SALCO - Who, If, When to Marry -The Incidence of Forced Marriage in Ontario (Sep 2013)

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2 AgeThe survey found that the majority of the individuals in FM situations were between the ages of 19 to 24(31%), closely followed by those between the ages of 16 to 18 (25%) and 25 to 34 (25%). Survey results2% 1% 1%reveal that a large percentage of FM clients are young persons. In her interview, Deepa Mattoo also5% 10%confirmed that many of her own cases involve individuals who are “very young to marriageable middle age”in their mid-30s 1 . Similarly, Jakki Buckeridge advised that the majority of clients seen by her organization 2% 2%1% 1%1%1%are between the ages of 18 to 29. 25% 5%10%10%Bearing in mind that 19 to 24 is the age considered most eligible for marriage in many cultures, it stands toreason that young people in this age bracket face a greater risk of 2% FM. Basically the pressure to marry is25%1% 1%2% 1% 1%heightened for this age bracket. 3 Research also shows that 5%5% a young person’s vulnerability 10% to being forced10%into a marriage can increase with intergenerational conflict (for example; between parent and child) 4 . In2% 25%25% 1% 1%case studies, we have noted that intergenerational conflict seems 5% to be heightened in this age bracket,10%thus compounding the vulnerability to FM. Another age-related factor that increases vulnerability for the 19to 24 age group is that they are no longer minors. Child protection laws cannot protect them. This allowsperpetrators of FM engage in coercive activities without the repercussions entailing such treatment of a25%25%25%minor.31%25%25%2Figure 1: Age of Individuals 25% Facing Forced Marriage 12-15 Situations 25-34 25%55-6531%31%2% 1% 1%5% 10%16-1812-15 12-15 25-34 25-3435-44 5555Unknown19-24 31%31% 16-1816-1845-5435-44 35-44 U12-15 25-34 55-6512-15 25-3419-24 19-24 55-6545-5445-5431%25%16-18 12-15 35-44 25-34 Unknown 55-6516-1835-44 Unknown25%19-24 45-5419-2416-1845-54 35-44 Unknown19-24 45-5431%12-15 25-34 55-651 Forced marriages and gaps in services: interview with Deepa Mattoo (2012).2 Forced marriages and gaps in services: interview with Jakki Buckeridge (2012).3 Forced16-18marriage: the risk factors and35-44the effect of raising the minimumUnknownage for a sponsor,and of leave to enter the UK as a spouse or fiancé(e) (2007, p. 15-22).4 Forced marriage: the risk factors and the effect of raising the minimum age for a sponsor,and of leave to enter the UK as a spouse or fiancé(e) (2007, p. 29).19-24 45-5410
The data also indicated that FM continues to be faced by 25 to 34 year-olds. This is not surprising as 25 to34 remains the upper range of the marriage eligibility spectrum for many people. Vulnerability to FM in thisage bracket can include coercion from family / friends / community, but may also include a more generalsocietal pressure to marry. Finally, the declining number of FM cases between 45 to 64 year olds may reflectthe increased independence an individual may have compared to their younger counterparts. On the otherhand, survey results revealed that some older individuals are likely to be forced into second or third FM.3Geographical Region, Religion andLanguage PreferenceThe data confirmed that FM is not restricted to a particular culture or geographical region. The collecteddata included cases from 30 countries from Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America. In22 cases, the country of origin was stated to be Canada. The figures also revealed that individuals from amultitude of religious backgrounds faced FM situations. In 103 cases, individuals were affiliated with Islam,followed by Hinduism (44 cases), Sikhism (30 cases) and Christianity (12 cases). The overrepresentationof Muslim cases in the data can be attributed to the wider representation of countries where Islam ispracticed. 5 In fact, there was no correlation found between the individual’s religious affiliation and countryof origin. Some of the individuals were also reported to have left the family’s faith due to being forced into amarriage or the attempt to do so.TABLE 2: Religious Affiliation of Individuals Facing Forced MarriageReligion Affiliation Number of CasesChristian 12Hindu 44Muslim 103Roma 1Sikh 30None 5Unsure 24TOTAL 219The survey results also showed a multitude of languages spoken by victims of FM including Arabic,Bengali, Czech, English, Farsi, French, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Spanish, Tamil, Thai, Turk, and Urdu.The vast majority of the individuals (60%), however, preferred to communicate in English. 46% of the Englishspeaking individuals were reported to be bilingual. The higher representation of English speaking clientsconfirms that incidence of FM is not more prevalent non-English speaking communities.5 The reported countries of origin included Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Canada, Czechoslovakia,Guinee, Guyana, India, Iraq, Iran, Kenya, Lebanon, Liberia, Mexico, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, SaudiArabia, Senegal, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, UK, USA and Yemen.11
Page 1 and 2: South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario
Page 3 and 4: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSSALCO would like to
Page 5: TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroduction 1Hist
Page 9 and 10: HISTORY OF SALCO’SFORCED MARRIAGE
Page 11 and 12: FORCED MARRIAGE:LEGISLATION IN CANA
Page 14 and 15: CASESTUDYRicky was born and raised
Page 18 and 19: 4Citizenshipand Length of Time in C
Page 20 and 21: There was no measure included in th
Page 22 and 23: 9Perpetrators of Forced MarriageFro
Page 24 and 25: individual get a job (so the person
Page 26 and 27: the situation or fled. Although all
Page 28 and 29: Another significant challenge noted
Page 30 and 31: CASESTUDYEver since Nina turned 16,
Page 32 and 33: RISK ASSESMENTRecommendation #3: De
Page 34 and 35: Recommendation #8: Better protectio
Page 36 and 37: WORKS CITEDBuckeridge, J. (2012, Au
Page 38 and 39: 2% 1% 1%Figure 1: Age of Individual
Page 40 and 41: 15%15%2% 3%Figure 5: Level of Educa
Page 42 and 43: 13%1%4%11%Figure 9: Level of Educat
Page 44 and 45: INFORMATION AND CONSENT FORMThis is
Page 46 and 47: Level of education:High School Dipl
Page 48 and 49: APPENDIX CInterview Questions42
Page 50: APPENDIX DConference Report44

SALCO - Who, If, When to Marry -The Incidence of Forced Marriage in Ontario (Sep 2013)

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