forced marriages
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/13/london-mayoral-elections-womens-rights
This article from Julie Bindel really does hit home with how out of touch the mayoral candidates are when it comes to women’s legal rights on two issues:
1. Violence against women and
2. Forced marriages.
There should be a campaign and I am sure they get enough money to fund this. I have seen some very short adverts on TV about this but it really needs to be a proper campaign – not just some random posters, protest or flyer. Women and the general public should be educated about their rights they do have rights.
It is also for the mayoral candidates to get themselves up to date on the law to show they care. For example, anyone mention the injunctions available to women and the fact that the police now have more power to take action. In 2001 the BBC reported a woman becomes the victim of domestic violence in Britain every 20 seconds and two women die every week as a consequence. The women’s aids reported in August 2006 1 in 4 women experience domestic violence over their lifetimes and between 6-10% of women suffer domestic violence in a given year. Do you think any of the mayoral candidates knew about these statistics?
Offences with regard to forced marriages should be looked at in comparison to the law against false imprisonment. A good lawyer will explore this avenue and women under force imprisonment should automatically qualify for public funding.
It is my view that PM should look to the economy (whatever it is he is doing) and it’s for the mayor to get these issues resolved.
