Implications for Migrant Women from Countries at High-Risk for Honor Crime as an Indicator of

1. Implications for Migrant Women from Countries at High-Risk for Honor Crime as an Indicator of Younger Ages of Marriage: A Statistical Case Study to Investigate the International State of Violence and Discrimination towards Women Presented by: Jaime L. Jenkinson (MPP/MS HSRP&A) April 23, 2010

2. Overview • Background/Origins of Honor Crime • Assumptions of Research • Relation to MDGs • Methodology of Research • Conclusions/Implications for Action • Possible International Strategy • Additional Policies for Consideration

3. What is Honor Crime? • An ‘honor crime’ is a human rights abuse • committed against a woman in the name of • “family honor”. • Honor crimes are shaped by: • Poverty and location • Government policies • Institutional discourses

4. Origins of Honor Crime: The Disconnect between Islamic Ideologies and Practices • Code goes back to 1200BC in the • Hammurabi and Assyrian Laws • Modernized as a core value in • Arab-Islamic societies • Islamic culture granted women • a considerable number of rights, • but the engrained patriarchal • tribal order remained… • Many civilizations still accept • violence (FGM, murder, • domestic beating, torture) • as a legitimate way to control • gender relations and preserve power Source: Khouri, Norma. Forbidden Love, London: Bantam Books, 2004.

5. Sociological Significance of Phenomenon (2 Levels): • (1) Should this mission stop at the front door of a private home? • Mission of international systems should be to maintain, improve, • and protect the condition of human subjects • How do we combat a crime that is cultural in nature and often • disguised? • Mass support of community/region/country • Law meets an enforceability problem • Murders are masked as suicides

6. Countries with a robust history of Honor Crime are considered ‘High-Risk’ Countries, including: Egypt, Morocco, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Afghanistan, Uganda, and Yemen **Comparative ‘Low Risk’ Countries: Libya, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Cyprus, Georgia, Palestinian Territories, and Saudi Arabia Source: UNFPA data, NPR, 2005

7. Assumptions based upon previous research: 1: Age of Marriage is a reliable indicator of the control that women exercise over their own lives. 2: The younger a woman is at the age of first marriage, the more likely it is that the marriage was forced. 3: Although females capable of migration might superficially appear as possessing more control over their lives, these females (esp. at younger ages) may be fleeing High-Risk territory. Source: UNFPA Data on Child Marriage, 2005

8. Down the Rabbit Hole… How does this Relate to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)? And how can we study an elusive crime ?

9. Relevant Millennium Development Goals to Consider: • Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women: • 2005: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education. • 2015: Eliminate gender disparity at all levels of education by 2015 and empower women. • Improve maternal health: • 2015:Reduce the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters.

10. Do the MDGs go far enough? "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?""That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat."I don’t much care where--" said Alice."Then it doesn’t matter which way you go," said the Cat."--so long as I get SOMEWHERE," Alice added as an explanation."Oh, you’re sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough." (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Carroll, 1865)

11. How can we Measure outcomes? “Can you do Addition?” the White Queen asked. “What’s one and one and one and one and one and one and one and one and one and one?” “I don’t know,” said Alice. “I lost count.” (Through the Looking Glass, Carroll, 1871)

12. Methodology Age of Marriage (scores 1 – 4): (1) 0 - 15 years of age (2) 16 - 21 years of age (3) 22 - 29 years of age (4) 30 + years of age Logistic Regression to produce odds of a specific event: Ln Prob (Age ≤ 15) = β0 + β1X1 + β2 X2 + β3 X3 + β4 X4 + β5 X5… + ε 1 – Prob(Age ≤ 15) Key Indicator Variable (X1) = Country of Origin = (1) for High-Risk, (0) for Low-Risk Where other dichotomous variables are: X2 = Health Status X3 = Family Size X4 = Religion X5 = Education

13. Methodology (Cont.) Ordinal Logit Model: Өj = Prob (score ≤ j) = (Ө1, Ө2, Ө3, Ө4) 1 - (Prob (score ≤ j)) Where: Ө1 = Prob(score = 1) Prob(score > 1) Ө2 = Prob(score = 1,2) Prob(score > 2) Ө3 = Prob(score = 1,2,3) Prob(score > 3) Ө4 = Prob(score = 1,2,3,4) Prob(score > 4) Ln Өj = β0 + β1X1 + β2 X2 + β3 X3 + β4 X4 + β5 X5… + ε • 0 - 15 years of age • (2) 16 - 21 years of age • (3) 22 - 29 years of age • (4) 30 + years of age

14. Potential Conclusions of Original Data Analysis: • Migrant women from countries at high-risk for Honor Crime • are more likely to have marriage at younger ages • Migration could actually increase the likelihood for an • Honor Crime to take place • Women that are victims of child marriage are no more likely • to have experienced less education • Women of Islamic faith are more likely to be victims of • child marriage • Health status has no effect on the likelihood for child marriage

15. International Crisis: Who is the Appropriate Actor? "A slow sort of country!" said the Queen. "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!" (Through the Looking Glass, Carroll, 1871)

16. Any action is difficult… • Educational infrastructure absorbs much of the public budget • to protect women in the Middle East • Women that liberate themselves from the mindset that enables • honor crime will leave high-risk territory, so investments never • take root • Therefore, cannot combat problem internally, but now requires • global scale action • Counterproductively, Western lifestyles adopted post-migration • exacerbate the the behavior that honor crimes are performed to • rectify

17. How can we use this information to better protect and inform women? Alice laughed. "There's no use trying," she said: "one can't believe impossible things." "I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." (Through the Looking Glass, Carroll, 1871)

18. Moving Forward: Protect Women Through International Law “…Not all traditions have value, and some are contrary to human rights and must be combated. One must distinguish between necessary tolerance and blindness to degrading treatments and violations of human rights. For freedom of religion may not be contrary to women’s rights…the right to difference inherent in the former must not become a right to indifference to the condition of women.” Source: Dr. Yakin Erturk, UN Delegate

19. Answer: STRONG PUBLIC DISCOURSE • The United Nations is an important institution for this discourse • Lobbying for changes in criminal code makes it possible to • Deliberate • Re-conceptualize • Disempower patriarchy

20. Should Honor Crime be re-categorized as an act of Terrorism? • YES. • Benefits: • Demands intervention • Globalizes effort as ‘terror’ is a universal phenomenon • Conforming to int’l law is beneficial to all countries within the • global marketplace • Framework of “terror” opens up the gender barrier

21. Additional policies to consider in pursuit of the MDGs… • Grant refugee status to women that flee to avoid honor crime • Increase municipal intervention and protection of domestic affairs within migrant communities • Non-governmental organizations should work in neighborhoods and create centers that include activities for all family members in cooperation with public organizations and local governments • Strengthen women in terms of their economic involvement

22. Thank You!