Introduction

From early on after the inception of Direct Approach it was identified that a key issue facing ME women within the community was Forced Marriage and Honour Based Violence.

It was, however, recognised that this was an exceptionally complex area and any work in the field should be approached with a high level of sensitivity.

Purpose

The purpose of the day was to arrange a community engagement event run by Direct Approach. Members of the planning team were representatives from Edinburgh Lothian Race Equality Council, AMINA Muslim Women’s Resource Centre, Shakti Women’s Aid and Lothian and Borders Police. The main aims of the event were –

• - To assist women in communities particularly affected by the issue of HBV and Forced Marriage to develop and increase their own awareness of options/ support open to them in Forced Marriage situations, thereby making them safer as a result.
• - To facilitate dialogue between women from communities, thereby increasing the awareness for professional agencies of barriers to women seeking support. This should in turn enable agencies to support these women and families more effectively.
• - To increase sustained liaison between police, NHS, education and women’s groups staff after the event on this issue.

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