FORCED MARRIAGES OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Motion Text

That this House notes that the majority of cases of forced marriage reported in the United Kingdom involve South Asian families; further notes that the Department of Health's report Learning Disabilities and Ethnicity found that learning disabilities are up to three times higher in South Asian communities than in other communities; further notes that the Director of UK Visas has stated that of the 250 `reluctant sponsors' for visas dealt with by the consul in Pakistan in 2007, 86 involved adults with severe disabilities; expresses concern that limited information on forced marriages of people with disabilities may hinder effective responses to this problem; and asks the Government to commission research into the prevalence and causes of forced marriages of people with disabilities.