Forced marriages are not a private family matter. Forced marriages violate human rights and international law. Parents and caregivers may believe that they are preserving cultural tradition, building stronger families and protecting their children. Whatever the motives, forced marriage violates the law and constitutes an act of violence. Although arranged marriages may be acceptable in some societies, the legal criteria remain the same. Immigration officials are always looking for couples to fake a marriage in order to enter Canada illegally. You are responsible for evaluating all application forms and supporting documents. The information will help them determine whether the marriage is genuine, ongoing and not intended for admission to Canada. Local and international resources are available, including free and confidential support.
Resources include health, housing, counselling, legal and financial aid. Children need to be informed about their rights at school and families need to be made aware of the harmful effects of child marriage, Pinto said. In addition, community leaders can help encourage young people to stand up for their rights, she added. Rowena Pinto, UNICEF Canada`s Director of Programmes, said governments around the world are working to end the practice of child marriage, but it`s not just about changing the law. REFERENCES 1 Canada, Civil Marriage Act. 2 Rachel Browne, Canada Wants to Make Forced Marriage a Crime, VICE NEWS, (15 juin 2015) disponible au news.vice.com/article/canada-wants-to-make-forced-marriage-a-crime 3 SALCO, Who, If, When to Marry – The Incidence of Forced Marriage in Ontario, (Sep 2013) disponible à www.salc.on.ca/SALCO%20-%20Who,%20If,%20When%20to%20Marry%20%20-The%20Incidence%20of%20Forced%20Marriage%20in%20Ontario%20(Sep%202013).pdf 4 Canada, Gesetz über die zivile Eheschließung. 5 Michelle Sample, Civil Cancellations in Ontario, Goldhart & Associates, (June 7, 2016) available at goldhartlaw.com/civil-annulments-in-ontario/ 6 Divorce in Canada: Provincial Laws Available at divorce-canada.ca/divorce-in-canada-by-province 7 Department of Justice, Family Violence Laws Available at www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/fv-vf/laws-lois.html 8 Sara Beattie & Hope Hutchins, Shelters for abused women in Canada 2014, (2015) available at www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2015001/article/14207-eng.htm Sometimes a person is told that they are going on a trip to visit relatives without knowing that a wedding has been planned for them there. When they arrive abroad, their passports and money are sometimes taken away and they are constantly monitored to prevent them from returning to Canada. You may be prevented from contacting others for help. Spouses must prove that their marriage still exists, even if they live in different countries.
Documents such as phone records, letters, love cards and postcards showing that the couple is in contact must be attached in support of the application. Women and girls in Canada have just and protected rights when they enter into or end marriages. The Civil Marriage Act governs marriage and divorce in Canada and was recently amended by the Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act. The law set the age of 16 as the national minimum age for marriage.1 It also amended the Penal Code to punish the crimes of forced marriage with up to 5 years in prison for those who celebrate, support or participate in a wedding rite or ceremony, knowing that one of the persons marries against his or her will.2 Canadian law requires: that all those who marry are at least 16 years old. This minimum age also applies to all persons who have their habitual residence in Canada, when the marriage takes place outside Canada, in person or by telephone or authorized representative. In Canada, it is a crime to celebrate, support or participate in the marriage of a child under the age of 16, even if the child agrees to marry. It is also a crime to take a child under the age of 16, who usually lives in Canada, to another country to marry him. If you know of a child under the age of 16 who is married in Canada or taken to another country to get married, call the police or a social worker.
If you or someone you know is forced to get married, help and advice is available. This violence can take emotional, mental or physical forms in which an individual can be „forced“ by using threats, beating them, isolating them, applying restrictions, causing guilt and many forms of coercion. In a forced marriage, parents, loved ones, and community members can use emotional pressure, threats, or violence to force someone to marry. The person may also be forced to have sex or forced to get pregnant. In some cases, people are taken abroad against their will to get married. In most arranged marriages, cultural and religious reasons do not allow courtship and courtship until marriage. In some circumstances, insecurity, civil war and lack of resources can prevent a meeting between couples. If couples met before marriage, the meeting should be described in detail, why they met, when they met, where they met, how they met, who they met, what the opportunity was, and how they saw each other.
Arranged marriages are still a common practice in various religious and ethnic communities around the world. Marriages of these cultures are arranged by the parents, grandparents and other elders in the spouses` family, who are considered wiser, more experienced and better placed to determine an appropriate match for their children. Since time immemorial, members of these cultures have believed that arranged marriages lead to fewer divorces and ensure stability within the family. A forced marriage occurs when a person does not want to marry, but is forced to marry by someone else. This is not the same as an arranged marriage in which both people accept marriage. Safety and exposure to risks should always be taken into account when developing an action plan or advice in the event of forced marriage. Forced marriages take place in Canada or abroad. A person may need help with safety planning, education about rights and obligations, and finding available support. Zafar said people think Canada is „immune“ to the practice, but that`s not the case. She now works with victims of child marriage, saying she regularly hears stories of school-aged girls being pushed into marriage or marriages made in religious institutions but not registered. In an arranged marriage, husband and wife have the same rights and obligations as in any legally valid marriage in Canada.
As long as the marriage is recognized in Canada, an internationally arranged marriage is not legally different from any other marriage. Samra Zafar was a teenager living in Pakistan when she was forced to marry a Canadian. She eventually moved to Ontario to live with him and became a teenage mother. | WATCH Alissa Koski on the prevalence of child marriage in Canada To better understand the issue of forced marriage, it is important to answer frequently asked questions. But lockdowns have put education on hold in many parts of the world, making children more vulnerable to issues such as child marriage, she said. Just like using an international dating or matchmaking agency, the information you get from your potential husband`s family or a matchmaker or friend may not be entirely accurate and sometimes difficult to verify. If you arrive in Canada and find out that the information you received about him was wrong, there are few lawsuits you can take against him or his family. Please consult a lawyer to determine what legal action, if any, you can take. A network of agencies against forced marriages has been set up to support cases of forced marriages.
These network members include front-line service providers, researchers, advocates and other committed community partners. A toolkit on forced marriages was developed as a guide to help service providers deal with forced marriage cases in Ontario and to facilitate an open discussion with various stakeholders, including youth and their families. It contains practical information on the identification and prevention of forced marriages, as well as intervention strategies. .