UK: 'Action needed' on forced marriage says abused teenager

UK: 'Action needed' on forced marriage says abused teenager


Via BBC (h/t IBA):

The government is defending how it deals with forced marriage with one victim saying there is not enough help.

According to new figures seen by Newsbeat, there were 1,735 incidents of potential or actual cases involving British nationals reported to the forced marriage unit (FMU) in 2010.

More than half of the cases dealt with last year by the government's forced marriage unit were related to Pakistan.

Meanwhile, almost a third involved people under the age of 18.

(...)

The 15-year-old victim has been talking about how she risked her life to escape a forced marriage in Pakistan.

She says her father wanted to marry her off to a man 16 years older than her so he could come to live in the UK.
Cows in village of Bain Sharif Last year the FMU rescued seven people each month from rural areas

"It was just about the money," she admitted.

"He was literally selling me and he was selling my nationality so I could bring the person back.

"I think it would have been £10,000."

(source)