Tahirih held a training for frontline service providers on identifying and supporting victims of forced marriage—the first training of its kind in the United States on March 2, 2012.

For many of us, reports on women and girls being threatened with violence and forced to marry seem distant and incomprehensible.

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.

New office at 1717 St. James Place, Suite 320, will accommodate Tahirih Houston’s growing direct services staff and client roster.

The training series is possible through a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women.

For women and girls like Tahirih’s clients, it is not enough to have just any attorney. Their unique gender-based violence cases require attorneys who are well-versed in both sensitive cultural issues and the extremely complicated and often unexplored territory of gender-based immigration law.

TED is a global series of conferences run by the Sapling Foundation, under the slogan “Ideas Worth Sharing.”