11.03.08 – This is London.co.uk
The number of Asian children removed from school and forced into arranged marriages overseas could be as high as 3,000, experts said today.
They fear the scale of the problem – which a Muslim peer today insisted was “abhorrent” – is 10 times worse than official estimates.
The Government’s forced marriage unit investigates about 300 cases a year.
But today’s study, funded by the Home Office, warns that this number of cases occurs every year in Luton alone.
The report concludes that nationally the figure is likely to be 10 times that, or around 3,000.
Management consultant Dr Nazia Khanum, who wrote the study, said: “Three hundred inquiries are made to the voluntary sector per year in Luton alone.
“The forced marriage unit deal with 300 hardcore cases a year.
“If you follow the examples of rape and domestic violence, where only 10 per cent to 12 per cent of cases are reported, it’s a reasonable assumption that it is the tip of the iceberg.”
She accepted that the 300 inquiries a year in Luton did not necessarily relate to serious cases, but she added: “It still indicates the scale of the problem of forced marriages, which are unacceptable, and condemned by all religions.
“Forced marriage has nothing to do with religion – it is a part of a patriarchal system where parents believe they know what is best for their children.”
Yeah, right…
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