Dutch city seeks to protect teens against arranged marriages

May 20, 2009, 14:57 GMT

Amsterdam - Schools in the Dutch city of Rotterdam are set to implement measures aimed at preventing female pupils from being forced into arranged marriages, officials said Wednesday.

Before the start of their summer vacation, pupils would be given the option of signing a statement saying they do not want to be married and authorizing their school to inform police in the event that they fail to return to classes after the break.

Dutch police would in turn seek the cooperation of the authorities in the countries where the girls are suspected to have been married off to, Rotterdam city spokesman Bert Brehm told the German Press Agency dpa Wednesday.

Once found, the girls could be returned to the Netherlands.

The spokesman said that in Rotterdam alone, each year 'several dozens' of girls of Moroccan, Turkish and Pakistani descent drop out of school after entering into marriage during the summer.

On a national level, estimates are that several hundreds of girls drop out of school on a yearly basis.

'We do not have exact figures but we suspect that many drop out following arranged marriages,' Brehm said.

Local government official Jantine Kriens on Wednesday said the measure of offering girls to sign a non-marriage statement has been very effective in protecting teenage girls in Britain.

Kriens also announced that the city would launch a special awareness campaign for teenagers on the risks and dangers of arranged marriages and so-called honour-related family violence.

Teachers at high schools in Rotterdam would also receive training in recognizing and dealing with such issues.

City officials were coordinating closely with the country's justice, immigration and integration departments in implementing the measures, which could be adopted on a national level if successful.