue of forced marriage with new laws and policies, little has been done to assist individuals facing forced marriage the United States, leaving young women (and some men) in crisis with few resources and options.
 

Some young immigrant women don’t know that forced marriages are illegal in the U.S. But even young women who take refuge in shelters have been returned to parents seeking to force them into marriages.
 

Alarmingly, 42 respondents said they knew of women who contemplated or attempted suicide to escape forced marriage situations. In addition, 13 reported knowing of attempted murders and one reported an actual murder related to forced marriage cases. Girls who attempted to flee forced marriage situations were sometimes falsely charged with crimes, accused as runaways, or threatened with bodily harm to themselves or their families to force them to submit. Some were kidnapped, others tricked into going abroad for a visit, only to be forced into a marriage overseas.
 

Tahirih’s Forced Marriage Initiative was formally launched in 2011 and aims to develop a national response to the problem of forced marriage in immigrant communities in the United States that will enable women and girls to safely resist or escape forced marriages.
 

Read the full report: http://www.tahirih.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/REPORT-Tahirih-Su...
For more on Tahirih’s Forced Marriage Initiative, visit http://www.tahirih.org/advocacy/policy-areas/forced-marriage-initiative/ .