In the past decade, several new laws have allowed abused foreign-born women, including those who entered the United States illegally and those whose immigration status depends on their spouse, to obtain legal residency on their own.

Forced marriage is an issue that has increasingly come to our attention as Tahirih received calls for help from around the country. There is a regrettable lack of information in the United States about forced marriage, there are no laws designed to protect forced marriage victims, and there is a void in community dialogue and advocacy on the issue.

Forced marriage and honor violence are often viewed in the West as backward customs relegated to impoverished developing nations. But a spate of gruesome honor killings in the U.K., and new research about the prevalence of underage marriage in the U.S., for the first time show that this kind of violence against women is far more widespread.

Rather spoke with Miller-Muro about the hidden problem of forced marriage in the U.S.

Event calls attention to incredible courage of Tahirih’s clients and of women and girls around the world facing violence and oppression.

The United States has just begun to take notice of the problem of forced marriage domestically; however, there is very little shared understanding among non-profits and government agencies of the problem’s full dimensions, nor any coordinated effort to envision strategies and solutions.

Attorneys from Tahirih’s legal and policy departments advocated alongside the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance to lobby for these important changes to better protect women fleeing violence.