Children as young as 13 are being forced to marry, even in cases where the parents are Norwegian citizens and have lived in the country for 15-20 years, says police inspector Terje Bjøranger, head of the foreign section at Romerike police district, to Aftenposten.
"In 90 to 95 percent of the cases this is connected to a fear that the daughter will have a sexual relationship to another person than the man the family has chosen for her," says Bjøranger.
He thinks that forced marriages most often happen due to the families' need for control and their honor system. He has been involved in more than 1,000 cases related to forced marriages, and says that the scope has become bigger the past few years.
"If the families do not change their attitude, this will be a segregation problem that society will have to live with," says Bjøranger. He thinks that the trend will not stop until the families decide to take a stand and settle in Norway - and leave the power and traditions from their home country behind.
(NRK)
Julie Ryland
