21 April 2016

Scandinavian asylum centres are turning a blind eye to child marriages and allowing young girls to stay with their 'husbands' in a bid to avoid 'traumatising' them

Scandinavian asylum centres are turning a blind eye to child marriages and are allowing young girls to stay with their 'husbands' in a bid to avoid 'traumatising' them, it has emerged.

Authorities have in some cases let girls stay with their partners, believing it is less traumatic for them than forced separation after fleeing wars in nations such as Afghanistan or Syria.

Some girls have also passed themselves off as adults.

Both these issues have caused unease in Scandinavia, where critics say that the authorities risk complicity in child abuse.

Of 31,000 asylum seekers who arrived in Norway in the past year or so, 10 of those aged under 16, the minimum local age for sex or marriage, were married and four had children, the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) said. [Mail on Sunday] Read more