More young immigrant girls get abortions without parental knowledge than Danish teenagers according to the Danish abortion authority's (Abortankenaevnet) yearly report for 2006.
The girls don't dare admit that they had sex before marriage, for fear that causing such great shame to the family will cause them harm.
Torben Hvid, head of Abortankenævnet says that parents should be involved for the girl's own protection, so they can support them. But in many cases there are is great risk that the girl will be exposed to serious reprisals. She can be kicked out of the family, or subjected to violence.
Last year there were 62 cases of abortions without parental consent, however it is not known how many of those were immigrants. But these permissions are mainly given to young girls who on religious or ethnic grounds don't dare involve the parents, since there is a real risk that the girl will be expelled from the family or suffer physical or psychological harm," according to the report.
Amneh Hawwa, doctor and sexologist,had guided many young immigrant girls that had gotten pregnant without wishing to. She says it is a catastrophe for them. Some parents want to kill their daughter or send her back to the homeland since it si shameful that she had gotten pregnant before marrieage.
There are no statistics to show how it goes with girls who involve their parents, but Hawwa guess that one in ten is harmed by her parents.
Source: DR.dk (Danish), h/t Hodja
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