Vulnerable women from EU ‘forced into sham marriages’

Vulnerable young women from the EU are being targeted and coerced into exploitative sham marriages, it has been claimed.

A study by the Immigrant Council of Ireland examined case studies and conducted interviews with one woman who claimed she had been forced into a marriage of convenience, while also looking at figures provided by Embassies based here and the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration service (INIS).

Its report said there was evidence of “deliberate, organised and systematic recruitment of women”, many of whom were vulnerable and some of whom had a disability.

“The most common risk factors for women being recruited for sham marriages and exploitation were family breakdown and extreme poverty,” according to the report. “The majority of women were uneducated and had no workable knowledge of English, and a concerning number of women had mental disabilities.”

Citing figures from Operation Vantage, conducted by INIS, from November 2014 to July last year 1,697 marriages between EU and non-EU nationals were recorded by the General Register Office, 914 marriages of which did not involve an Irish national and which were analysed.

According to the report: “The majority of men (80%) were non-EU nationals and most originated from Pakistan (36%), India (12%) or Bangladesh (8%). Most women (80%) were EU nationals, with the largest group originating from Portugal (26%) followed by Latvia (8%).”

At the time of recruitment, all of the women were vulnerable to exploitation such as financial difficulty, or struggling to care for their children. In addition, all had some pre-existing connection with their recruiter, who was a family member, a friend or a friend of the family from their country of origin.

On arrival in Ireland, they were met either by organisers who were of their own nationality or by their potential husband. They quickly became economically dependent on these men and isolated. “Some women became pregnant during their time in Ireland by the husband or another man,” it said. “Even when the husband was not the biological father he often claimed paternity, viewing it as something that would help his application for residency.”

In addition, from October 2010 to August 2013, 500 Latvian citizens visited the embassy regarding a planned marriage. From 2011 to 2014, the Latvian embassy reported 233 potential Latvian human trafficking victims in Ireland, yet Irish authorities did not identify any victims of trafficking within the context of a sham marriage at that time.

Brian Killoran CEO, Immigrant Council of Ireland, said: “The findings indicate a highly organised system of targeting, recruitment and exploitation of vulnerable young women from EU countries and the coercion of these women into exploitative sham marriages.”

The report makes a string of recommendations, including a specialist support service to carry out risk and needs assessment.

www.immigrantcouncil.ie