UK Girl Summit discusses child, early and forced marriage and FGM

The first Girl Summit was co-hosted by the United Kingdom and UNICEF on 22 July 2014. The Summit aimed to mobilise domestic and international efforts to end female genital mutilation (FGM) and child, early and forced marriage (CEFM) within a generation, to help "preserve girls' childhoods, promote their education, reduce their exposure to violence and abuse, and allow them to fulfil their potential in life."

At the Girl Summit, the UK Government launched a range of measures including:

• A £1.4 million FGM Prevention Programme, launched in partnership with the National Health Service England to help care for survivors and safeguard those at risk. This includes improved data collection and training packages
• New police guidance from the College of Policing and an inspection programme by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) that will look at how the police handle cases of FGM
• A consultation on proposals to introduce new civil orders designed to protect girls identified as being at risk of FGM
• New legislation that will mean parents can be prosecuted if they fail to prevent their daughter being cut
• New legislation to grant victims of FGM lifelong anonymity from the time an allegation is made
• A new specialist FGM service which will include social services, to proactively identify and respond to FGM; this will be supported by an ongoing package of work led by the Chief Social Worker Isabelle Trowler
• New programmes to prevent child and forced marriage in 12 developing countries
• An international charter calling for the eradication of these practices within a generation.

A report written prior to the Summit, Female genital mutilation: The case for a national action plan (July 2014, House of Commons Home Affairs Committee) welcomed the government starting to take action, but called for a comprehensive, fully-resourced national action plan to be developed and implemented. They recommended it set out clear leadership, objectives and the standards expected of all relevant bodies and incorporate a number of aspects including:

• The achievement of successful prosecutions for FGM;
• Working with professionals in the health, education, social care and other sectors to ensure the safeguarding of at-risk girls;
• Changes to the law on FGM;
• Improved working with communities to abandon FGM; and
• Better services for women and girls living with FGM.

The UK recently passed legislation making it a criminal offence to force someone to marry.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, information on FGM is available from the FGM Education Programme.

In July 2012, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Committee's review of New Zealand noted concern about reports of forced marriage, and the fact there is no legislation prohibiting underage and forced marriages. The Committee recommended that New Zealand:

(a) Revise the legal minimum age of marriage to 18 years without any exceptions for parental consent; and

(b) Introduce legal measures to prohibit underage and forced marriages and promote measures to protect women impacted by polygamy and dowry-related violence.

The Committee requested the New Zealand government provide written information on the steps undertaken to implement this recommendation by October 2014.

In 2013, New Zealand Police, Work and Income, the Ministry of Education, Immigration New Zealand, Family and Community Services, and Child, Youth and Family signed an agreement outlining ways of supporting victims of marriages conducted without the valid consent of both parties and where duress is a factor.

Shakti and Shakti Youth Services are campaigning on the issue of forced marriage. Spokesperson Shila Nair says many young women who have come out of forced marriages have experienced physical, sexual and emotional abuse and further action is required.

A proposed members bill introduced in September 2013 by Dr Jackie Blue, the Marriage (Court Consent to Marriage of Minors) Amendment Bill, is currently in the ballot. This would require anyone under 18 years old wanting to marry to obtain the consent of the Family Court. (At present, 16- and 17-year-olds can marry with the consent of their parents.)

Research on forced marriage in New Zealand is available in Priyanca Radhakrishnan's 2012 Masters thesis, Unholy Matrimony: Forced Marriage in New Zealand. From the author's abstract, "[This study] documents the stories of survivors of actual and threatened forced marriage. It also records the survivors' analyses of their experiences and their recommendations for changes that may deter the practice in New Zealand. ... The views and potential contributions of eleven stakeholder agency participants in terms of addressing the issue of forced marriage are also included in this study. The study also examines relevant existing New Zealand legislation in light of the country's international obligations regarding marriage. Specific recommendations on both social and legislative reforms are provided in an attempt to promote a collaborative, multi-sector response to address the issue from the perspectives of both intervention and prevention."

Update:

The United States Government has announced it will carry out a prevalence study into FGM in an effort to establish how many women are living with the consequences of FGM in the United States and how many girls are at risk. Campaigners say that what has become known as 'vacation cutting' often takes place during the summer holidays when American girls are taken out of the country for the purpose. The study will be carried out by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Media:

Column: Gordon Campbell on banning a leading Iranian film-maker, Scoop, 18.04.2016

FGM: UK police investigate 'dozens' of cases since 2011, BBC, 07.08.2014

US to conduct major study into female genital mutilation, The Guardian, 22.07.2014