BELGIUM: JOINING HANDS AGAINST FORCED MARRIAGES

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 001179 SIPDIS FOR EUR/WE, DRL, G E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/25/2019 TAGS: PINR SCUL KWMN BE SUBJECT: BELGIUM: JOINING HANDS AGAINST FORCED MARRIAGES (C-NC9-01624) REF: STATE 80201 Classified By: Acting Political-Economic Counselor Robert Kiene for rea sons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (U) The "Joining Hands Against Forced Marriages" (JHAFM) campaign came to Brussels on 19 May 2008. This coincided with a similar Belgian initiative against forced marriage that was just starting up at the same time. Despite a SPIOR spokesman saying that the campaigns were "complimentary", little evidence remains of the JHAFM campaign in Belgium. ¶2. (C) In Belgium, the King Baudouin Foundation (KBF) was the architect of a campaign against forced marriage called "Vacation time: marriage time?" According to Francoise Pissart, Director for Social Justice and Poverty at the KBF, the campaign against forced marriage began at the local grassroots level around 2005. In 2008, these movements were distilled up to a national campaign by the KBF with standardized materials designed in French and Flemish. It became a federal government initiative though the Ministry of Education in Summer 2008. The materials were distributed to 15-18 year olds though schools, teachers, social workers and associations. There were also experimental workshops in some schools in Mechelen, Antwerp, Ghent, Schaarbeek, Liege and Charleroi. Pissart said that the campaign was meant to be repeated in early Summer 2009, but was canceled by the Minister of Education for political reasons. Some of the French language printed material can be sent to interested readers upon email request to Nicholas Harris at Embassy Brussels, harrisnr(at)state.gov. ¶3. (C) As the JHAFM campaign never really got off the ground in Belgium, the response was muted to this particular campaign. Regarding the KBF's campaign, it appears that there was both some success and some failure. Pissart said that the success came in "breaking taboos" and increasing public awareness. The failure was due to a net negative reaction from the targeted Turkish and Moroccan communities in Belgium. Pissart said that the campaign was perceived as being a government campaign against Turkish and Moroccan heritage and traditions. ¶4. (U) The Belgian government did not actively support the JHAFM campaign and backed the KBF campaign only weakly. One third of the KBF funding comesindirectly from the government through the Natonal Lottery proceeds. The remainder arrives by donations from individuals and organizations. ¶5. (U) The Belgian Parliment passed laws preventing forced marriage in April 2007, which can mean jail time and fines for offenders. GUTMAN .