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QUT Centre for Justice member, Dr Toby Miles-Johnson and Dr Thomas Courtenay of University of Southampton have just published a Q1 article titled, \u201cRecognition and response: policing ‘Forced marriage’ in England”<\/strong><\/p>\n Abstract:<\/strong><\/p>\n Forced marriage occurs when an individual is pressured psychologically or\u00a0physically into marriage. Methods to detect forced marriage are\u00a0challenging for most police organisations, who are prevented from\u00a0intervening due to honour-systems and cultural values; as well as\u00a0ensuing physical and psychological barriers, which prevent victim\u00a0reporting. Applying key components of Sellin\u2019s (1933) Culture Conflict\u00a0theory, 21 semi-structured interviews were conducted with police\u00a0officers and forced marriage specialists to determine whether police are\u00a0able to recognise and respond to forced marriage situations, and\u00a0whether lack of awareness, understanding and training on forced\u00a0marriage influences officers\u2019 perceptions of policing of forced marriage.<\/p>\n The findings from this study suggest that police officers are not\u00a0cognisant of forced marriage and are not trained adequately in it so\u00a0that awareness of forced marriage and the cultural conflict it creates\u00a0forms part of their habitual investigative processes.<\/p>\n