Forced Marriage and Domestic Violence Among South Asian Communities in North East England

Abstract

This study has been funded by the Northern Rock Foundation, and carried out by the University of Bristol. It looks at forced marriages and domestic violence within South Asian communities in Newcastle, Sunderland and South Tyneside, and examines the following research areas: • Identification of areas for positive development for agencies and organisations. • Experiences, hopes and perceptions of marriage among South Asian women and men. • Experiences of domestic violence in arranged, forced and love marriages, and links between forced marriage and domestic violence. The study took place over a period of eighteen months (September 2005–Feb 2006) using a range of methods, including surveys and interviews with forty nine agencies in Sunderland, South Tyneside and Newcastle and interviews with four community leaders. In addition, the research involved respondents from Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani communities, and included two focus groups with young women and men; interviews with five single women and six single men; and interviews with twentythree women and sixteen men with experience of marriage.