ENoMW Expert Statement - "Forced Marriage: a European crime EU states must take seriously"
On the week of 22 April 2024, the European Parliament adopted two crucial instruments for migrant women: the revised Directive on Trafficking in Human Beings and a new Directive on Violence against Women and Domestic Violence.
As acknowledged by the European Network of Migrant Women (ENoMW), of which we are members, both instruments present serious gaps in what concerns the numerous forms of violence against women and girls. Yet, both instruments take a step forward in addressing forced marriage, a form of violence faced disproportionately by migrant women and girls, and which has historically been overlooked by the European Union.
It is with great satisfaction that we see a definition of the crime of forced marriage and with it the acknowledgement that it entails a serious violation of fundamental rights, something that ENoMW says “has not been fully acknowledged within institutional, judiciary and medical bodies“.
We encourage you to read ENoMW’s Expert Statement and get a firm grasp on what this means for the migrant women and girls in the European Union!