Forced marriage: What do professionals know?

Identifier:  imarina:9228599

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/imarina9228599

Authors:  Villacampa, C; Torres, N

Abstract:
The adoption of a victim-centered approach to forced marriage requires implementing measures beyond prosecution oriented at preventing it and protecting its victims. To this end, professionals need to be able to identify its victims and recognize its effects on them. This paper aims to assess professionals’ knowledge of the phenomenon, its dynamics, and its effects by presenting the findings of a qualitative research study conducted with 34 individuals in Spain. The results show that victim service providers have a broader understanding of forced marriage than criminal justice system professionals. They also indicate that the negative effects on victims vary depending on whether they submit to the forced marriage or escape from it. The study concludes with a discussion of the need to train professionals to recognize the various forms this reality may take and proposes that family-led cases be dealt with differently from those involving the sale of young women.