Disabled youngsters forced into marriage to provide passports

Urgent talks are held to discuss young women and men with learning disabilities, offloaded by their families
By Nina LakhaniSunday, 27 July 2008

Scores of young people with learning disabilities are being forced into marriages, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.
More than one in five of the forced marriages reported to the Government involve disabled people, but experts fear that the true scale of the problem could be far worse.
Last week, senior police officers, lawyers, social workers and campaign groups held urgent talks in London as the scale of the problem emerged.
The Foreign Office's Forced Marriage Unit dealt with 400 cases last year – and more than 80 of these involved people with learning disabilities.
Support groups believe that the stigma attached to disability in some ethnic communities, together with social and cultural isolation, is adding to the problem. They warn that forced marriage is being used as a way to ensure that children with disabilities will be looked after as ageing parents struggle to cope. A person with learning disabilities may also be seen as biddable by foreigners in search of a visa.
The majority of cases reported involve families from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. Spouses are not always told about the disability and only discover the truth when they first meet, often at the wedding, or even after.
Rape, domestic violence and abandonment are common consequences of such marriages as opportunities to escape or seek help can be limited, according to support groups.
A growing awareness of the problem has resulted in scores of community workers coming forward after a series of court cases brought under the Human Rights Act which ensures the right to marry freely.
And many care workers are reluctant to oppose the forced marriages for fear of being branded "culturally insensitive"
Mandy Sanghera, a social worker with Voice UK, a charity which helps people with learning disabilities, believes that the emphasis must be on protecting vulnerable individuals rather than on the communities which are failing them.
"In 15 years I have worked with more than 100 people with learning disabilities forced into marriage, from south Asian, African and Middle Eastern communities. Forget the political correctness: these human rights abuses are very real and need to be stopped," she said.
Ms Sanghera worked with Rani, a woman in her twenties with learning difficulties and mental health problems. Rani's mother felt under pressure from the community to arrange for her to marry an Indian man who needed a British passport. Her mother decided this would be a good match, believing that no one else would marry her.
After a year of marriage, Rani suffered a miscarriage and it was discovered that Rani's husband was physically abusing her and stealing her benefits to send to his family. But her family pressured her to stay with him for the sake of honour.
According to Saghir Alam, of Equality 2025, the Government's disability advisory body, social services must become more culturally sensitive so parents do not feel that marriage is the only long-term care option. Asian families are consistently less likely to seek or receive outside help.
"The Government's social care reforms must involve these communities, or we will never solve this shocking problem," he said.
Teertha Gupta, a barrister who specialises in forced marriages, believes most families are just trying to do their best for their children. He said: "These are generally families from law-abiding communities who think this very old fashioned and illegal practice is their only choice."

www.sapt.gr

Ότι αγαπώ περισσότερο στην Ελλάδα

“Including Children: a child rights approach to child well-being”

Annual Conference 5-7 November 2008, Budapest

Eurochild's fifth Annual Conference will take place from 5 to 7 November 2008 in Budapest, under the title "Including Children: a child rights approach to child well-being".
It is being co-organised with Eurochild's member organisation Family, Child & Youth Asssociation in Hungary.
The conference will gather high level representatives from member states and the European Commission, as well as government officials, NGOs and children, to discuss the EU social inclusion process and its impact on national and regional policies to combat child poverty and exclusion.
Thematic workshops will explore implications for member states in 3 policy areas:
1. Early years education & care
2. Family & parenting support
3. Education and life-long learning

Bursary for deaf and disabled artists

Disabled and deaf artists are being invited to apply for an award worth £5,000.
Shape, an organisation that works with disabled and deaf artists, is calling for applications for the Adam Reynolds Memorial Bursary.
The bursary is designed to offer a disabled or deaf visual artist the opportunity to develop their ideas without the pressure to deliver a defined outcome.
In addition to the funds, the successful artist will be given a residency at Liverpool's Bluecoat arts centre and will also receive advice from Tate Liverpool.
This is the second year of the bursary, which was established in the memory of Adam Reynolds, artist, curator, and artists' advocate. Adam was active in the disability arts sector but always maintained a broad perspective on the arts.
Tony Heaton, Shape's chief executive, said: "There is often a disparity between what can actually be achieved by deaf and disabled artists and their opportunities for gaining a quality platform with which to display their work.
"The Adam Reynolds Memorial Bursary aims to ensure that disabled and deaf artists from around the country have access to a platform at a high profile visual arts venue."
Noëmi Lakmaier received the first award and produced the sculptural piece 'Experiment in Happiness', a giant ball of yellow shoes, with Noëmi herself being physically 'attached' to the sculpture.
To apply for the bursary visit www.adamreynoldsbursary.org.uk. The closing date for applications is September 1.

Περιβάλλοντα προσωπικής μάθησης (ΠΠΜ)

Με πιο τρόπο υποστηρίζουν με επιτυχία τα σχολεία την εξατομίκευση της μάθησης με τη χρήση των ψηφιακών τεχνολογιών; Η έρευνα που παρουσιάζουμε εδώ διερευνά τις σχέσεις μεταξύ ψηφιακών τεχνολογιών και κινήσεων που γίνονται σήμερα για την παροχή μιας πιο εξατομικευμένης μαθησιακής εμπειρίας.
Οι προτάσεις που γίνονται βοηθούν στην καλύτερη κατανόηση των χώρων μάθησης και την καλύτερη χρήση των ψηφιακών τεχνολογιών.
Ξεκινάμε με την παρουσίαση ενός περιγραφικού μοντέλου της σχέσης μεταξύ μαθητευόμενων, των χώρων μάθησης μέσα στους οποίους λειτουργούν και των ψηφιακών τεχνολογιών. Εντοπίζουμε τέσσερις χώρους-κλειδιά (χώρος προσωπικής μάθησης, χώρος διδασκαλίας, χώρος του σχολείου και χώρος κατοικίας) οι οποίοι επηρεάζουν την εκπαιδευτική εμπειρία των μαθητευόμενων. Σήμερα αυτοί οι χώροι δεν γίνονται καλά κατανοητοί με αποτέλεσμα ένα μεγάλο κομμάτι της θεσμοθετημένης και μη θεσμοθετημένης μάθησης των παιδιών να μην αναγνωρίζεται και να μην αξιολογείται. Στη συνέχεια, εξετάζουμε την εγκυρότητα αυτού του μοντέλου με τη χρήση ενδείξεων από διαφορετικά εθνικά ερευνητικά σχέδια τα οποία χρησιμοποίησαν μια μικτή μέθοδο σχεδιασμού με τη συλλογή ποιοτικών και ποσοτικών στοιχείων μέσω ομάδων εστίασης, συνεντεύξεων, δημοσκοπήσεων και εθνικών στοιχείων για την απόδοση των μαθητευομένων.
Τα στοιχεία που παρουσιάζονται εδώ προέρχονται από τις εκθέσεις μελέτης περιπτώσεων και περιλαμβάνουν παρατηρήσεις μέσα στις τάξεις καθώς και τα προσωπικά σχόλια των δασκάλων, των διευθυντών και των μαθητευόμενων. Με βάση τις επιπτώσεις αυτών των στοιχείων και του μοντέλου προσπαθούμε να κατανοήσουμε με ποιο τρόπο οι ψηφιακές τεχνολογίες μπορούν να χρησιμοποιηθούν με επιτυχία στην εκπαίδευση.Στο παραδοσιακό εκπαιδευτικό μοντέλο, ο σχεδιασμός του μαθησιακού χώρου γινόταν κυρίως υπό τον έλεγχο του εκπαιδευτικού οργανισμού και των δασκάλων. Τα φυσικά χαρακτηριστικά του χώρου προσωπικής μάθησης μπορούν ακόμη να επηρεάζονται από τους δασκάλους και τους οργανισμούς, όμως ο σχεδιασμός αυτού του χώρου και οι χρήσεις της τεχνολογίας γίνονται υπό τον έλεγχο των μαθητευόμενων.
Η δημιουργία αποτελεσματικής μάθησης απαιτεί κατανόηση των διαφορετικών χώρων κατά την εξατομίκευση της μάθησης και ανταπόκριση στην αντίληψη και τη συμπεριφορά των μαθητευόμενων.

ΣυνεργάτηςJean Underwood, Professor of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University Philip E. Banyard, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Nottingham Trent University