kiL A T E S T gN E W S
July 7, 2006:
A one-day conference in Leeds will discuss productive intervention and highlight future action against honour based crime.
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June 30, 2006:
An organisation has called for immediate police action when dealing with potential victims of honour killing.
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June 23, 2006:
A regional conference to raise awareness about forced marriage in the North West of England proved successful.
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Organisations protest against shelving forced marriage law
London, June 9: Campaign groups and organisations have announced disapproval after the government reversed their plans to make forced marriage a criminal offence.
Chairperson Diana Nammi of the International Campaign against Honour Killing said she considered forced marriages as a human rights issue that should be tackled with legal measures.
“Implementing a law to criminalise this offence would indicate to the women concerned that support is available,” she said.
“Families should be made aware that it’s a crime to force their daughters or sisters to marry. The law could have been a border to abusive practices and have prevented further crime.”
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) also uttered their disappointment about the government’s withdrawal.
Howewer chairperson Pragna Patel of the Southall Black Sisters, a group campaigning against domestic violence, backed the home office’s decision.
She told the BBC that a specific law would yet be another way of stereotyping and criminalising entire communities at a time of heightened racism in this country.
Yesterday Baroness Scotland, the home office minister in the Lords, had announced plans for a new law would be reversed to avoid
driving the practice
more underground among other reasons.
The government’s decision came as a u-turn after former home secretary David Blunkett had proposed to criminalise forced marriages last year.
But a consultation among groups experienced with forced marriages launched last September showed that 74% of police, prosecutors and probation officers found existing legislation sufficient.