Understanding Forced Marriage in Scotland

In September 2015, the Scottish Government commissioned a 10 month study to better understand forced marriage in Scotland. This is the first forced marriage study that focuses exclusively on Scotland. The study had three research questions: - What is the level and profile of service use relating to forced marriage in Scotland? - How are services responding to forced marriage in Scotland? - What is the impact of the interventions for forced marriage in Scotland? Methods The study focussed on six areas: Aberdeen, Dundee, East Renfrewshire, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Highland. An analysis of forced marriage policy in each of the six case study areas was undertaken, together with interviews with Protection Leads. One-to-one semi-structured interviews were carried out with a range of professionals including police officers, social workers, legal professionals and staff from Women‟s Aid organisations and other third sector organisations. Eight in- depth interviews were also conducted with survivors1 of forced marriage. Additionally, a survey was distributed to 293 organisations – schools and women‟s organisations in the six study areas, and Women‟s Aid, minority ethnic and other support organisations throughout Scotland