NOTE OF THE FORCED MARRIAGE NETWORK MEETING: 21 JULY 2005, MILLENNIUM HOTEL, GLASGOW
In attendance
Laura Turney - Gender Equality Team, Equality Unit
Eileen Flanagan - Gender Equality Team, Equality Unit
Isabel Drummond-Murray - Violence Against Women Team, Equality Unit
Joyce McVarrie - Race, Religion & Refugee Integration Team, Equality Unit
Hamish MacFarlane - Gender Equality Team, Equality Unit
Sonia Tihverainen - Gender Equality Team, Equality Unit
Gordon Hunter - Lothian and Borders Police
Mohammed Akram - Council of British Pakistanis (Scotland)
Shabana Azhar - Council of British Pakistanis (Scotland)
Liz McFarlane - The Law Society
Samina Digpal - Saheliya
Ghazala Hakeem - Amina - The Muslim Women's Resource Centre
Katie Cosgrove - Greater Glasgow Health Board
Helen Hughes - Family Law Association
Harminder Ghatorae - Glasgow City Council
Jasvinder Sanghera - Refuge Karma Nirvana
Anna Hardy - Refuge Karma Nirvana
Rosemary Sleith - University of Paisley
Anna Little - Women and Children First
David Shewan - Glasgow Caledonian University
Kathleen Caskie - Victim Support Scotland
Minutes of 24 March meeting
- Para 17 should be revised to read: "…the joint research undertaken by Hemat Gryffe, Glasgow City Council and Strathclyde Police on forced marriage will be published in July, with the official launch in August."
- MA - minutes should clarify the perspective from which the speaker is making a contribution to the discussion.
- LT - no problem with providing some context to comments, but it would not be appropriate to attach a "hierarchy of validity".
- LT advised that members should indicate whether they would wish any further amendments/clarification to the minutes as the Equality Unit planned to publish them on the Scottish Executive website and also to develop a web page to act as a gateway for Forced Marriage information.
Update on UK consultation
- The UK consultation will be launched on 5 September, running for 3 months.
- EF will circulate the proposed distribution list to the Network to check for any omissions, if any identified members should supply contact information/labels to EF/HMcf.
- EF reported that some members had already expressed an interest in becoming involved in the local consultation events, including Susan Gunn at Dundee City Council and Pat Elsmie from Saheliya.
- EF welcomed other volunteers and suggestions on how best to structure Scotland's local consultation events and advised that the Executive would provide funding to organisations for this work.
- EF to email all members asking for further input and volunteers to participate in a sub-group to develop the local consultation events
- GH advised that he would co-ordinate the police response to the consultation
Draft Network Workplan FMN 001/005
- EF asked for comments on the Workplan and enquired whether members agreed on the proposed structure and timeline
- Mapping exercise - it was raised that some members felt it was not appropriate to embark on the third, "green" strand of the workplan until the Network had firstly investigated the extent of the issue in Scotland - the mapping section and proposed that given there were several mapping/research projects planned or underway in this area (Northern Asian Women's Platform, Glasgow Caledonian University and University of Roehampton) as well as the forthcoming consultation, a sub-group should be convened to look at how this work would impact on/influence the Network's mapping work and make recommendations to the Network on how to progress.
- EF to email all Network members asking whether they agreed that the mapping work should take precedence over the third strand of the workplan and if so, asking for volunteers to participate in the mapping sub-group.
Draft Glossary of Terms FMN 002/005
- Change "forced marriage" definition to read "…without the free consent of one or both parties"
- EF to add in the sources of the glossary terms and re-circulate for any additional comments/amendments.
Network Sub-groups
- MA offered his participation in the consultation sub-group
- RS volunteered to become involved in a sub-group looking at education, if this went ahead. She also highlighted that the Executive should not exclude Higher Education from this work
Northern Asian Women's Platform - Jasvinder Sanghera FMN 003/005
- EF to circulate JS's presentation to FMN members
Honour Related Violence Research - Dr David Shewan
- DS - Referred members to the background papers circulated prior to the meeting giving detail on the research proposal. He advised that the project had not as yet received confirmation of funding, which should be forthcoming in the next 4 weeks
- Project will be initially a questionnaire based scoping exercise, with the second phase focused on talking to victim's and perpetrators of honour related violence.
AOB
- Further meetings - LT suggested that the Network progress its work via the proposed sub-groups and communicate as a virtual Network. She suggested that a further meeting of the full Network be arranged for early in the New Year, to coincide with the end of the consultation period.
Summary of Action Points:
- Equality Unit to publish Network minutes on the Scottish Executive website and also to develop a web page to act as a gateway for Forced Marriage information.
- EF to circulate the proposed distribution list to the Network to check for any omissions, if any identified members should supply contact information/labels to EF/HMcf.
- EF to email all members asking for further input and volunteers to participate in a sub-group to develop the local consultation events
- EF to email all Network members asking whether they agreed that the mapping work should take precedence over the third strand of the workplan and if so, asking for volunteers to participate in the mapping sub-group.
- EF to add in the sources of the glossary terms and re-circulate for any additional comments/amendments.
- EF to circulate JS's presentation to FMN members
Gender Equality Team, Scottish Executive
July 2005