Author: LAO

October 2012

COnference report

IT’S A CHOICE: Forced Marriage Conference How to Respond in Forced Marriage Cases

Inside this issue:

Background	1
Keynote Speakers: Tahirih Justice Center	1
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade	2
Department of Justice Canada	2
Ontario Police College	3
Children’s Aid Society of Peel	3
Barbra Schlifer Clinic	3

India Rainbow Community Services of Peel	4

South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario	4

Issues Raised at the Conference	5

Resources	6

Background

The South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario (“SALCO”) is a not-for-profit legal clinic that serves low-income South Asians in the GTA. SALCO has been working with clients facing forced marriage situations since 2005.
In 2008, as part of the Forced Marriage Project, SALCO held the first international symposium on forced marriages in North America. Since then, SALCO has worked on effectively understanding forced marriage in Canada and educating Canadians. In 2010, SALCO created the first toolkit for service providers that serves as a guide to dealing with forced marriage cases in Ontario.
SALCO’s Forced Marriage Project also started the Network of Agencies Against Forced Marriage (“NAAFM”) which brings together local and national agencies actively working on forced marriage cases and issues regarding forced marriage.
The aim of the 2012 conference was to bring together stakeholders and service providers from many different sectors to increase awareness of the existing federal and provincial protocols, policies and gaps regarding forced marriage. The conference was designed to provide resources and other practical information available to service providers doing forced marriage casework, and to hear suggestions for improvements from conference attendees.
The speakers represented service providers from several sectors including health, education and legal professionals as well as federal government representatives.

The attendees included:
4 federal agencies
11 provincial/regional agencies
51 non-profit agencies and service providers in Ontario
2 out-of-province non-profit agencies
8 international and miscellaneous agencies

Keynote: Tahirih Justice Center

The Tahirih Justice Center (“Tahirih”) is a non-profit agency in the U.S. that provides legal services and advocacy to women suffering human rights abuses and domestic violence using a multifaceted approach. Most of their clients have precarious or no immigration status.
Tahirih first began seeing forced marriage cases in 2008. In 2011, Tahirih conducted a national survey. The survey found that forced marriage cases are a serious national problem among many different ethnic and religious communities. The survey also found that while there are often many signs of forced marriage exhibited by an individual, the service providers are not aware of how to identify forced marriage cases (they do not ask the right questions). Furthermore, front line staff who are aware of forced marriage issues often do not know how to approach and/or handle these situations — this leaves woman either with unidentified and/or unassisted forced marriage issues. Some of the key challenges being faced by service providers in the U.S. are the problematic definition of violence and the federal regulations and state laws that require service providers to attain parental consent and inform the parents of the youth’s whereabouts.
Currently, Tahirih is in the process of creating a best practice model of response in forced marriage cases and are looking to the UK Forced marriage Protection Order as a guideline. They state that a 50 state federal campaign in needed to increase awareness. U.S. State Department is also developing formal protocols regarding the issue.
Representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (“DFAIT”) discussed consular services which provide assistance to Canadians who are abroad. An individual facing or fleeing a forced marriage can contact consular services in Ottawa or in their foreign country for assistance. DFAIT confirmed at the conference that it can and will assist Canadian citizens, permanent residence, and on discretion, non-status people linked to Canada wherever possible.
Previously, forced marriages had been categorized as “family distresses” as staff were not trained to identify forced marriage cases. DFAIT now has a working definition of a forced marriage. DFAIT has a Forced Marriage Working Group that is developing policy and procedures for consular staff, and a set of standard operating procedures and training for officers relating to forced marriage. DFAIT also hopes to increase outreach and promote awareness on forced marriage in Canada.
When contacted by an individual in need, DFAIT is able to refer Canadians to social services and shelters available in the requisite country and in Canada. When approached with legal education requests, DFAIT currently refers to SALCO.

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SALCO is committed to identifying strategies to promote the safety, security, and right of all individuals to freely choose who and when to marry, with particular attention to children and youth, in all contexts including the family, school. faith and cultural communities.

Tahirih Justice Center (Cont’d)

Forced marriage is defined as a form of violence and a violation of a person’s human rights. It is a practice in which a marriage takes place without the free consent of the individuals getting married. Forced marriage can happen to anyone; of any gender, of any age. Forced marriages are not condoned by and do not take place in any particular culture, class or religion. - SALCO

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

Department of Justice Canada

Representatives of the Department of Justice focused on the legislative framework surrounding forced marriages.
The Department of Justice views forced marriage as a violation of human rights and categorizes it as gender based persecution for women fleeing forced marriages in their country of origin. Canada has ratified 5 treaties with regards to consent to marriage; these treaties are not part of Canadian Law but are applicable to interpretation of cases.
Under Canadian family law, free and informed consent at the time of marriage must exist in order for a marriage to be considered valid. There are also several provisions in the Canadian Criminal Code and in the Provincial child protection laws, including removal of a child from Canada, sexual offences against children and assault and personal confinement laws, that are applicable in forced marriage cases.
The Department of Justice Canada has created a working group on forced marriages, in relation to international law, which was merged with honour-related violence group in 2011. The Department of Justice has held 5 sector specific workshops since 2009 and have been working with the RCMP, Canada Border Services Agency and Citizenship and Immigration Canada to create training materials on forced marriages.
Currently, the Ontario Provincial Police receives training on the different forms of violence but are not trained to deal specifically with forced marriage and other forms of gender based violence.
When police officers respond to a call, their first priority is to ensure the safety of all individuals involved; initially, they do not distinguish between the types of violence that may be occurring. Once the investigation begins, victim services and other court appointed services are also involved in the case and cohesive collaboration between the parties is necessary. As there is no case law regarding forced marriages, it is necessary for the Crown to get creative with the laws that exist (for example forced marriage as a form of human trafficking). It was also stressed that police officers need to be vigilant when dealing with potential forced marriage cases so that the victims are not further victimized.

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Department of Justice Canada (Cont’d)

Ontario Police College

Children’s Aid Society of Peel

The Children’s Aid Society of Peel (“Peel CAS”) deals with a diverse population and employs an anti-oppressive perspective. Peel CAS’s mandate is to investigate families, ensure the safety of children and determine the risk posed by caretakers to the children.
The dialogue around forced marriage is just beginning to take place at CAS and there is no reference to forced marriages in the Child and Family Services Act. Intervening in forced marriage situations requires a creative manipulation of the laws that do already exist. Some of the creative means used to enter forced marriage situations may include physical/sexual harm to the child, parent-child conflict and domestic violence. A child’s fear of returning home is taken very seriously.
Peel CAS presented on its own intervention process and safety planning procedures. It was stressed that it is important to ask the necessary questions, and understand the circumstances and historical context of the families in order to implement an appropriate safety plan. Least intrusive solutions are preferred by Peel CAS.

Only 9% of organizations have a working definition of forced marriage in Canada.
— Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

Barbra Schlifer Clinic

The Barbra Schlifer Clinic provides legal counsel, long and short term trauma counseling and interpretation services to young women.
Mental health is a significant factor to be considered in forced marriage cases, including clients facing depression, fatigue /tiredness, hyper-alertness, fear, self-harming behaviour and alcohol abuse. Many forced marriage clients have also experienced sexual assault and unwanted pregnancy. Forced marriage also has a significant emotional impact on the individual including feelings of shame, difficulty concentrating in school, headaches, etc. Counseling is a critical component of the collaborative care for forced marriage clients.
Social supports, such as assistance in finding housing and employment, and a way to remain connected with the community are needed in order to break the isolation experienced victims of forced marriage. Teaching the young girls that they have a right to say no is an important part of their healing.
Training is also needed for service providers to work with forced marriage clients and an appropriate risk assessment tool must be developed.

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“In situations [of] forced marriage, we need to work creatively. It’s about how you read the evidence and advance the argument to support protective activities.”
- Vicky Lowrey, Children’s Aid Society of Peel

India Rainbow Community Services of Peel

India Rainbow is a non-profit organization that provides culturally appropriate services to the immigrant communities and aims for unification of families. India Rainbow provides settlement and counseling services as well as programs for youth, women and seniors. India Rainbow also provides support to youth in high schools in the Peel Region.
India Rainbow works with forced marriage clients, primarily youth between the ages of 16 and 21, who are not protected by CAS but are still transitional youth. The majority of the forced marriage referrals are made from either CAS or high school guidance counselors / staff.
India Rainbow noted that schools can be very helpful in providing copies of student I.D. documents as clients may not have those documents on hand(example: birth certificate, S.I.N. card, immigration docs). This information can be obtained from school files, and school staff can also request missing information from parents in an innocuous and safe way.
India Rainbow has an International Safety Plan that can be implemented if a youth is taken out of the country against his or her will. India Rainbow discussed aspects of that safety plan, including shelter services and other supports and is happy to share its knowledge and resources with others.
India Rainbow has recently taken the position that forced marriage is a form of domestic violence.

South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario

The South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario (“SALCO”) sees a large number of forced marriage cases. Many of these cases are reported through schools, family and friends, or self-reported by the clients.
SALCO works with clients at all stages of their forced marriage issues, including threats of forced marriage, removal from Canada and return to Canada.
SALCO believes that the criminalization of forced marriage will not address the issue, but rather, will drive people to not report their cases for fear of police intervention with their families. SALCO believes that the focus of our work in forced marriage cases should be on prevention, education, and the protection of forced marriage clients, including supports for clients facing forced marriage situations.
SALCO also discussed the challenges for forced marriage clients with precarious immigration status, including the services that can be accessed by non-status clients. Non-status clients are particularly vulnerable. SALCO urged for changes that would protect not only citizens, but permanent residents and non-status clients.
SALCO discussed the legal issues around voiding a forced marriage, the pros and cons of ivorce versus annulment.
SALCO’s own “Forced Marriage Project” is currently conducting a survey to collect data on the incidence of forced marriage in Canada. SALCO will be releasing the results of the survey and its own suggestions for policy change in 2013.

In cases of clients who are conditional permanent residents, it is imperative for service providers to keep an accurate and detailed record of all client disclosures in order to successfully argue a fraud marriage case against such clients.

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Issues Raised at the Conference

Below is a list of the most prevalent issues raised by conference attendees on dealing with forced marriage issues:
Forced marriage should be included in the definition of domestic violence. This will not only allow many resources to be accessible to the clients but will also be beneficial for access to funding.
The importance of removing culture and religion from the discussion of forced marriage. Although forced marriages are not unique to a particular region or religions, the issue is often homogenized and forced marriage is often seen as a distinctly South Asian and, particularly, Muslim, issue. Forced marriage is also often linked to honour crimes and exoticized in the media.
Ensuring that there is a clear distinction made between fraud and forced marriage and the discussion of forced marriage is not heisted by fearful discourse surrounding fraud marriage. Recent immigration changes that introduce a conditional permanent residence to address “fraud marriage” are dangerous to the safety and security of women. Woman are forced to stay in relationships for fear of loss of immigration. While there is an exception made for individuals in abusive relationships, there is an undue burden placed on the individual trying to leave a marriage that prevents them from disclosing their situation and seeking assistance.
The immigration status of the individual dictates the type of consular response that is initiated. While protection is extended to Canadian citizens only, what happens to permanent residents and non-status woman with a link to Canada? This is particularly problematic for those individuals who have resided in Canada for majority of their lives but are not citizens.
The current police and consular response in forced marriage cases is very inconsistent. Education, training and formalized protocol are needed for the police, the Crown, and consular staff. In particular, the uniqueness of forced marriage situations as compared to other forms of domestic violence must be addressed.
In the case of under aged forced marriage, some service providers (schools) and levels of government still release information to the parents. Due to the unique circumstances of a forced marriage situation, this can compromise the safety of the individual at risk.
Social and practical supports, including long and short term counseling services, are needed for individuals leaving a forced marriage. Programs are also needed to break the severe isolation for these clients.
Education and training is needed for service providers so they can accurately identify and provide appropriate service to forced marriage clients. This is also important as many individuals often are not able to accurately identify the threat of a forced marriage themselves.
Many service providers do not know what coercion and lack of consent looks like in many cases. The spectrum of where a consensual marriage becomes forced must be understood by service providers.
As forced marriage is often a misunderstood and hidden issue. The majority of the forced marriage work being done by service providers is reactionary — agencies are contacted once the situation has escalated (client has been taken abroad, etc. ) and an emergency response needs to be implemented. It is necessary to intervene in such situations before they get to that point. A national outreach strategy was discussed which would enhance awareness of the issue and also provide awareness of the resources (available to the individual who is in or facing forced marriage.

“…[A] challenge is the ongoing support service. Often, two years down the road, the woman is so isolated that she chooses to go home and reface the abuse because there’s nothing out there.”
Conference Attendee

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Issues Raised (Cont’d)

(...Continued from Page 5)
Coordination between services that are available is necessary to ensure that the individuals seeking help are not passed from agency to the next without receiving the necessary assistance.

“We must ensure we don’t implement services or situations that will endanger the [individual’s] situation… We would adopt the model of the client-centered planning and working from an anti-oppressive perspective and understanding the dynamics. ” -Vicky Lowrey, Children’s Aid Society of Peel

“Right now, the definition of domestic abuse only covers partner abuse, child sexual abuse and rape. [Forced marriage] needs to be included.”
- Farrah Khan, Barbara Schlifer Clinic

Resources

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Emergency Watch and Response Centre is open 24 hours a days, 365 days a year.
Emergency contact information: 1.613.996.8885 (collect call from most countries) or sos@international.gc.ca
Website: travel.gc.ca
Registration for Canadians Abroad: www.travel.gc.ca/register. Registration prior to leaving Canada assists with faster verification and response times.
Locating Canadian Government Office in foreign countries: www.travel.gc.ca/offices
Regularly updated travel reports provide information on security, entry requirement and other global issues.
Publications intended for the female traveler: Her Own Way
Provides assistance in Foreign countries with social services, shelters and legal assistance including information on local police and medical facilities, a list of local lawyers, information regarding local laws and regulations, replace lost, stolen or damaged passport and transfer funds in case of urgent financial assistance.
Agreement in place with UK and Australia that they will provide assistance to Canadians in the areas that Canada cannot do so.
Department of Justice:
Family Law:
Free and informed consent must be given by both parties in order for a marriage to be legally valid; marriage can be declared invalid if the consent was given under duress.
Criminal Law:
No specific offence for forced marriage in the Canadian Criminal Code.
There is a range of Criminal Code provisions that can encompass majority of the element of forced marriages including uttering threats, assault, sexual assault, kidnapping, forcible confinement, abduction of a young person, procuring feigned marriage, extortion, intimidation, sexual offences against children and youth, failure to provide necessities of life and abandoning child, abduction of a young person and removal of a child from Canada (with intent to commit act outside Canada that would be one of listed offences if committed in Canada).
Child Protection Law:
State intervention is available where parents are unwilling or do not meet the child’s physical, emotional and psychological needs.
Child protection legislation provides the possibility of a no-contact order

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Resources

Civil Domestic/Family Violence Legislation:
Each province and territory has domestic violence legislation designed to complement the criminal justice system.
Civil remedies may include Emergency Protection Order, removal of the abuser from the home, no-contact/communication orders, seizure of weapons, temporary custody of the children to the victim and temporary possession or personal property.
Victim’s Fund: available through the Policy Centre for Victim Issues to provide victims a more competent voice in the criminal justice system.
In cases of extreme danger to the individual, the abuse victim can get confidential services.
Lawyers are available as independent counsel for children.
Committee established to locate funding for individuals in transitional ages.
Children’s Aid Society of Peel
Ontario Child Welfare Eligibility Spectrum:
Section 1: Physical/Sexual Harm by Commission
Section 3: Risk of Emotional Harm
Section 4: Abandonment/Separation.
Toolkits for Service Providers:
Who/If/When to Marry: It’s A Choice (South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario)
Resource Information Guide to Human Trafficking Systems through Forced Marriages (South Asian Women’s Centre)
Other Resources:
Agincourt Community Services Association www.fmp-acsa.ca
Barbra Schlifer Clinic Phone: 416.323.9149
Children’s Aid Society of Peel Phone: 905.363.6131 Toll Free: 1.888.700.0996
India Rainbow Community Services of Peel Phone: 905.275.2369
The Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies (OACAS) Phone: 416.987.7725
Safe Centre of Peel Phone: 905.450.4650
South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario Phone: 416.487.6371
Victim Services of Peel Phone: 905.568.1068
For a complete list of agencies, please see the Network of Agencies Against Forced Marriage List (For instructions on how to access the NAAFM list, please see the back cover).

Throughout the conference, the importance of working with families was stressed by the speakers as well as attendees.
“We need to work with families” - Jeanne Smoot, Tahirih Justice Centre
“There is a need out there and space to talk to parents and elders… A lot of dialogue and communication is needed.” - Deepa Mattoo, SALCO

“Most commonly, the cases are reported to [SALCO] by schools, family and friends… If someone is trying to get resources from me, they don’t tell me they are being forced into a marriage or approach me with another matter.”
- Deepa Mattoo, SALCO

IT’S A CHOICE: Forced Marriage Conference

COnference report

CONTACT US:

FORCED MARRIAGE PROJECT

South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario
45 Sheppard Avenue East Suite 106A
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M2N 5W9

Please contact the Forced marriage Project at SALCO if you would like:
more information on the Forced Marriage Toolkit developed by SALCO for service providers;
to join the Network of Agencies Against forced marriage or add your agency to the NAAFM Agency list; or
to arrange a training regarding forced marriage cases for your agency.

Phone: 416.487.6371
Fax: 416.487.6456

www. salc.on.ca
www.forcedmarriages.ca

SALCO can provide services on-site in several languages including:
English
Hindi
Urdu
Tamil

Punjabi
Bengali
Kannada

Hours of Operations:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 9:30am — 12:30pm, 1:00pm — 5:00 pm
Wednesday: 9:30am — 12:30pm