The Ministry of Cowardice

The Scotsman has a piece about women who are "hidden victims" of forced marriage. But out of fear of legal trouble or perhaps violence, the paper won't even mention the M word. It describes them only as part of the "ethnic minority community." A community that forces its daughters into a life with someone they didn't choose. 

The director of the Edinburgh and Lothians Racial Equality Council, Nina Giles, said the survey identified teachers and doctors as professionals who could help prevent forced marriages from taking place.

She says they need to be trained to recognise warning signs such as long, unexplained holidays or signs of abuse, but admits it may be difficult for some to decide when it is appropriate to intervene.

"They need to seek advice so if they're approached by a minority ethnic child, for example, then they know what to do," she said.

How barking crazy the U.K. has become. An organization with the Orwellian name of Racial Equality Council can't pronounce "Muslim," but wants teachers and doctors — in addition to whatever teaching and doctoring they can fit in — to keep a sharp eye out for unexplained holidays. Not about Muslims, perish the idea. They're snooping for ... uh ... dole recipients and public servants swanning about in Spain, that's it.

The forced partnerships are often used so family members can be granted access to UK visas, while others use it to preserve their cultural identity.

Chief Superintendent Gill Imery said one problem was building trust in the victims, many of whom consider approaching police as bringing shame on the family. "Here in Lothian and Borders we've had 31 incidents of honour-based violence in the past two years, but the nature of the incidents means it's (difficult to prosecute] and we've only had nine arrests," she said.

But why should the victims trust the police, or for that matter, their multi-cultural country? British politicians have signaled, by allowing Muslim immigration on a grand scale, that they are willing to wink at a "cultural identity" that believes violence against women is a matter of honor.

The Muslims are being Muslims. Not all Muslims who are in a position to behave that way do, of course. They are a minority, but not so small as to be dismissed as the irreducible minimum of criminality you find anywhere and any time. Rather, enough to be an outrage.

The heaviest responsibility lies with non-Muslim British who tolerate it by going with the flow of social Marxism, refusing to recognize reality because that would be "racist." A Western society with an honor code of its own would refuse to usher in such an "ethnic minority community" and be intimidated by it. Are oppressed women supposed to look to the Ministry of Cowardice for protection?

NHS Lothian's adviser on gender-based violence, Lesley Johnston, said: "We are currently training mental health and midwifery staff to carry out a routine inquiry process."

A Scottish Government spokesman said it would look at providing more support when the bill was implemented. "We will ensure that education materials are made available nationally," he said.

Simply pathetic: Scotland is so abject that it can only deal with forced marriages and wife beatings by calling on teachers, doctors, midwives (midwives!), and social workers — "adviser[s] on gender-based violence" — and making more educational materials available. The Muslims described in the article are following their traditions; the British are trashing theirs.