WUNRN
Via Tahirih Justice Center
USA - FORCED MARRIAGE - AL JAZEERA SERIES
Cultural misunderstanding and lack of legislation leave USA forced marriage victims in shadows and at risk.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services states that a marriage petition must be denied if there is evidence the marriage was entered into for the purpose of evading immigration laws.John Moore/Getty Images
A forced
marriage is one that takes place without the full and free consent of one or
both parties. It can happen to either gender, at any age. It may be a
marriage that is threatened, or one that has already taken place, either in the
United States or abroad.
An individual’s lack of consent or lack of
ability to give informed consent may be caused by a variety of factors,
including but not limited to the individual being:
- Younger than the legal age to marry
- Subject to some other incapacity or
disability
- Subject to force, fraud, or coercion
Force, fraud, or coercion can take many forms,
including psychological manipulation, emotional blackmail, deception, and
physical threats or violence, and—in some cases—even kidnapping or death
threats."
An
arranged marriage is not the same as a forced marriage. A forced
marriage, in which an individual feels she has no ultimate right to choose her
partner and/or no meaningful way to say no to the marriage, is distinguishable
from an arranged marriage, in which the families of both parties (or religious
leaders or others) take the lead, but ultimately, the choice remains with the
individual
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January 21, 2014 - Series highlights Tahirih Justice Center Forced Marriage Survey and the voices of survivors and community advocates. The series highlights the findings of Tahirih’s National Forced Marriage Survey, which tracked up to 3,000 known and suspected cases of forced marriage from 2009 to 2011 across 47 states.
- “Till death do us part: The forgetten U.S. victims of
victims of forced marriage,” part one of Al Jazeera America’s series on
forced marriage.
- How a bride forced to marry became
"unchained" at last." - http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/1/22/how-a-bride-forcedtomarrybecameunchainedatlast.html
- “Forced marriage victims coerced into hart-to-detect
immigration fraud,’” part three of Al Jazeera America’s series on forced
marriage.
- “Meet the cops who save women from forced
marriage,’” part four of Al Jazeera America’s series on forced marriage.
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