9 June 2006

AMSTERDAM- Forced marriage occurs frequently in the Netherlands, an advisory commission told minister of immigration Rita Verdonk on Friday.

 ‘Forced marriage is a serious breach of the personal integrity of the victim,’ the commission said in a report.

Forced marriage was not an isolated phenomenon but part of a broader pattern that included domestic violence, honour-related violence and the abandonment of women in the country of origin. Victims of forced marriage should be assigned a case manager whose task it is to ensure that they receive the appropriate assistance, the report said.

An overview of the assistance being given to victims of forced marriage should also be available through a secure electronic network, so that the activities of different help organizations can be better coordinated, the commission said.

The report by the advisory commission on foreigner affairs is an expanded version of recommendations that it had already made to the minister late last year. The government should adopt measures to prevent forced marriage, the commission said. The report called for more information to be made available to people who might be victims of forced marriage and others who might be in a position to help them. It also said that the government’s advisory body on domestic violence should act as coordinating institution.

The report added that the programme could also be coordinated by one person within the government. A number of ministries were involved in issues related to forced marriage, which made a coordinated approach difficult.

[Copyright Expatica News + ANP 2006]

Subject: Dutch News