Mother Forced Me To: Daughters in Unwanted Marriages

• In Event: Poster Session I

Abstract

Over the last two decades, research conducted on forced marriage reveals that victims’ and survivors’ decisions to marry are often influenced by nuclear and extended family members. So far, this research has overwhelmingly focused on the role of men in forced marriages, particularly fathers pressuring their female children to get married, especially when physical force has been used. As a result, there is virtually no research on the role of mothers in forced marriages and the degree to which they apply physical, emotional, and/or psychological pressure on children to get married. The aim of this poster is to examine the role of mothers in forced marriages in the United Kingdom and United States using empirical data collected in both locations.

Author

• Popy Begum, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY