Modernising the other: assessing the ideological underpinnings of the policy discourse on forced marriage in the UK

This article critiques the Labour government's conceptualisation of forced marriage (FM) as a cultural problem imported by immigrants. Contrasting the traditions and values of minority communities with the purported liberalism of mainstream British society, has given rise to policy initiatives focusing on victims’ right to exit and the tightening of immigration controls, rather than the possibility of finding solutions within minority communities. The gendered nature of the problem, and its connections to other forms of violence against women in both mainstream society and minority communities, has been largely ignored.