We are excited to announce that, today, the Tahirih Justice Center released the results of our groundbreaking national survey on the state of forced marriage in the United States. The survey is the first of its kind conducted in the United States and designed to understand the scope and nature of forced marriage among immigrant communities. Newsweek magazine has reported on the survey results in this week’s edition and the full survey report can be read on Tahirih’s website (PDF).

Forced marriage is an issue that has increasingly come to our attention as Tahirih received calls for help from around the country. There is a regrettable lack of information in the United States about forced marriage, there are no laws designed to protect forced marriage victims, and there is a void in community dialogue and advocacy on the issue. In stark contrast to the United Kingdom, which has a governmental agency focused on forced marriage, a national forced marriage hotline, and a specific forced marriage temporary restraining order, the United States is woefully behind and has very little in place to adequately protect women and girls fleeing forced marriage. To address this need, Tahirih has launched a Forced Marriage Initiative to protect courageous women and girls who step forward and ask for help. We invite you to support our efforts and sign up to receive updates on this important issue.

Thank you for your partnership in ending violence against women and girls,

Layli Miller-Muro
Executive Director

On May 11, 2011, Tahirih launched a national survey for service providers, advocates, community leaders, educators, law enforcement officers, and other professionals who may have vital information about cases of forced marriage (either threatened, or that have already occurred) in immigrant communities in the United States.

This survey has been prepared in close consultation with sociologists and community-based/advocacy organizations with relevant expertise. While we recognize that forced marriage can occur in any community, this survey focuses on forced marriage in immigrant communities in the United States. It is not intended to stigmatize any community or to sensationalize the issue. Through the survey, we hope to better understand the nature and scope of forced marriage in immigrant communities in the United States, identify key stakeholders, and develop a collaborative national support network for those facing forced marriage. We also hope to foster respectful conversations—both nationally and at the community level—that reflect the complexity and sensitivity of the issue.

Survey Information:

The survey is now closed. If you have any questions, please contact Heather Heiman (Senior Public Policy Attorney, Tahirih Justice Center) at (571) 282-6195 or fmsurvey@tahirih.org.

Tahirih was thrilled by the robust turnout, and would like to express our gratitude to Academy-award nominated actress and Tahirih Board Member Debra Winger, who was a delightful emcee for the evening’s program. We were excited to welcome three distinguished Members of Congress—Congressman John Conyers, Congressman Jim Moran and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee—who gave impassioned and inspiring remarks. The words of our allies in Congress reminded us that by working together, we can make a real and tangible difference in the lives of women and girls—protecting them from violence and providing them with a chance for a peaceful future.

Tahirih is grateful also to Arnold & Porter, LLP; Fragomen, Del Ray, Bernsen, & Loewy, LLP; and Jones Day for generously sponsoring the event, which was held in an elegant reception space at Jones Day with stunning views of the Capitol. We also wish to thank Michael J. Colella for donating his photography services (view full gallery of reception photos online) and Celadon Spa and Salon for donating a gift basket as a door prize.

Tahirih’s Public Policy Council includes public policy professionals and others who leverage their resources, insights and expertise, and provide financial support, to advance Tahirih’s innovative advocacy initiatives. Founding Council Co-Chairs are: Sara Glenn, Director, Federal Government Relations, Shell Oil Company; Randa Fahmy Hudome, President, Fahmy Hudome International; Fern O’Brian, Partner, Thompson Hine LLP; and Marti Thomas, Vice President, The Duberstein Group. Tahirih convenes periodic Council briefings to share our advocacy efforts with Council members; the next briefing will take place in July and will focus on Tahirih’s groundbreaking national survey into the problem of “forced marriage” in the United States (read more about forced marriage in this newsletter). To learn more, please contact policy@tahirih.org.

Photo Gallery

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*Photos courtesy of colellaphoto.com. View full gallery of reception photos online.

Tahirih is launching a first-of-its-kind national survey this spring to ascertain the nature and scope of this emerging problem of forced marriage in immigrant communities in the United States. The survey will complement other Tahirih research and policy activities intended to better understand the complex dynamics of such forced marriage cases, identify key stakeholders, develop a collaborative national support network to assist individuals facing forced marriage, and outline critically-needed policy responses.

The United States has just begun to take notice of the problem of forced marriage in this country; however, there is very little shared understanding among non-profits and government agencies of the problem’s full dimensions, nor any coordinated effort to envision strategies and solutions.

By contrast, the United Kingdom and a few other countries have recognized and are addressing the problem of forced marriage through major new laws, policies, and community outreach. The national prevalence of reported forced marriage cases in the United Kingdom was estimated in a 2009 report to be as high as 8,000, a figure that does not even include a potentially large number of “hidden” victims who have not yet come to the attention of the authorities or non-profit service providers. (1)

Given similar immigration patterns and sheer geography, the problem of forced marriage could be of similar or even greater magnitude in the United States—yet no helpline exists here, no federal government office stands at the ready to assist, and no concerted national response of any kind is in place, leaving young women with few places to turn for help.

Tahirih’s new forced marriage initiative aims, ultimately, to help reduce the incidence of forced marriage in immigrant communities in the United States; increase the willingness and ability of those at risk to seek help; and build a network of service providers and government agencies with the knowledge and tools to provide meaningful assistance to those facing forced marriage.

Tahirih’s forced marriage survey has been prepared in close consultation with sociologists from the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center and with community, faith-based, and other advocacy organizations with relevant expertise. The survey will run from the beginning of May to the end of June 2011, and will be broadly distributed to service providers, advocates, community leaders, educators, health professionals, law enforcement officers, and others nationwide who may have vital information about cases of forced marriage in the United States.

For more information about Tahirih’s forced marriage initiative, please contact Tahirih’s Public Policy Department at policy@tahirih.org.

Yet despite these achievements, Tahirih’s advocacy efforts are particularly difficult to fund, and typically cannot draw on common direct services sources like government and foundation grants. To multiply Tahirih’s public policy capacity, and to provide critical financial support to sustain and strengthen these important efforts, Tahirih has launched a dynamic new Public Policy Council.

The Council brings together distinguished public policy professionals who lend their strategic insights and substantive expertise, help build Tahirih’s reputation and relationships, and commit financial support and leverage other resources to advance Tahirih’s groundbreaking advocacy initiatives. This support enables Tahirih to draft and pass legislation, build bipartisan coalitions, convene Congressional briefings, submit hearing testimony, prepare influential education and outreach materials, and engage senior Administration officials and key legislative leaders to ensure that our courageous clients receive the protection from violence that they need and deserve.

Council membership benefits include valuable networking opportunities with other public policy professionals and policymakers. Council Members are also given real-time updates about significant policy developments, as well as periodic luncheon briefings to enable them to gain inside and in-depth access to Tahirih’s advocacy campaigns.

On June 10, 2010, Council Co-Chair Sara Glenn of Shell Oil Company graciously hosted Tahirih’s inaugural Council briefing. This briefing focused on Tahirih’s efforts to promote US protections for women and girls fleeing gender-based persecution, highlighting Congress’ introduction of two asylum reform bills that Tahirih helped develop. Attendees then engaged in creative brainstorming about how to make progress on gender-based asylum in both Congress and the Administration. (For more information about Tahirih’s asylum reform efforts, please visit http://www.tahirih.org/2010/04/tahirih-applauds-asylum-legislation/.)

On September 15, 2010, Council Member Brenda Abdelall of Sidley Austin generously hosted the second briefing. This briefing outlined Tahirih’s efforts to urge greater US leadership in the fight to end global violence against women and girls, and coincided with a concerted coalition push for Congressional hearings on key legislation (the International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA); the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act; and US ratification of the UN treaty CEDAW (Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women)).

On November 10, 2010, McDermott, Will & Emery kindly hosted Tahirih’s third Public Policy Council briefing. This briefing described Tahirih’s instrumental role in drafting and passing the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act (IMBRA), a federal law enacted in 2006 to ensure that foreign women receive potentially life-saving information before marrying men through so-called ‘mail-order bride’ agencies. McDermott has been providing skillful pro bono assistance to Tahirih as we press for IMBRA’s full implementation and enforcement, and as we draft amendments to strengthen IMBRA’s protections. (For more on Tahirih’s IMBRA-related advocacy, including recent developments and new materials, please visit http://www.tahirih.org/advocacy/policy-areas/imb-campaign/.)

These Council briefings have already demonstrated how valuable and vital a resource the Public Policy Council is to Tahirih. Members have ongoing opportunities to contribute meaningfully to Tahirih’s advocacy on behalf of women and girls fleeing violence, and with Members’ support, Tahirih can better respond to emerging developments and engage in critical debates that affect our clients.

Tahirih is tremendously grateful to Shell Oil Company, Sidley Austin LLP, and McDermott, Will & Emery for hosting our 2010 series of Public Policy Council luncheon briefings. If your firm would like to host a luncheon briefing for Tahirih in 2011, please contact us at policy@tahirih.org!

To find out more about Tahirih’s Public Policy Council, please visit http://www.tahirih.org/get-involved/public-policy-council/ or contact Jeanne Smoot, Tahirih’s Director of Public Policy, at 571-282-6196 or jeanne@tahirih.org.

Olga Sanchez (Colombia), Reim Kazam (Sudan), Martha Alicia (Central America), and Melei (West Africa) made heartfelt remarks on behalf of the current and former clients of the Tahirih Justice Center. They thanked these legislators who have helped Tahirih so much and gave them a real sense of the challenges that Tahirih’s clients face and have to overcome in order to build safe, peaceful lives for themselves and their children.

After enduring long and painful struggles, these women are now doing well and have renewed hope for their futures. Olga is now a professional with a software company, and supporting herself and her daughter. Melei, a dentist by training, has her own elder-care business and is also now pursuing her US dentistry accreditation. And inspired by their mothers’ experiences with Tahirih, Reim’s son and Martha’s daughter are now considering becoming lawyers themselves. Through sharing with the Congressmen these sorts of simple but meaningful steps forward, the group impressed upon the legislators how their support helps ensure that Tahirih can touch and transform the lives of many other women and families.

In addition to expressing their own gratitude, the group presented the Congressmen with hand-signed cards filled with thank-you notes like the one below from a Tahirih client who, upon being told that we were able to secure her legal status, wrote us:

“I am so happy that I dont know what to do. I have danced , danced and laughed endlessly and only pray for Tahirih Justice Center that may God give them more strengh, knowlegh and diplomacy to handle more of this cases…thanking you so much.”

The group’s visit to Capitol Hill was special in other ways as well. They also met briefly with the Chief of Staff to Congressman Al Green (who represents Houston, where Tahirih has opened a new office). And in an exciting turn of events, the Congressmen were unexpectedly called to the House floor for votes, so staffers escorted the group to meet with the Congressmen right outside the voting chamber.

As they waited, the group saw at least a dozen other legislators bustle about House business, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi. They also spoke with Representatives Corrine Brown and Kendrick Meek, past Honorary Congressional Co-Chairs for Tahirih’s Benefit. In addition, staffers for Congressmen Moran and Wolf graciously gave the group a tour of the Capitol. Given their disempowering pasts, these women were especially moved to be treated like dignitaries in the seat of governmental power – among other highlights, they were thrilled to be escorted through the original Supreme Court chamber, and brought to stand on the exact same spot where the President begins his walk for the State of the Union address.

Jeanne Smoot, Tahirih’s Director of Public Policy, came with Tahirih’s Wings to Capitol Hill and reflected, “I was so proud to accompany these fine ambassadors – as I said to the Congressmen, Tahirih’s staff take inspiration every single day from the strength, dignity, and perseverance of our amazing clients, and especially from Tahirih’s Wings’ desire to uplift each other and to transform our world into a better place.”

Pictured from Left to Right: Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos; Chief Michael Dirden of the Houston Police Department; Rebecca White, CEO of the Houston Area Women’s Center; Congressman Ted Poe; Houston City Council Member Melissa Noriega; Anne Chandler of the Tahirih Justice Center; Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia

The legislation prioritizes approaches with proven efficacy such as promoting women’s economic opportunity, addressing violence against girls in school, engaging men, and working to change public attitudes. By investing in local women’s organizations overseas that are successfully working to reduce violence in their communities, I-VAWA would have a huge impact on reducing poverty – empowering millions of women in poor countries to lift themselves, their families, and their communities out of poverty.

I-VAWA was conceived and drafted by Women Thrive Worldwide, Amnesty International USA, and the Family Violence Prevention Fund with the input and support of Tahirih and a broad-based NGO coalition around the country. On January 29, 2010, Anne Chandler, the director of Tahirih’s Houston office, joined other prominent supporters of I-VAWA in Texas (pictured above) to provide remarks at an event convened by Congressman Poe to celebrate the launch of I-VAWA. Tahirih’s Houston office has participated in many other important outreach and awareness-raising events this past quarter, and looks forward to continuing to build strong partnerships in the Houston NGO and service-provider community for the benefit of Tahirih’s clients and to advance the fight to end violence against women.

On March 10, 2010, Congressmen Jim Moran and Pete Stark, and Congresswoman Diane Watson introduced the Restoring Protection for Victims of Persecution Act [HR 4800], a bill which would eliminate the arbitrary filing deadline that bars many victims of persecution from obtaining safe haven in the United States. Tahirih’s Virginia office is located in Congressman Moran’s district, and Tahirih has worked closely with him on this bill and other matters affecting our clients.

As highlighted in Tahirih’s September 2009 briefing and report, “Precarious Protection: How Unsettled Policy and Current Laws Harm Women and Girls Fleeing Persecution,” the one-year filing deadline can have devastating consequences for women and girls seeking refuge from gender-based persecution. Enacted as part of the 1996 Illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, the one-year filing deadline bars individuals from receiving asylum if they apply one year or more after their arrival in the United States. Following Tahirih’s briefing and report release, all three legislators reached out to Tahirih expressing particular concern over the one-year bar, and their offices have worked with Tahirih, together with Human Rights First and the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies (at UC Hastings School of Law), to better understand the problem and craft a solution.

Although this arbitrary deadline impacts all those seeking protection in the United States, women asylum seekers—especially those who fled or fear domestic violence, female genital mutilation, honor crimes and other forms of gender-based persecution in their home countries—often face particular complications that delay their applications for protection and place them at greater risk of being denied asylum due to the one-year bar. [For more information about the impact of the one-year filing deadline on women and girls seeking asylum, please see pp. 31-39 of Precarious Protection.]

As Congressman Moran noted when introducing the bill, “The United States has always been a beacon of hope for refugees fleeing discrimination, whether political, religious, or gender-based. The one-year filing deadline for asylum applications is unnecessary, and its elimination will guarantee all qualified individuals have the opportunity to restart their lives free of persecution.” See Congressman Moran’s press release here.

On September 30, 2009, the Tahirih Justice Center, together with Human Rights First and the Women’s Refugee Commission, convened a Congressional Briefing to call attention to the many challenges facing women and girls seeking asylum in the United States. The Briefing offered policymakers and the public a critical opportunity to learn about the harmful impact of unsettled policy and current immigration laws on women and girls fleeing gender-based violence.

Tahirih’s Executive Director, Layli Miller-Muro, gave opening remarks thanking attendees for their interest in increasing protection for women and girls fleeing violence. A former Tahirih client (who also served on Tahirih’s Board of Directors), Gisele, courageously recounted how she was forced to flee her home country after being arrested and beaten for resisting a forced marriage to the chief of her village. Gisele’s story about her struggles to find safety in the United States drew in the audience and gave a vitally important human face to the consequences that can result from US asylum law and policy decisions. Award-winning actor and human rights activist Sam Waterston (D.A. “Jack McCoy” on NBC’s Law & Order) and longtime Tahirih supporter Congressman Jim Moran also gave compelling remarks, reflecting on the prevalence and severity of violence against women around the world and calling for the US to improve its response to women and girls in desperate need of refuge.

Tahirih’s Director of Public Policy, Jeanne Smoot, next outlined the problematic state of gender-based asylum law in the United States, as well as the devastating consequences of a one-year filing deadline that can bar applicants, especially women and girls, from receiving asylum. Joining Jeanne on the speakers’ panel were Annie Sovcik, Policy Counsel at Human Rights First (relating the experience of women who flee persecution only to face expedited removal, i.e., deportation without a hearing, in the US), and Emily Butera, Detention Program Officer at the Women’s Refugee Commission (addressing the damaging impacts of detention on women and children who, under current US policy, can be imprisoned while they await decisions on their asylum cases).

As highlighted in the Washington Post (“Clearer Rules Urged For Asylum Seekers”), findings from a new report by the Tahirih Justice Center, “Precarious Protection: How Unsettled Policy and Current Laws Harm Women and Girls Fleeing Persecution,” were also presented at the Congressional Briefing.

Drawing on the compelling stories of Tahirih’s clients and our direct services experiences, as well as cutting-edge research gleaned from recent reports by other organizations, Tahirih’s report represents a new level of research and analysis that has only been made possible in the last year as our public policy department has grown. The report critically examines how the lack of clarity and coherence in the field of gender-based asylum law, together with the severe implications of current immigration laws and policies of general application to all asylum seekers (including the one-year filing deadline, the expedited removal process, and restrictive detention policies with limited access to parole), can prevent women and girls fleeing persecution from finding the protection they need and deserve. Read the full report (PDF).

We are pleased and hopeful to think that through public outreach and education efforts like this recent Congressional Briefing and report, Tahirih can achieve true justice not only for one client at a time, but also, through system transformation, for all women and girls who seek safe haven in the United States.