Forced marriage victims too scared to ask police for help

Charities call for rethink as figures show no prosecutions in first year of new law

MINISTERS have been urged to reconsider controversial legislation on forced marriage as figures suggest it has resulted in fewer victims coming forward for help.

MSPs gave the go-ahead for Westminster legislation on the issue to be applied north of the Border from September 2014 in a bid to protect those affected by forced marriage.

However, figures obtained under freedom of information reveal that no-one has been charged or prosecuted for an offence under the new legislation in its first year.

Women’s aid charities also say they have experienced a significant drop in the number of people coming forward for support – a concern that was raised when the legislation was being considered.

Figures from Shakti Women’s Aid, a group that supports black and ethnic minority women, show that the number of forced marriage cases dropped from 24 referrals in 2012-2013 to 10 in 2014-15.

Dr Marsha Scott, chief executive of Scottish Women’s Aid, said: “Scottish Women’s Aid has from the beginning opposed the criminalisation approach in the new legislation, given our conviction that it would make disclosure and engagement with support and intervention services even less accessible and attractive for women and young people.

“We therefore are sorry to say we told you so but are not surprised to see a decrease in reports and no prosecutions. These figures suggest that the criminalisation of forced marriage has further deterred vulnerable women from coming forward.

“We would call on the Scottish Government to reconsider this legislation, with meaningful consultation with experts working in the field.”

Before the legislation was introduced, forcing someone to marry against their will was not a criminal offence in Scotland but courts had the power to issue protection orders to those at risk, which if breached could carry a two-year prison sentence.

However, just a small number of these orders have been granted since introduction in 2011. The new law makes it a criminal offence for someone to use violence, threats or any other form of coercion to force another person into a marriage and carries a maximum custodial sentence of seven years.

Shakti Women’s Aid manager Girijamba Polubothu said that even the women who are still coming forward for help do not want to report it to the police.

“We are not entirely certain why the cases we are getting have dropped,” she said. “But they have fallen by around half. Most women tell us they don’t want to get their family into trouble. Women are still coming to us for help – but they don’t want to take action. They know what their options are, but don’t want to report it to the police. Instead, they are looking for emotional support from us.

“They are thinking of the honour of their family and the risk to themselves.”

She added that the group is currently supporting three women experiencing forced marriage, including one case where the woman had already wed.

Ms Polubothu added: “One woman who we are supporting has been forced into marriage, but did not want to criminalise her family. Instead, she went through with the marriage, and is living with the perpetrator, and we are helping her emotionally.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Forced marriage is an indefensible practice recognised across Scotland and the UK as a form of violence against women and men and a serious abuse of human rights. The Scottish Government is committed to protecting those at risk of abuse and forced marriage.

“Criminalisation of forcing a person into marriage provided an additional layer of protection to victims from a practice that is often accompanied by physical, psychological, financial, sexual and emotional abuse. It does not replace the 2011 Act but works alongside it to reinforce the message that this practice is wrong.

“We work with our stakeholders including Scottish Women’s Aid and Shakti who have helped develop guidance and delivered a programme of multi-agency training for professionals earlier this year. They are also participating in independent research into Forced Marriage in Scotland commissioned earlier this year.”

LONG before the law making forced marriage a criminal offence came into effect in Scotland in 2014, there were many warnings it could backfire. Forced marriage is, by its nature, a complicated and secretive problem and the fear was that criminalising it would make it even more unlikely its victims, and their friends and families, would come forward.

Sadly, new figures would appear to show the warnings were wellfounded. The figures, obtained under freedom of information, reveal no one has been charged or prosecuted for an offence under the new law. Women’s aid charities also say they have experienced a big drop in the number of people coming forward since the legislation came into effect. The support group Shakti Women’s Aid says the number of cases it has seen has dropped by more than half – in 2012-2013, there were 24 referrals; in 2014-15, it was ten.

This is a disturbing development in a complicated area where it has proved hard to make progress, and there is an understandable element of “we told you so” in the reaction to the figures. Among those who warned against criminalisation before the law was passed was the lawyer John Fotheringham who said the new legislation was a retrograde step and would stop victims coming forward for fear of criminalising their relatives. Kayleigh Thorpe, of Glasgow’s Amina Muslim Women’s Resource Centre, also warned the already low level of reporting would be pushed down further.

The fact this has happened is particularly worrying because the small number of victims coming forward before the change in the law was already the tip of the iceberg. Research commissioned by Glasgow City Council among others suggested more than a third of women from black and ethnic minority backgrounds have been affected by forced marriage. Very few of the women who took part in the study also knew where to go to find help.

The Scottish Government’s answer to the problem, following the UK Government’s lead, was criminalisation and to some extent that is understandable – governments need to demonstrate they take an issue such as forced marriage seriously. But if the aim of any legislation or reform is to minimise the number of forced marriages that take place, then criminalisation looks like the wrong response, certainly without any realistic prospect that those breaking the law will be caught.

With that prospect now receding even further, and the Scottish Government remaining committed to the legislation, a review is required to determine how victims, or those who know them, can be encouraged to come forward and to what extent the law is making it worse.

The lack of a strong support network and safety net also needs to be addressed. Before criminalisation took effect under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, many of those who work with those affected by the issue said that, rather than a change in the law, more resources were needed to support the victims and provide a safe place for them.

That need still urgently has to be met so more of the problem can be exposed and more of the hidden victims can be helped.