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According to the figures compiled by National Women's Aid 1 in 4 women experience domestic violence at some point in their lives. Domestic violence accounts for 23% of violent crimes:
- 1 in every 5 men and 1 in every 10 women thinks that abuse against women is acceptable.
- On average, a woman will be assaulted by her partner or ex-partner 35 times before reporting it to the police. In the UK the police receive approximately 570,000 calls each year from women reporting domestic violence.
- In any one day, nearly 7,000 women and children seek shelter in the refuge to escape violence.
- 2 to 3 women are killed by their partner or ex-partner each week.
There are no national figures available on domestic violence against women in the Asian communities. The information below has been collated from a variety of sources such as newspapers, national TV, radio, the Internet and real cases in an Asian refuge.
Suffering in Silence
Domestic violence is so unmentionable that it does not seem to exist in the Asian Communities. It is not talked about, is kept well hidden behind closed doors and it certainly is not tackled.
There is very little support available to victims outside their homes and many Asian women are reluctant or too fearful to seek help from mainstream organisations.
The issues of domestic violence vary a great deal between Western and Asian cultures. Some of the major issues that differ are as below:
- Forced Marriages
- Honour Killings
- Dowry Abuse/Deaths
Some people may think that surely these issues must only exist in India, Pakistan or other Eastern countries and not in England. It is true that the figures of forced marriages, honour killings and dowry deaths are far higher in those countries that I have mentioned above but they are also happening in the UK, particularly the issue of forced marriages.
Forced Marriages
A forced marriage is different from an arranged marriage. The tradition of arranged marriages has operated successfully within Asian communities for a very long time. In an arranged marriage the families of both spouses take a lead role in arranging the marriage - but the choice whether or not to accept the arrangement remains with the individuals.
In forced marriages however, at least one individual does not consent to the marriage and some element of duress is involved. Duress can involve anything from emotional and social pressure to assault, threatening behaviour, imprisonment and abduction and in extreme cases can result in suicide and murder. Abduction can involve deceiving or forcing a woman to go abroad and subject her to a forced marriage or other abuses once she arrives.
Every year many thousands of young Asian women living in European countries face forced marriages. It is estimated that more than 30,000 girls have been involved in forced marriages since 1990. In Britain, South Asian women's groups have records of numerous cases of young girls who have been forced to marry by their parents.
Currently some 200 cases of forced marriages are reported to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office each year. Thousands go unreported. With greater awareness the number reported is likely to increase.
Parents who force their children to marry often justify their behaviour as preserving their cultural values, building stronger families and protecting their children. They do not see anything wrong in their actions.
However, as awareness is increasing, many young girls are trying to speak out and refuse to be taken back to their parents countries to be married by force.
Whilst working in an Asian refuge, I came across several cases of forced marriages. The girls who came to the refuge were aged between 17 and 25. They somehow managed to flee their parental home when they discovered what their parents were planning for them. Some escaped from home in the middle of the night when their parents were asleep. Others had to involve the police and were taken out of their homes and brought to the refuge. All the girls that I supported were extremely afraid, feared for their lives and did not want to be found by their families.
Criminal Law and Forced Marriages
Although there is no specific criminal offence of "forcing someone to marry" the law does provide protection from the crimes committed when forcing someone into a marriage. Perpetrators - usually parents and family members have been prosecuted for offences including threatening behaviour, harassment, assault, abduction and murder.
The Victims
Young girls often become estranged from their families after being forced into a marriage. They sometimes suffer further abuse and domestic violence but feel unable to leave because of lack of family support and other financial and social circumstances.
They live within a forced marriage for many years before they feel able to challenge the situation. Victims of forced marriages can feel extremely isolated, as they may not be able to speak to anyone about their problems.
Honour Killings
Within the Muslim communities women are subjected to powerful traditional beliefs regarding the concept of honour and shame. Women are expected to uphold the honour of the family by conforming to certain prescribed roles such as obedient wife, daughter and sister who tolerates abuse rather than leaving home. In honour killings women may be killed by the family - usually by husband, father, and brother - or by community members.
Women can be killed for refusing to a forced marriage, dating or wanting to marry a man outside their religion or culture or running away from home to escape violence. The killings are justified as punishment for having brought shame on or dishonouring the family and that of the wider community.
Honour Killings in the UK
There have been between 12 and 20 known cases of honour killings in the last two years. Three most recent examples are as below:
- 2003: East London - Anita Gindha was murdered in front of her 18-month-old son. She fled an arranged marriage and was killed by members of her community.
- Birmingham - Sahda Bibi was killed on the day of her wedding by two of her cousins for refusing to enter a forced marriage.
- Nottingham - A young pregnant mother of two children was suffocated by her brother while the woman's mother held her down. They were suspicious that the victim was having a sexual relationship outside her marriage.
- A 16-year-old Kurdish girl was stabbed to death by her father because she was dating a boy outside her religion and culture.
Honour Killings in other Muslim countries
- Pakistan - 631 young women were murdered in one year.
- Iran - 45 women killed over a period of two months.
Hundreds of women are killed in Palestine, Turkey and other Middle Eastern countries in the name of honour.
Methods of honour killings vary across countries. Victims are hacked, stabbed, shot, burned or suffocated to death. Their ages range between 13 and 50. They are killed on the mere allegations of having an 'illicit' sexual relationship. They are never given an opportunity to give their version of events.
Dowry Abuse/Deaths
A dowry is a wedding gift given to the bride by her parents to help her start a home for herself. However, over the years it has become a way of fulfilling the never-ending greed of the bridegroom and his family - particularly in India.
A dowry includes demands for money, jewellery, land or property and other goods like cars, motorbikes and electrical equipment. In some cases their husbands and in-laws subject brides to domestic violence and harassment in order to obtain a bigger dowry or more dowries after the wedding.
In the Indian Sub-continent there is a high rate of dowry deaths, often by burning where a woman is killed because she did not bring sufficient dowry.
There are approximately 25000 known dowry deaths in India each year. The real figure is said to be much higher.
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