MPA: police authorities are vital to coordinate action against forced marriages

38/08
16 July 2008

How police authorities can help tackle so-called ‘honour-based’ violence is the theme of a speech delivered today by Metropolitan Police Authority member Aneeta Prem.

Speaking at a road show event to deal with this problem in communities across England and Wales, Aneeta, MPA member leading on forced marriages, said:

“Police authorities across the country must take the lead and play a coordinating role to drive effective multi-agency work to tackle the menace of forced marriages.”

With the new Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 coming into effect this autumn, Aneeta has been championing partnership initiatives in London to generate greater awareness of the duty of care the Act will place on all public authorities.

At the London road show on Wednesday 16 July, Aneeta outlined her vision for successful partnership approach to tackle the problem:

“The Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007, coming into effect this autumn, will place a new statutory duty on all public bodies, including police authorities in their roles of overseeing police service delivery, directing resources and agreeing priorities, to work together more effectively to tackle the issue.

“Concerns have been raised that there isn’t a single organisation taking the lead to ensuring all relevant partners are working towards a coordinated, multi-agency approach to delivering appropriate services. I firmly believe police authorities are ideally placed to step into the breech, take the lead, and drive forward effective multi-agency work.”

To demonstrate it has been making a genuine difference to those who may be affected by forced marriages, the MPA has been working to a ‘4E’ model - Enabling, Engaging, Empowering and Enforcing:

• Enabling: ensuring that the police service is provided with the right resources to deliver, including appropriate training, working with voluntary groups at local level to get their input and developing multi-agency approaches.
• · Engaging: ensuring that the right partners, both statutory and voluntary, are included in the training and delivery process.
• · Empowering: making sure the MPA reflects our primary objective to represent the needs of our diverse communities, including those most vulnerable so that they feel safe.
• · Enforcing: using the right monitoring and performance management techniques to set the highest standards to ensure we can assess the quality of service delivery and the impact it is having.

Working to this model, the MPA has helped the Met by supporting officers and establishing appropriate links with partner agencies. The MPA is proposing this as a template for other police authorities to work to, providing a powerful and unique role to support this important area of work.

In conclusion, Aneeta said:

“I have been working with the Met, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Association of Police Authorities to coordinate cross agency work for some time and think we should all welcome the advent of new legislation as a real opportunity to make a difference.

“The key to success in this area is effective partnerships, pooling together resources such as knowledge, expertise, people and, in some instances, money. The MPA, especially through the activities of its Domestic Violence Board, has worked to coordinate delivery in London and we believe our tried and tested approach can be adopted as a best practice template by police authorities and services across the country.”

Notes to Editors

1. The ’Tackling ‘honour’ based violence in communities’ road show across England and Wales was led by the Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO).

2. Aneeta Prem was speaking at the final road show in London on Wednesday 16 July, held at the Park Plaza Hotel, 18 Albert Embankment, Riverbank, London SE1 7TJ.

3. The Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 comes into effect in Autumn 2008. Under the Act, where a forced marriage has occurred or is about to take place, courts will be able to make orders to protect the victim or the potential victim and help or remove them from that situation. This includes courts granting a third party the right to act on behalf of, or represent the victim.

4. Before the Act comes into force, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is conducting nine pilots nationwide (May – September 2008), four of which are in London. The objective of these pilots is to assess learning needs and highlight good practice, which can be applied across London.

5. It is believed that incidents of forced marriage are substantially underreported. Annually 500 cases are shared between the Met and the Forced Marriage Unit within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Last year 167 cases led to young Britons being helped back to the UK to escape unwanted partners overseas.

6. Not just women are affected by forced marriage. Home Office figures show that 15% of cases involve men and boys.

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