A British charity has witnessed a huge surge in gay Muslims fleeing arranged marriages, homophobia and family violence.
The Albert Kennedy Trust, an organisation which houses homeless gay teens,
has seen an
increase in the number of Muslims coming to them for help over the past six months.
"They face threats of physical violence, actual violence and restriction of liberties," said Trust support worker Annie Southerst, speaking to the BBC. "We've
had people chased out of the house with knives and we have had issues
around young people who had exorcisms planned to get rid of the gay
demons, I suppose.
"They come to us because they're homeless,
or in danger of being homeless imminently. We sort out emergency
accommodation for them.
"But the biggest loss they face is the loss of their families. I can't imagine what it must be like to suddenly in your late teens, early 20s suddenly not to have a family anymore."
Using
laws introduced by the government in November 2008, the charity has
taken out four Forced Marriage Protection orders in the past few
months, according to the BBC. The orders were introduced after ministers dropped plans to make forcing someone to marry a crime.
More than 80 have been imposed so far. Breaching one is contempt of court and can carry a two-year jail term.
Part of the explanation for the upsurge is the current Eastenders storyline, which has brought the institutional homophobia in Muslim communities to the fore.
A
special government unit tackles the issue of forced marriages. Every
year it deals with around 1,600 cases of forced marriage.
Three-quarters of all calls are from people of South Asian origin. Olaf Henricson-Bell, who heads the department, said gay and lesbian youngsters were particularly vulnerable.
"A
few weeks ago, an individual got in touch with the unit to say he'd
been taken to Pakistan, forced to marry against his will, brought back
to the UK then denounced by both his new wife and his family for his
sexuality.
"He'd been subject to physical and other abuse. When
he rang us he was scared to leave the home and we had to secure police
protection.
"Forced marriage by its nature is an underground practice and the cases often go unreported.
"The
individuals involved may be reluctant to mention sexuality when they
ring us or when they bring their case to the attention of the
authorities," he told the BBC.
The unit plans to work with the trust to
produce a training programme for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgender organisations working with young people at risk of being
forced into marriage.