“GIVE US A BABY AND WE’LL LET YOU GO”: TRAFFICKING OF KACHIN “BRIDES” FROM MYANMAR TO CHINA (2019)
This report examines the trafficking of women and girls from Myanmar to China for forced marriage. It is primarily based on interviews with 73 people, including 37 ethnic Kachin women and girls who escaped back to Myanmar after being trafficked and sold as “brides” in China. Twenty-four of the 37 were trafficked in 2010 or later; the most recent cases involved trafficking in 2016 and 2017. An additional 12 interviewees were trafficked between 2002 and 2009. The accounts of trafficking survivors highlight the crisis for women and girls in Myanmar’s Kachin and northern Shan States. The long-running and recently escalated conflict in the region has created financial desperation for many ethnic Kachin families, including those displaced since 2011 by the fighting, driving many to seek work in China. On the China side, the “one-child policy” coupled with a longstanding preference for boys helped create a large and growing shortage of women for marriage and motherhood. A porous border and lack of response by law enforcement agencies on both sides created an environment in which traffickers flourish, abducting Kachin women and girls and selling them in China as “brides” with near impunity.
Citation: HRW (2019) “Give Us a Baby and We’ll Let You Go”: Trafficking of Kachin “Brides” from Myanmar to China. United States: Human Rights Watch.
EXPLORATORY RESEARCH INTO THE INTERSECTION OF FORCED MARRIAGE, INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE, AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE (2018)
This exploratory study aimed to broaden the literature on forced marriage to examine forced marriage in the United States context. The study focused on the nature and scope of forced marriage in the context of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, as well as the adequacy of service provider and criminal and civil justice system stakeholder responses to forced marriage. Based on 7,791 valid responses to an Urban Institute survey administered through Google Consumer Survey, we estimated a sample prevalence rate of forced marriage in the U.S. at 11.2%. We then conducted analyses of interviews with 24 people who experienced forced marriage or knew someone who did and 15 service providers and other stakeholders. Through this, we explored both the intersection between forced marriage and violence and abuse as well as services needed and received by those who have experience forced marriage.
Citation: Dank, M, H. Love, S. Esthappan and J. Zweig (2018) Exploratory Research into the Intersection of Forced Marriage, Intimate Partner Violence, and Sexual Violence. Washington, D.C., United States: Urban Institute.
ESTIMATING TRAFFICKING OF MYANMAR WOMEN FOR FORCED MARRIAGE AND CHILDBEARING IN CHINA (2018)
This is a mixed methods study (combining qualitative and quantitative research methods) in Kachin State and Northern Shan State in Myanmar, and Yunnan Province in China (see map on right). The study seeks to estimate the prevalence of trafficking for forced marriage and childbearing among women and girls from Myanmar (specifically Kachin State and Shan State) to China (specifically Yunnan Province), as well as to improve understanding of the migration patterns, including risk and protective factors relating to force, coercion, and trafficking.
Citation: Branchini, C. (2018) Estimating trafficking of Myanmar women for forced marriage and childbearing in China. United States: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
TRAFFICKING OF VIETNAMESE WOMEN AND GIRLS FOR MARRIAGE IN CHINA (2017)
Bride-trafficking has been a growing phenomenon in Southeast Asia, particularly in China, where one-child policies have resulted in demographic imbalances favoring males. Yet, empirical evidence about women and girls sold into marriage in China remains sparse. This study describes the experiences of 51 Vietnamese women and girls as young as 14 in post-trafficking services who were sold into marriage in China. A consecutive sample of individuals from five services in Vietnam were invited to be interviewed within the first 2 weeks of admission. It is part of a wider dataset for research on the health of men, women, and children in post-trafficking services in Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam, the largest study to date on human trafficking and health. The cross-border bride trade between Vietnam and China raises complex policy issues, including questions about detention and immigration rights and strategies for supported return processes, including maternal and child health services. As the repercussions of China’s absent female population will persist, Vietnam and China must grapple with the political and social conditions to implement prevention strategies, and resources for women who fall prey to this cross-border bride trade.
Citation: Stockl, H., L. Kiss, J. Koehler, D.T. Dong and C. Zimmerman (2017) ‘Trafficking of Vietnamese women and girls for marriage in China’, Global Health Research and Policy.
The Complexities and Challenges of Researching Forced Marriage in the US: Reflections from a Qualitative Study (2017)
Forced marriage – when a person is coerced to marry against his or her will – is a unique and often hidden form of victimization. Little is known about the nature, scope, or root causes of this nuanced practice in the United States. This brief highlights the challenges encountered in efforts to research forced marriage, documenting methodological barriers and summarizing lessons learned. Key findings include creating research designs that are mindful of the cultural and religious context of forced marriage; developing study participant recruitment methods that minimize perceived risk of stigmatism; and offering meaningful incentives for respondents to encourage others in their social networks to participate.
Citation: Love, H., S. Esthappan, M. Dank and J.M. Zweig (2017) The Complexities and Challenges of Researching Forced Marriage in the US: Reflections from a Qualitative Study. United States: Urban Institute.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING VULNERABILITIES IN ASIA: A STUDY ON FORCED MARRIAGE BETWEEN CAMBODIA AND CHINA (2016)
This report examines patterns of forced marriage in the context of broader migratory flows between Cambodia and China. It draws on the accounts of 42 Cambodian women who experienced conditions of forced marriage, with interviews having taken place in both countries. Key informants from government and non-government stakeholders in Cambodia and China were also consulted.
Citation: UN-ACT (2016) Human Trafficking Vulnerabilities in Asia: A Study on Forced Marriage between Cambodia and China. Bangkok, Thailand: United Nations Action for Cooperation against Trafficking in Persons (UN-ACT).
FORCED MARRIAGE: THE RISK FACTORS AND THE EFFECT OF RAISING THE MINIMUM AGE FOR A SPONSOR, AND OF LEAVE TO ENTER THE UK AS A SPOUSE OR FIANCÉ (2007)
This research was conducted in the context of debates in the UK and in the European Union about the consequences of increasing the age for a sponsor or spouse or fiancé(e) as a measure to prevent cases of forced marriage. In April 2003, the Immigration Nationality Directorate (IND) raised the age at which a person could sponsor a partner to enter the UK for marriage from 16 to 18 years. In December 2004, as part of cross-governmental measures to tackle forced marriage, the age of spouses seeking entry to the UK was also increased to 18 years. The thought behind this was that it would give extra time for young people to mature which would help them to resist family pressure to marry. The research addressed four main issues: 1. The impact and outcome on forced marriages of the recent increase in the age of sponsorship and entry into the UK of a spouse or fiancé(e) from 16 to 18 years; 2. The benefits and risks of increasing the age of sponsorship or entry to 18, 21 and 24; 3. The range of communities in which forced marriage happens; and 4. The factors which are perceived to increase or decrease the risk of forced marriages.
Citation: Hester, M., K. Chantler, G. Gangoli, J. Devgon, S. Sharma and A. Singleton (2007) Forced marriage: the risk factors and the effect of raising the minimum age for a sponsor, and of leave to enter the UK as a spouse or fiancé. United Kingdom: University of Bristol.