Norwegian authorities got 49 complaints of forced marriages in the first six months of the year, compared with 25 complaints in the same period in 2009.
The Integration and Diversity Ministry (IMDi) says this because more people know they can get help, and where to turn to. Police inspector Terje Bjøranger says that forced marriages are widespread, and that youth are afraid to seek help.
Bjøranger is one of Norway's experts on honor-related violence. He led the team against forced marriage in 2004-2007, and now he's writing a novel based on about 600 cases of young girls and several boys who contacted the authorities regarding honor-related violence in recent years.
Shilan Shorsh, head of the Independent Democratic Kurdish Women's Association agrees and says that the majority of girls don't seek help. She also thinks that there's been honor murders in Norway, where the honor aspect wasn't discovered. Shorsh told Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten that when minority women are murdered, the honor aspect is glossed over. Norway is more careful and takes into account the murderer's mental problems and other excuses.
Source: Nordlys (Norwegian)
