genital mutilation, forced prostitution, forced marriage and‘ honour’ crimes. 87 The UN defines violence against women as:
‘… any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.’ 88
In their submission to the Taskforce, EVAW draws particular attention to forced marriage affecting university students, due to its prevalence among university age women. In 2015, the government’ s Forced Marriage Unit( FMU) gave advice or support in 1,220 cases, 35 % of which involved victims aged 18 – 25. 89 In 2013, the FMU funded research into how colleges and universities respond to cases of forced marriage 90, indicating that government sees the role played by both higher and further education institutions as significant. 91
The research was carried out by professors at London Metropolitan University in order to gather evidence of how colleges and universities respond to students affected by forced marriage and other forms of sexual or domestic abuse. A good practice guide was produced for the sector, as well as a suggested template of information that institutions could make available on their websites. Following analysis of in-depth interviews with university staff, religious leaders, service providers and police offers, the study found that:
� Violence against women – and forced marriage in particular – was‘ largely invisible’ to university staff.
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There were problematic assumptions made by some staff, including a lack of understanding about the difference between forced and arranged marriage.
There also appeared to be an assumption that a student concerned about forced marriage would be willing to come forward with their concerns and a lack of recognition that there would likely be underreporting in this area, suggesting limited understanding of the circumstances within which forced marriage can occur and the barriers which may prevent an individual speaking out.
There was a lack of specialised staff training on forced marriage and how to deal with it, along with the absence of a strategic or systematic institutional response.
The report questions the usefulness of broad policies that do not encourage specialised staff training or recording of the gender of both the victim and perpetrator in statistics. This suggests that while broad institutional policies are necessary, it is still important to ensure that specialist knowledge and support is available.
87 https:// www. amnesty. org. uk / violence-against-women
88
UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women – see http:// www. undocuments. net / a48r104. htm
89
https:// www. gov. uk / government / uploads / system / uploads / attachment _ data / file / 505827 / Forced _ Marriage _ Unit _ statistics _ 2015. pdf
90 http:// www. amosshe. org. uk / sites / default / files / u3152 / 2395 _ LMU _ Forced _ Marriage _ Report. pdf
91 http:// www. amosshe. org. uk / sites / default / files / u3152 / 2395 _ LMU _ Forced _ Marriage _ Report. pdf
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