Forced marriage in Europe: from a migration problem in a global world to the old phenomenon of gender violence

Forced marriages are sometimes defined as a migration problem, other times they are explained as justified or promoted by certain religious or cultures, but they are rarely portrayed as a form of gender violence. Depending on this variety of diagnosis, there are different legal and political approaches to this issue. The most common approach in Europe is to establish legal and political measures to control migration flows and avoid fraudulent marriages. Forced marriages are usually considered a form of trafficking in human beings or another form of violence against women as the consequence of European Union Directives or Conventions under the Council of Europe. Hence in national law, forced marriages become a new crime. Victims of forced marriage rarely have access to the criminal system, and they are left in very vulnerable situations, especially when we consider that estimates state that more than half of them are minors