Hansard

Consensus seems to have broken out in the chamber this afternoon in what has been a regrettably short debate on an important subject. I agree with my colleague Mary Mulligan that it would have been better to have had the bill sooner but, that said, because of the wait we now have a better bill.

In closing for the Labour Party, I speak in support of the general principles of the bill, which will bring us into line with other parts of the UK. As has been said, the Equal Opportunities Committee expects the Scottish Government to lodge amendments at stage 2 on various matters, many of which were outlined by the committee convener, Margaret Mitchell, in her opening remarks. We on the Labour benches are clear that the bill is needed to try to stop the horrendous practice of forcing anyone into marriage, whether male or female, but as Marlyn Glen made clear, we recognise that it is mostly young women and girls who are likely to be in that situation. According to Karma Nirvana, 14 per cent of callers to the forced marriage unit are under 16. The committee heard in evidence that the youngest victim that the FMU has dealt with was aged only nine.

Forced marriage is clearly part of the continuum of violence against women and is completely unacceptable. It must, therefore, be exposed and challenged.

The harm to women and girls is becoming clearer as more find the help, support and—importantly—the courage to speak out and to try to leave their situation. Victims seek support from various places, including women’s aid organisations, rape crisis centres and mental health support services. In many cases, only when they seek such help—perhaps for domestic abuse or other issues—does it become apparent that they are in forced marriages.

Harrowing examples were provided to the committee. Some are outlined in the report, and we heard about real-life cases from Anne McLaughlin and, latterly, Jamie McGrigor. I will quote from Jasvinder Sanghera, the author of “Shame”, who founded Karma Nirvana in 1994. The charity, whose name means “peace and enlightenment”, helps the victims of so-called honour crimes and operates a phone line to help the victims of forced marriages. In an article in The Guardian, Jasvinder said:

“I come from a family of seven sisters, and I watched each of them disappear. They’d be taken out of school, sent abroad, and brought back as wives...I saw my sister suffer horrific domestic violence.”

She said:

“When I was 14 my mother showed me a photo of the man I’d been promised to since I was eight years old. I refused to marry him, and for that I was abused, physically and mentally”.

Later, Jasvinder discovered that one of her sisters, Robina, had committed suicide aged 24. She described it:

“She’d doused herself in paraffin and set herself on fire. She knew that because of izzat, or shame, that suicide was the only way out of her marriage.”

There are many such stories of women being beaten, raped, locked up in bedrooms for months on end and murdered. The list of atrocities is huge, and they are being suffered by young women in Scotland as we speak. That is why legislation is important to raise awareness about forced marriage and, ultimately, to stop it happening. Malcolm Chisholm spoke about raising awareness and reiterated why it is so important.

There must be no confusion among official organisations or anyone else about the fact that forced marriage is not cultural but abuse. Sandra White emphasised that in her speech.

Although the bill is a positive step in offering protection to victims of forced marriage and sends a strong message that the practice will not be tolerated in Scotland, it needs amendment. For example, the definition of forced marriage that the Government uses states, “duress is involved”. However, as Marlyn Glen outlined, it could also involve a lack of understanding, so the Government needs to revisit that definition. Perhaps we will hear something about that in the minister’s closing speech.

Section 1(6) is drafted to assume that major force is included. However, having reflected on the evidence, the committee would like an amendment to strengthen that provision and to make it explicit in the bill, as Bill Aitken outlined. I suggest that the Labour Party would support that, too.

I am pleased that the minister has committed to considering amendments. He has heard various suggestions in the debate.

Hugh O’Donnell raised the matter of religious practices. The committee was keen for the Government to liaise further with religious bodies on nullification of forced marriages. I am pleased to have heard a commitment to that in the minister’s opening speech.

It is difficult to imagine the suffering that those in forced marriages endure, but the bill may give hope to many and provide them with a means of escape to live their lives in peace away from the all-encompassing shadow of fear.

I conclude with more of Jasvinder’s words. Talking about the research for her second book, “Daughters of Shame”, she said:

“I listen to those stories—told by women who have been drugged, beaten, imprisoned, raped and terrorised within the walls of the homes they grew up in. I listen and I am humbled by their resilience.”

Labour will support the general principles of the bill at decision time, but we look forward to seeing the amendments that will address our concerns.

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