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Home Office

Answer

Ms Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he has taken as a result of the recent report on forced marriages. [157548] Mr. Mike O'Brien: `A Choice by Right', the report of the working group on forced marriage, was published in June last year. It made a number of recommendations for tackling the problem of forced marriage. Since then we have made progress on a number of fronts. Together with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office we have developed and published a Joint Action Plan to address the overseas dimension of forced marriage. This includes gaining a better understanding of the problem, forging links with agencies overseas and looking at our own procedures for handling these cases. We are working with colleagues from other Government Departments and non-governmental organisations to develop a package of care for the victims of forced marriage--to give them a real choice and enable them to take appropriate action to address, or escape, the problem. The work is being overseen by the Inter-departmental Group on Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Domestic Violence have also agreed to take this issue within its remit. Many of the protocols and procedures aimed at tackling domestic violence are also appropriate for dealing with forced marriage. I hope to be able to make a fuller announcement this month.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

366 c470-1W; 157548

Session

2000-01

Subjects

Ethnic groups Forced marriage Marriage Minority groups Forced Marriages Working Group

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk