REPORT GAY DOMESTIC ABUSE

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Inspector Mark Parish, head of Leicestershire Police's domestic violence investigation unit

Report gay domestic abuse

by Ciaran Fagan

Police have launched a campaign to encourage gay people to come forward if they are being abused by their partners.

The drive was launched yesterday as police believe the crime is particularly under-reported.

Posters which bear the message "Domestic abuse doesn't discriminate – and nor do we" are being distributed across Leicestershire.

In 2011-12, the force investigated 81 reports of domestic crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people – a small fraction of the 17,000-plus offences reported to the force in the past year.

Also, a survey carried out at Leicester Pride two years ago found that 46 per cent of those questioned had experienced some form of domestic violence.

Detective Inspector Mark Parish, who leads the force's domestic abuse investigation unit, said: "When you compare surveys of people's experience with recorded crime, it is clear members of the LGBT communities are under-reporting domestic abuse.

"There are likely to be two main reasons for this.

"The first is they may not recognise the signs of abuse, and what help there is available.

"The second is that, historically, there has been distrust between police and LGBT communities. However, things have changed. You can have confidence Leicestershire Police will listen to your issues and carry out a professional investigation without discrimination."

The campaign is being supported by domestic violence organisations and Leicester's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Centre in Wellington Street, in the city centre. It was launched yesterday at the Rainbow and Dove pub, a gay venue.

Paula Harris, co-chairman for the LGBT Community Safety Forum, said: "It is great to see police are taking this matter seriously.

"Hopefully, these posters will raise people's awareness that domestic abuse can and does happen in any type of relationship and it is not just about physical violence. I would urge anyone living in an abusive relationship to report it."

Meena Kumari, manager of domestic violence support service Safe Leicester, said: "Safe takes domestic abuse seriously.

"This is a real under-reported crime and would like to help the community gain the level of support they are entitled to."

FORCED MARRIAGE LAW "IS WELCOME"

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Forced marriage law "is welcome"

Campaigners have welcomed a Government plan to outlaw forced marriages – but warned the laws could deter victims from coming forward.

The proposed new laws mean parents who force their children to marry could be brought before the courts and possibly jailed.

Meena Kumari, who runs Safe, which helps protect young people from being forced to marry welcomed the proposal and said a growing number of victims were coming forward to seek help.

However, she urged ministers to proceed with the new laws with caution.

Ms Kumari said: "Some of the people we have supported might not have come forward if they thought their parents could end up in prison.

"So, while we are really grateful that the Government is taking this issue so seriously, they have to proceed with caution.

"Some of the people who we work with would simply walk away if they thought they were going to have to face their families in court."

Safe works with police, social services, schools and colleges to identify victims and help them flee abusive homes and rebuild their lives, sometimes under new identities.

It is hearing from one person every month – some as young as 14 – who fear they are being pushed into a marriage against their will.When it launched two and a half years ago, new cases were coming to light every three months, Ms Kumari said.

Detective Inspector Mark Parish, who runs Leicestershire Police's domestic violence team, said: "We are seeing a gradual increase in cases, but it is still under-reported.

"It is a big step for people to contact us but they can be assured we will do everything we can to help them get through this difficult period in their lives."

Police have the option of seeking court orders to prevent families forcing a relative to marry. Officers also put victims in touch with welfare organisations such as Safe or local authorities for help with re-housing and ongoing support.

Leicester East MP Keith Vaz is chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, which has previously urged the Government to outlaw the practice.

Mr Vaz said: "The Government must not only prosecute those who commit this appalling crime, but prevent it from happening in the first place. There should be zero tolerance of this harmful activity that ruins the lives of so many."

Announcing the plan, the Prime Minister said local authorities and voluntary groups would be given a share of a £500,000 fund to help combat the problem, including helping teachers to spot children at risk.

A Home Office spokesman said the Government would publish further details of the proposals later. Contact Safe on 0800 022 3353 or visit: www.safedvs.co.uk

SUPPORT FOR CAMERON IN LEICESTER OVER FORCED MARRIAGE

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Support for Cameron in Leicester over forced marriage

Campaigners have welcomed David Cameron's pledge to give greater protection to women forced to marry against their will.

The Prime Minister said yesterday that forced marriage – as opposed to consensual, arranged marriage – was "little more than slavery".

He announced measures to encourage victims to come forward and said the Government was considering strengthening the law to punish those who coerced children into wedlock.

Meena Kumari, of Safe, a police-backed support group for Leicester's victims of domestic violence, welcomed the publicity for the often hidden issue.

Safe works with police, social services, schools and colleges to identify victims and help them flee abusive homes and rebuild their lives.

Ms Kumari said: "The fact the Prime Minister is talking openly about forced marriage is great. People have shied away from this issue.

"We are seeing an increase in the number of cases we're dealing with, but I don't think that is because it's a growing problem."The greater awareness is helping and people are no longer prepared to tolerate being treated this way."

But she urged caution about making arranging a forced marriage a criminal offence.

"Some of the people we have supported might not have come forward if they thought their parents or other close relatives could end up in prison," she said.

Leicestershire police started recording forced marriage cases in 2004 and over the next four-and-a-half years was alerted to 34.

In the following 18 months, to April last year, it received 101 reports.

The figures have continued to climb since, said Det Sgt Kev Wright, of the specialist domestic violence team.

He said: "As with domestic violence, the increased number of reports is seen as a positive."

Aneeta Prem, founder and president of Freedom, a charity which supports victims, said: "It may come as a surprise to many that forcing someone into marriage is not already a criminal offence. We are delighted the Prime Minister is taking a lead on this issue."

Mr Cameron also announced that those who breached court orders designed to protect victims once they had moved away from their families could face a harsher penalty than the current maximum two-year prison sentence.

The Prime Minister announced a series of measures to reduce immigration, including requiring people who wish to settle in the UK to have good command of English and evidence that they have the finance to support themselves.

In response to these measures, Leicester East MP Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said: "At a time when abuses in the immigration system, including bogus colleges, remain prevalent, it would be a better use of resources to focus on improving administration in the UK Border Agency."

Contact Safe on 0800 022 3353.

www.safedvs.co.uk

CONCERNS ARE RAISED ON FORCED MARRIAGES

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Concerns are raised on forced marriages

A council report has called for measures to be introduced to help tackle forced marriages.

A team of councillors from Leicestershire County Council looked at the issue of people being physically or psychologically coerced into marriage.

Their report says: "During the course of the investigation we have reached the conclusion that there is legitimate cause for concern that some young people from Leicestershire might be forced into marriage."

Last year, police reported seeing a huge increase in the number of young women who feared they would be forced into marriage seeking help.

Now councillors have called for increased help and awareness of those at risk.

Meena Kumari, of Safe, a police-backed support group in Leicester, said: "Awareness of the problem is the most important thing.

"There's often only one chance to intervene to stop a forced marriage and if schools, colleges, GPs and others are aware of the warning signs it's much easier to intervene in time.

"Only last week a college contacted us with concerns over a student who had been taken to Heathrow airport and told to get on a flight to Bangladesh for a forced marriage.

"We managed to intervene with police officers and she is in safe accommodation."

The summer is a period when young women are vulnerable to being taken abroad against their will because schools are unable to monitor them. The report urges the council to make sure that school governing bodies are aware of the nature of forced marriage in time for the summer term.

Head teachers should take reasonable measures, it adds, to make all young people aware of the issue and emphasise the difference between arranged marriage and forced marriage.

Schools should also be encouraged to incorporate a Facebook-style panic button on school computers for children to report fears that they are about to be forced to marry, the report says.

The enforcement of the law over the issue of forced marriage needs to be publicised county wide, it says, to avoid stigmatising a community by specifically targeting them. The report says: "It is a concern to all citizens, both young and old."

Councillors also call for a specific programme to get community and faith leaders to discuss and review the issue of forced marriage within their communities.

GPs and NHS health visitors should also be more alert to these issues so they can keep track of potential victims, the report says.

Last year, student Sheetal Bhanot, 22, and two friends from De Montfort University were presented with the runner-up prize at The Prince's Trust Celebrate Success ceremony for their project on forced marriages.

Sheetal, from Knighton, said: "During the project we found that the issue was a common problem which no one came forward to express a concern about – many Asian communities didn't know how to deal with it or talk openly about the matter."

The county council report will be considered by the council's ruling cabinet.

BIG RISE IN WOMEN WHO FEAR FORCED MARRIGES

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Big rise in women who fear forced marriages

Police have seen a huge increase in the number of young women who fear they will be forced into marriage seeking help.

Officers said the rise was down to the success of an awareness campaign about the issue and the help which is available to victims.

They have dealt with 101 cases of women from Leicestershire's Asian communities over the past year-and-a-half who were concerned they would compelled by their families to wed.

Detectives said the victims, many of whom were teenagers, had been subjected to violence and abuse when they objected to their relatives' plans for their future.

Officers are raising the issue because the summer is a period when young women are vulnerable to being taken abroad against their will because schools are unable to monitor them.

Detective Inspector Pete Williams, head of the force's domestic abuse, stalking and honour crime and forced marriage unit, said: "Forced marriage and honour crime are not new problems but it has been under-reported in the past.

"We started recording incidents in 2004 and by November 2008, we had had 34 reports. Since then, we've had 101.

"These have been people who have become aware that their families may have wanted to take them abroad to marry and needed help.

"The fact we are getting more reports is positive because it helps us help the victims. The culture is changing."

Det Insp Williams said victims would often seek help from within their family, or community but "it can be hard for them to know who they can trust".

He said: "It takes a lot for a victim to seek help from someone outside their family."

The police are working with faith groups and inside communities to raise awareness of honour crime and forced marriages and the help available.

They have also gone to the courts to help a 16-year-old, from Loughborough, who was tricked into travelling to Bangladesh to attend a family wedding, only to discover it was she who was to marry.

When the teenager returned home, in November, she went to the police who secured a civil court order, getting her safe lodgings away from her family and banning them from contacting her for two years.

Meena Kumari, of Safe, a police-backed support group in Leicester, said the victims were usually girls but sometimes boys.

She said they could be as young as nine but were often 15, 16, or 17.

She said: "We can help them by arranging accommodation away from their families and ensuring they know that they have options and their future doesn't have to be defined, against their will."

Chayara Chowdhury, a liaison officer for the Bangladesh Social Association, in Loughborough, said cases like the one in the town that prompted the police order were very rare.

She said: "Here, we are fortunate because views in the community have moved on a lot.

"A point often not understood is that arranged marriages are different to forced marriage.

"I was brought up here, had an arranged marriage in Bangladesh and my husband and I have been happily married for 20 years.

"Arranged marriages are where families come to an agreement with everybody's consent.

"Forced marriages can involve threats and we have moved on a long way from that."

In June, survivors of forced marriages are to visit Leicester, as part of a nationwide tour arranged by the charity Karma Nirvana.

For help with a forced marriage issue, call police on 0116 222 2222 or Safe on 0800 022 3353.