Berlin Institute for Comparative Social Research
Member of the European Migration Centre (EMZ)
Marriage Migration and the Significance of this Migration Issue in Germany. Country Study.
Mária Guličová – Grethe
Project:
Marriage as Immigration Gate: the Situation of Female Marriage Migrants from Third Countries in the EU Member States (HeiRat I)
DAPHNE Programme – European Commission
March 2004 Introduction
In Germany, public discussion on immigration issues has revolved around a series of opposing key concepts: German versus foreign, temporary versus permanent, labour versus welfare migration. At least since the 1980s, anti-immigration feelings have been called upon during elections. The long history of predominant anti-immigration rhetoric has prevented general reforms and deepened mental obstacles to migration. At the same time, many changes in legal and administrative regulations have influenced the volume and composition of immigration substantially.
The number of naturalisations in Germany has been rising steadily from 1994 onwards, with the majority of applicants coming from Turkey, Iran, the former Yugoslavia, Lebanon, Morocco, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, the Russian Federation, Vietnam and Bosnia-Herzegovina. However, the most frequent countries of origin of foreigners living in Germany in 2001 were Turkey, the former Yugoslavia, Italy, Greece, Poland, Croatia, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Portugal, Spain, Great Britain, the US, Netherlands, France and Iran.1
This country study investigates the implications of the issue of marriage migration to Germany. In the first section of the study, the topic of marriage migration, the main tendencies in research, statistical data available, the role of various organisations and the main groups of migrants involved in some way in the migratory moves on the basis of bi-national marriage are introduced. The second section of this study presents an overview of the relevant legal acts pertaining to female marriage migrants, from the member states of the EU as well as from the third countries. State institutions and non-governmental organisations providing help to migrant women are described in the third part of the study, with a focus on their active interest in some aspect of marriage migration.
Partner mediation and marriage arrangement agencies are briefly described in the fourth part, where the presentation of these agencies in the internet is depicted, and some details on their functioning are provided. A short analysis of various problems linked to prearranged marriages, forced marriages and the relevant efforts and problems of involved actors are illustrated in the fifth and concluding part of this country study on Germany.
1See Bericht der Beauftragten der Bundesregierung für Ausländerfragen über die Lage der Ausländer in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, September 2002, S. 389ff. 2 1. Marriage Migration in Germany
The current legislation in Germany results in the fact that marriage with a German man is almost the only possibility to be granted legal residence status. On the basis of the marriage, women are subsequently granted a work permit. As some researchers maintain, there are different expectations with which these women and men decide to marry (women seek material and emotional security, men expect thankfulness, subordinate and undemanding women) support the establishment of physical and psychological violence and contribute to the breakdown of some bi- national marriages.2
In the research on marriage migration in Germany, two main currents can be identified. On the one side, the research project conceptualises the activities of the marriage arrangement agencies as a form of trading in marriages (since the benefits are can reach high numbers), assuming that marriage arrangement in many cases involves the trafficking in human beings. The women have no language skills, they can be ‘checked out’ by the customers for probationary period, and in case man does not like the woman, the woman can be returned. If the marriage is not accomplished, the women have to pay the extremely high agency fee themselves, which amounts to 5,000 Euros on average. The women are therefore often forced into prostitution.3 Ms. Schrage from the organisation Agisra, has a reserved, when not contradictory attitude towards marriage arrangement agencies, and maintains that as long as the agency works seriously, there is no problem in accepting their work, since even though the position of foreign women in arranged marriages is particularly problematic, problems also occur any partnership.4
On the other side of the spectrum of debate and research on marriage migration are bi-national marriages which are a “result of love”. There are a few organisations devoting their work to the protection and defence of rights of the individuals living in binational partnerships and marriages (e.g. Verband Binationaler Familien und Partnerschaften). The daily problems they encounter are linked to the fact that when bi-national couples wish to live together, whether or without the marriage certificate, whether of the same or opposite sex, they have to start fulfilling the different regulations of the aliens’ legislation, bureaucratic institutions, often they experience racism, and all this becomes the centre of their daily life.
In Germany, the debate surrounding the issue of marriage migration moves around a few main notions - "love marriage” (Liebesehe)", "protection marriage” (Schutzehe, also called "marriage of convenience" (Scheinehe5), "forced marriage” (Zwangsehe), "marriage for a particular purpose” (Zweckehe).
2 HWP – Hamburger Universität für Wirtschanft und Politik. Projekt Hansen/Wittich-Neven. „Internationaler Frauenhandel und Organisierte Kriminalität": http://www.hwp-hamburg.de/schwerp/SP_Geschlechter/Projektskizzen.htm. 3 HWP – Hamburger Universität für Wirtschanft und Politik. Projekt Hansen/Wittich-Neven. „Internationaler Frauenhandel und Organisierte Kriminalität": http://www.hwp-hamburg.de/schwerp/SP_Geschlechter/Projektskizzen.htm. 4 Florian Töpfl: Liebe? Überflüßig! Katalogenehen haben einen schlechten Ruf, besonders wenn sie zwischen deutschen Männern und ausländischen Frauen geschlossen werden. Zu Unrecht. Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin, pp. 21-25. 5 See the Council Resolution 97/C 382/01 of 4 December 1997 on measures to be adopted on the combating of marriages of convenience (http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l33063.htm). This resolution defines "marriage of convenience" as "a marriage concluded between a national of a Member State or a third-country national legally resident in a Member State and a third-country national with the sole aim of circumventing the rules on entry and residence of third-country nationals and obtaining for the third-country national a residence permit or authority to reside in a Member State." 3 In Germany, 19 percent of married Turkish women and 16 percent of married Turkish men (in the Integration Survey) were kindred. Migrants in Germany ascribed the arrangement of marriage and mediation of partners through family members and networks of friends as having a relatively high importance, according to the Integration Survey (Haug 2002: 419). The differences in family building are interpreted by Naunck (2002) as having a “layer effect” (Schichteffekt), mediated through the level of education and the family structure which itself is dependent on the general structural conditions for the integration of migrant families to the majority society in the country.
Even though many different groups of third county-nationals live in Germany, they all have more or less the same problems, which vary from legal regulations guiding the residence of third country nationals in Germany to problems with social integration of migrants into the majority society in the country.
For instance, the organisation Imbradiva carries out counselling work for Brazilian- and other Portuguese- speaking migrants, primarily women, living in Germany. That their work is indispensable results from the fact that 27,000 Brazilians legally reside in the country, of whom 75 percent are women (20,000).6 There is no information on the number of illegal residents.
Based on the example of this specific group of migrants, the problems that all groups of migrants share are evident. The beginning of their stay in Germany is, in majority of cases, influenced by dreams of a better life and better social and economic opportunities. In reality, they may only find illegal work, may be involved in drug trafficking and/or prostitution. The immigrants enter Germany through various forms of entry which include sex tourism, drug carriers, informal “women’s networks” of friends and acquaintances. In some cases, they may enter as victims of trafficking in women. Specifically, marriage migration is a natural consequence of human interaction and is a result of tourism, business contacts, scientific exchange programmes and contacts established through economic aid to developing countries, as well as through the above-mentioned women’s networking or through assistance or mediation of marriage arrangement agencies.7
Thailand is the country of origin of many women who are living as wives of German men. There are approximately 20,000 Thai women living in Germany. 8
Problems and obstacles hindering particular female migrants are linked to the difficulties they face in integrating into every sphere of daily life, beginning with a language barrier. As far as professional life is concerned, non-recognition of qualifications when trying to find employment, and complying with new professional qualifications hinders women in achieving self-fulfilment. On the other hand, many women from third countries (e.g., from Brazil) have no formal education and may come from the poorest regions of their countries. As a result, they are not able to find any job at all. Too often it is marriage problems, pregnancies or divorces that exacerbate the situation of female marriage migrants in Germany, as they find
6 Taken from the presentation of Ms Angela Amorin-Nink at the Marriage Migration Workshop, Eurofor Conference Berlin, December 2003. Based on the information by Federal Statistical Office, Wiesbaden. 7 Based on the presentation of Ms Angela Amorin-Nink at the Marriage Migration Workshop, Eurofor Conference Berlin, December 2003. 8 Pataya Ruenkaew: Thailändische Frauenn heiraten nach Deutschland. Motive und Hintergründe von Heiratsmigration. Forschung an der Universität Bielefeld. Fakultät für Soziologie. 16/1997.pp33-38. 4 themselves in isolation and psychological depression, in which the help they can ask for is only provided by a counselling organisation of the third sector (non- governmental organisations).
The Centre for Turkey Studies (Zentrum für Türkeistudien) carried out research on marriage migration among Turkish migrants in Germany, which was concluded in 2001. The reason for the study was the fact that the phenomenon of marriage migration had been neglected in research as well as in public debates. Intra-ethnic marriages within the Turkish community in Germany have had the tendency to grow over the years, and spouses from the country of origin are preferred (Projekt Türkische Heiratsmigrantinnen und Migranten in Deutschland, 2000/2001).
Many scientists claim that the high number of intra-ethnic marriages in European countries is related to the unsuccessful integration of immigrants into the majority societies. Sonja Haug (2002) maintains that the ethnic differences in the social integration are tightly linked to and based on other integration factors. Haug has examined the family formation pattern of 18 to 30-years old adults of German, Italian and Turkish origin, using the Integration Survey of the Federal Institute for Population Research (Bundesinstitut für Bevölkerungsforschung– BiB).9
In the BiB study, interethnic partnerships with Germans are valued against the social capital theory as an indicator for social integration, and examine to what extent social structural aspects of integration and ethnic–cultural standards and attitudes influence choice of partner and reproductive behaviour. The study affirmed the hypothesis (Diehl 2002) that in addition to traditional intergenerational forms of relationships and Islamic religious norms of behaviour— which are interrelated with a tendency to early marriage and parenthood— ethnic differences when choosing a partner and generative behaviour are affected decisively by educational level, whereby the knowledge of language is definitely dependent of the level of education.
The basis of inter-ethnic, bi-national marriages, differs in some aspects from that of inter-ethnic marriages. Ruenkaew’s research on Germany (1997, 2003) may be a good example: The researcher highlighted the fact that Thai women coming as spouses to Germany are by no means passive victims, they are rather actively taking action and themselves decide upon marriage migration to Germany.
The possibility to work, which marriage enables, is, according to the author, the most important aspect of the women’s decision to migrate, notwithstanding their other motives and reasons for immigration to Germany (escape from poverty, better career opportunities, escape from prostitution, a shattered marriage with a partner from the country of origin, the need to secure the existence of their children, the desire for self- fulfilment, etc.). Ruenkaew claims that in this sense, marriage migration is a variation of transnational labour migration (Ruenkaew 1997: 34-35). The marriage of Thai women is arranged through informal network of friends, family members or marriage
9 In this survey, the notion migrant denotes investigated individuals with non-German origin, including persons with migration background in the family – immigrants as well as their descendants (Haug 2002: 419). Title of the Integration Survey: „Determinanten und Indikatoren der Integration und Segregation der ausländischen Bevölkerung (Integrationssurvey).“ Integrations Survey was carried out in 2000/2001 by order of the Bundesinstituts für Bevölkerungsforschung, Arbeitsbereich Migration, Ausländische Bevölkerung, Bevölkerungsgeografie. Survey researchers: Dr. Claudia Diehl, Dr. Sonja Haug. The survey coordinator: Ulrich Mammey. (http://www.bib-demographie.de/projekte/integr_survey.html).
5 agencies. It is prevalently the private network that functions as the main organiser of the marriages, and functions without any fees.
In 2001, the number of marriages in the Federal Republic of Germany was 389,591. Out of these, in 2001 81.5 percent the couples were German-German (82,5 percent in 2000) and 18,5 percent were mixed marriages (17,5 percent in 2000). Within the group of mixed marriages, 34,9 percent were between German women and Non- German men (37,5 percent in 2000), 49,2 percent between German man with non- German woman (46,3 percent in 200o ) and 15,8 percent between both non-German nationals (16,3 percent in 2000) (Microcensus 2001, Federal Statistical Office). Figure 1 illustrates these numbers. As a result, every sixth marriage in 2001 was a bi- national one, and it is important to note that bi-national marriages of the German nationals abroad are not statistically collected.10
Figure 1: Marriages in Germany in 2000 and 2001 in comparison.
Both non-German 16,30% 15,80%
German man/Non-German woman 46,30% 49,20% 2000 2001
German woman/Non-German man 37,50% 34,90%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Source: Federal Statistical Office (Statistisches Bundesamt), Microcensus 2001.
In April 2002, there were 19.3 million married couples living in Germany. Out of these, 89 percent are German-German couples, whereas mixed couples represent 11 percent of the total. Out of these, 6 percent are foreign-foreign married couples (1.2 million), and 5 percent were German-foreign couples (Statistisches Bundesamt 2003: 17).
Out of 1.2 million foreign-foreign married couples living in Germany in 2002, three quarters (76%) were marriages between non-EU nationals, whereas 24% were marriages in which at least one partner had the passport from one of the EU states. Out of this group of couples, the majority was composed of couples in which both partners came from an EU state — 22 percent of all foreign as of April 2002 (Federal Statistical Office, 2003: 19).
Among 864,000 German-foreign married couples, one third (33 percent) of foreign spouses were nationals of one of EU states, whereas 44 percent of foreign spouses were nationals of a European non-EU state. Figure 2 illustrates the apparent differences in the nationality of the foreign spouses when broken down by gender: one quarter (25 percent) of foreign female spouses originate form an EU member state, whereas almost one half (48 percent) are nationals of European non-EU states. These numbers are different in case of male foreign spouses, but the percentage is in both cases approximately the same: 41 percent of foreign husbands
10 See www.verband-binationaler.de/zahlenundfakten/ 6 originate from a EU country, and almost the same number – 39% - from an European non-EU state (Federal Statistical Office 2003: 19, figure 8; here figure 2). The fact that only such a small number of women originating from EU countries marrying can be explained, at least partially, by the fact that they do not need a marriage certificate if they decide to cohabitate with their partners in Germany. Consequently, the number of non-marital cohabitation is definitely higher in these cases.11
The women of foreign nationality married to German men originated prevalently from Asia (14 percent), Poland (11 percent) and Turkey (9 percent). As for foreign men married to German women, they were most often nationals of Turkey (15 percent) and Italy (13 percent), the third position is share by men from Austria and America with 7 percent (Federal Statistical Office 2003: 19).
Figure 2: German-foreign married couples in April 2002, according to the nationality of the foreign partner.
Foreign husbands Foreign wives
Other Other EU Mem ber countries countries States 20% EU Mem ber 27% 25% States 41%
European non- European non- EU states EU states 39% 48%
Source: Results of the microcensus - Population (Concept of Forms of Living). Federal Statistical Office. 2003 - 15 – 0232.
2. Regulations Determining the Legal Status of Married Migrant Women in the German Aliens’ Legislation 12
The German Foreigners’ Act (Ausländergesetz) of 9 July 1990, last amended by the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1 January 2002, regulates the matters of family reunification and right of residence in the sections 17-27a. The controversial draft legislation of the German Immigration Act13 (Zuwanderungsgesetz) of 20 June 2002, which would entail significant changes to the Foreigners’ Act, has not yet entered into force.
11 In April 2002, 92% of the 2,2 million of non-marial cohabitations (nichteheliche Lebensgemeinschaften) were between German partners. Foreign-foreign parneships composed 2%, and German-foreign partnerships 6% of all cohabitating couples in Germany. Out of 41 thousand foreign – foreign cohabitating couples, in 51% both partners were not nationals of any EU state, in 34% both partners were nationals of EU states., and the rest – 25% - were couples in which one partner came from EU member state. Out of 135 000 German-foreign cohabitating couples, more than a half – 52% - of the foreign partners were nationals of EU state, and 32% were national of an European non-EU state. There were differences as for the gender, since 44% of female partners originated from an EU member state, and 39% from a European non-EU state; whereas male partners prevalently originated from EU states (58%), and much less male partners came from European non-EU states – 26%. As for the origin of women and men cohabitating with German nationals, in both cases the most common of partners were Italian nationals – 6% in case of female partners and 18% in case of male partners (followed by men from Turkey and Austria) (Statistisches Bundesamt 2003: 24). 12Source: www.migpolgroup.com, www.bmi.bund.de, and http://www.migpolgroup.com 13 Due to the disputed vote in the Bundesrat (The German Upper House), the Immigration Act of 20 June 2002 was declared 7 In general, the granting of a residence permit for the purpose of family reunion requires proof of sufficient housing and income, as well as the secure residence status of the sponsor.
There is a special visa for cases of forthcoming marriage in Germany. If the wife or husband is from a country on the “negative list”, she or he must apply for a visa for the aim of matrimony in order to be able to enter Germany. A limited residence permit may be granted for the purposes of marriage. Marriage plans will normally be examined and a visa only granted if all documents related to the marriage are translated and a wedding appointment has been scheduled at the registry office.
If a woman marries a German man abroad, a marriage certificate must be presented to the German embassy and the German partner’s primary place of residence must be in Germany before the embassy will issue a visa for the purpose of family reunion. If a woman is married to an EU-citizen, a marriage certificate must be presented, the husband must have a residence permit, live in Germany and have sufficient living space. If the woman is married to a non-EU husband, the marriage certificate must be presented, he must possess a residence permit on his own, have sufficient living space, and their livelihood must be secured without recourse to social security.
The spouse of a German citizen receives a limited residence permit which is initially granted for three years. An extension is possible as long as the marriage is extant and the couple lives together.
The spouse of an EU-citizen is granted an EU residence permit for five years unless her husband’s residence permit is of shorter duration, in which case the wife is granted a permit for a correspondingly shorter period. The validity of the residence permit of a woman married to a third-country national is determined according to the validity of the husband’s residence permit.
Since the first of August 2001, persons of registered same-sex partnerships can also apply for a residence permit/visa for the purpose of “family reunion”, as long as one partner already lives in Germany. According to the decision of the federal constitutional court, and in contrast to married partners, the granting of the permit or visa is up to the discretion of the authorities.
The draft proposal of the German “Zuwanderungsgesetz” (Immigration Act) provides that the general age limit of children of third-country nationals will be reduced from 16 to 12 years.14 According to the new regulations, the family reunion rights of persons living in registered same-sex partnerships will be adapted to the rights of married partners.15
The procedure until a residence permit is granted to a migrant women can last between one week and several months.16 unconstitutional by the Federal Constitutional Court on 18 December 2002. On 20 June 2003, the Bundesrat voted against the adoption of the law and it has now been put forward to the Mediation Committee. See http://www.rechtliches.de/info_E_Zuwanderungsgesetz.html and http://www.bundesregierung.de/Themen_A_Z/Innenpolitik_,6812/Zuwanderung.htm 14See www.migpolgroup.com 15See Bericht der Beauftragten der Bundesregierung für Ausländerfragen über die Lage der Ausländer in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, September 2002, p. 66. 16 See Soziales und Bürgerservice: 8 Women’s independent right of residence
The foreign spouse of a German citizen shall be granted a settlement permit if the marriage has existed for two years,17 the family household with the German continues to exist in the Federal territory, there are no grounds for expulsion, and the foreigner is able to communicate verbally in the German language on a basic level18.
Regulations in cases of inner-familiar conflicts or divorces
In the event of termination of marital cohabitation, the spouse’s residence permit shall be extended for one year as an independent right if the marital cohabitation lawfully existed in the Federal territory for at least two years or the foreigner has died in the Federal territory while the cohabitation existed and the principal was in possession of a residence permit or a settlement permit up to this time.
If the marital cohabitation terminates within two years, the spouse may obtain an independent residence permit in cases of particular hardship, such as domestic violence.
Different regulations applicable to women who marry into immigrant families and those who marry an autochthonous man
Spouses of a third-country national have the right to family reunion if the principal possesses an autonomous residence status, sufficient living space and a secure livelihood without recourse to public funding. Whereas women married to a German or EU principal are granted a residence permit for three or five years, there is no fixed validity for the residence permit of a spouse of a third-country national. The validity of the woman’s residence permit is determined according to the husband’s residence permit.19 Spouses of a German principal have the right to a residence permit for three years if the principal has been living lawfully in the Federal territory.
Changes in the legislation
In April 2000, section 19, subsection 1 no. 1 of the Aliens’ Act, reduced cohabitation from four to two years. In addition, section 19, subsection 1 no. 2, replacing “extraordinary” hardship by “particular” hardship, was changed at the same time. Sentence 2 of subsection 2 in section 19 was added, regarding the inclusion of the protection of the well-being of a child living with the spouse.
The draft version of the new Immigration Act lowers the age of children of a third- country national from sixteen to twelve for the purpose of family reunification.
http://www.ingolstadt.de/frameset.cfm?url=http%3A//www.ingolstadt.de/soziales_buergerservice/aufenthaltsgenehmigung.htm 17See Bericht der Beauftragten der Bundesregierung für Ausländerfragen über die Lage der Ausländer in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, September 2002, p. 65. 18The language requirements vary from purely oral to oral and/or written tests according to the respective Federal State. See Bericht der Beauftragten der Bundesregierung für Ausländerfragen über die Lage der Ausländer in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, September 2002, p. 56. 19See www.femmigration.net 9 3. The Institutions, Organisations and Programmes Providing Counselling in the Area of Marriage Migration
As the organisation Beratungsstelle für Migrantinnen aus Afrika, Asien, Lateinamerika und Osteuropa (c/o Informationszentrum Dritte Welt, Arbeitsbericht 2002) has reported, the request for advice and counselling in questions of marriage migration has grown very rapidly since 2002. Especially the issue of the independent right of residence for spouses of Germans and foreigners legally residing in Germany was of particular interest.
3.1 State and non-governmental programmes and institutions
As for state institutions and their role in the issue of marriage migration, the researchers have contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Auswärtiges Amt), Ministry of Interior (Bundesinnenministerium), Federal Government Representative for Questions regarding Foreigners (Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Ausländerfragen), Federal Office for Recognition of Foreign Asylum Seekers (Bundesamt für die Anerkennung ausländischer Flüchtlinge), Basic Migration Questions, Council for Questions regarding Immigration and Integration (Grundsatzfragen der Migration, Sachverständigenrat für Zuwanderung und Integration). All of these state institutions showed interest in the subject matter of the research and were interested in its outcome; however, they could not provide any information relevant to the research.
Berliner Senatsverwaltung für Arbeit, Berufliche Bildung und Frauen, Senatsverwaltung für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Frauen, Abteilung Arbeit, was the only state institution identified, which directly deals with the issue of marriage migration and the situation of marriage migrants. The department for Women’s Politics (Frauenpolitik) has dealt with the legal issue of independent stay for female marriage migrants in Germany.
3.2 Non-Governmental organisations
In Germany, there is no organisation that works with female marriage migrants only, since most organisations do not take in to account the differences among the various groups of migrant women. The target groups of the organisations include victims of trafficking, women migrants of first and second generation, refugee women, sex workers as well as women who live in the country on the basis of marriage with a citizen or legal resident. Only few of these organisations provide counselling to girls and young women who confronted forced marriages or suffered the negative consequences of an arranged marriage.
Many of the organisations listed and described in this section are very active in their work of protecting of female migrants. Their activities consist mostly of counselling, public relations work and anti-discrimination events. Many of the involved organisations, such as Terre des Femmes, are members of the KOK - Coordination
10 group against women trafficking and violence against women in the migration process (Koordinierungskreis gegen Frauenhandel und Gewalt an Frauen im Migrationsprozeß). Through this organisation, networking and information exchange among the organisations is eased and channelled.
The KOK comprises about 38 women’s organisations, women’s groups and counselling groups for women, all of which are committed to the prevention of discrimination against female migrants, in particular legal discrimination, women’s rights during the process of migration and trafficking of women. Through lobbying at the national and international level, KOK tries to influence the law-making and decision-taking processes.
Terre des Femmes Terre des Femmes is a non-governmental organisation fighting against womens’ human rights’ violations. The organisation is actively working in different areas where women’s rights are violated, such as trafficking and prostitution, female genital mutilation, negative effects of globalisation on women (for example, the working conditions of female textile workers) and violence in the name of honour. The main part of their work against violence ‘in the name of honour’ focuses on forced marriages (website, information provided by the organisation).
The organisation has started a campaign against forced marriage in November 2002 due to an increased number of women and girls who were victims of forced marriage or who were threatened into marriage. These women turned to the organisation for help. Soon it became apparent that theirs were not isolated cases.
The campaign included four main components. Firstly, the organisation tried to spread information about forced marriage to the public. Forced marriage is still a taboo, and most of the German population is not even aware that forced marriage exists. For this reason the organisation published a book called “Forced marriage – lifelong for honour”. Terre des Femmes has also tried to inform and make the public aware of the issue through articles in the media. Terre des Femmes also initiated a prevention campaign at schools, since schools are the best – and sometimes the only - place to get in contact with girls who may be forced into marriage. Posters and teaching materials were distributed in classes, suggesting ways of tackling the issue.
The organisation offers direct help to victims. Although Terre des Femmes is not an advising centre, they have tried to establish links to women’s refuge centers and crisis centres in order to put the potential victim in contact with these centres. In 2003 they were able to mediate in more than 50 cases.
The last but extremely important component of the organisation’s work is lobbying. The organisation has established links to government institutions and deputies. In March 2004, a round table on forced marriage was initiated by TDF, which will have a second component. There are now several initiatives at various political levels (from deputies, politicians in different regions of Germany) in order to put this issue on the agenda, especially within the context of the integration policy in Germany.
11 IMBRADIVA (Iniciativa de Mulheres Brasileiras contra Discriminacao e Violencia)
IMBRADIVA (Brasilianische Fraueninitiative gegen Diskriminierung und Gewalt) is an organisation providing various forms of aid to Portuguese- speaking women during their integration process in Germany. The organisation was founded in May 1998 as a welfare organisation by eight committed women. The initiative consists of three basis groups in three cities: Frankfurt am Main, Freiburg and Heidelberg, and is financed by Office for Cultural Issues (Amt für kulturelle Angelegenheiten), donations and membership fees. The work is voluntary and is done during the weekends.
The organisation fights against all forms of discrimination and violence against women, as well as against the mechanisms of sexual exploitation between poor and rich countries. IMBRADIVA seeks an immigration policy in which the oppression of women is not tolerated in any form. IMBRADIVA aims to improve the self-esteem of Brazilian migrants, as well as to recognise their education and culture. In addition, the organisation supports women’s groups, and organises projects in Brazil.
In the past, Imbradiva has gradually increased phone-counselling (Beratungstätigkeit) of Brazilian female migrants. The phone calls reflected the critical personal situation of women, as well as the need for information and advice regarding family, legal and health questions. In particular, health counselling is important, and is provided by voluntarily female gynaecologists with additional training through the organisation. In most of the cases counselling takes place Portuguese.
In order to provide effective counselling and aid, the organisation co-operates with social and youth offices, prosecutors, lawyers, medical doctors who require language knowledge, women’s shelters, women representatives in various institutions, Brazilian consulates, language schools, kindergartens, translators, interpreters and the Caritas organisation.
IMBRADIVA organises seminars, cultural and political sessions and creates training and information materials. In addition, the organisation’s social workers attend to the Portuguese-speaking female prisoners of the penal institution, Preungesheim, in Frankfurt am Main, incarcerated due to drug smuggling.20
IAF e.V., Verband binationaler Familien und Partnerschaften (the Association of bi-national Families and Partnerships)
The non-profit association, IAF,.e.V., represents the interests of bi-national families and couples since 1972, while active through 30 regional groups in Germany and abroad. Most of its members work on voluntary basis, bringing in their personal experience. The association's main goal is to make possible that people from different cultures may live together.
IAF promotes the idea of the social and legal equality of people, irrespective of their skin colour or cultural origin. The organisation and the experience of its ca. 2000 members make possible the spreading of knowledge and information through
20Based on information email of IMBRADIVA to BIVS, 2003. 12 publications, public events and education seminars. The organisation offers aid and advice in ten towns, and three federal states (Hessen, Saxony, Northrhein- Westphalia) have regional offices (Landesgeschäftsstellen). In addition, twelve other representatives, located in different cities, are in close contact with the organisation and function as contact persons for bi-national couples in their respective regions.
Another focal point of their work is the counselling of women and men in all questions of bi-national relationships. Legal limitations as well as various forms of disadvantages and discrimination are the reason to inform the public and present proposals to legislative representatives. To achieve this aim, the association focuses on lobbying through press meetings, events, podium discussions, and so on. It is their goal to develop contacts to other organisations and to the local political process, aiming at a creation of networks relevant to political decision-making.
IAF is a member of the German Women's Council (Deutsches Frauenrat), Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband and of the European Conference of Binational/ Bicultural Relationships (ECB).
IAF leads the German chairmanship at the European Co-ordination Office for the Rights of Foreigners to Family Life21, is active at the National Coalition (NC) for children's rights. IAF is a partner of the Austrian IFIBEL - Women's Initiative Bicultural Marriages and Partnerships"22, the French organisations, Alliances sans frontieres and Conseil national des associations Familiales Laiques en France (cnafal), the Italian organisation r.a.f.i.c and a.f.a.r.t. in Tunisia, as well as the Dutch organisation, Lawine, with a seat in Amsterdam.
Ban Ying Ban Ying is a non-profit organisation protecting women affected by violence and trafficking in women from Thailand and other countries. The organisation consists of two parts – a shelter and a co-ordination office (Beratungsstelle).
The organisation was established in 1988 as an initiative of social workers working in one counselling centre in Berlin, where they noticed the need to open a counselling centre focusing on women from Thailand, since their involuntary involvement in prostitution called for action. Consequently, a first shelter for Thai and South Asian women fleeing from traffickers served as a safe haven.
In 1991 the second pillar of the organisation was created as a project, the Ban Ying Co-ordination Office, counsels South Asian women in all life situations (as many as can be accommodated in the shelter), as well as attends to victims of trafficking, many of whom find temporary accommodation in various other shelters. Ban Ying co- operates with other organisations, including counselling centres and women's shelters, in addressing the issue of trafficking of women.
Currently, the organisation works not only with women from Thailand, but also from other countries. 80 percent of the women they come into contact with are married to German men.
21 Europäischen Koordination für das Recht der Ausländer auf Familienleben. 22 Fraueninitiative bikulturelle Ehen und Lebensgemeinschaften, seated in Vienna . For description see the country report on Austria. 13 Agisra e.V. (Arbeitsgemeinschaft gegen internationale sexuelle und rassistische Ausbeutung e.V.)
Agisra is a non-profit intercultural women’s organisation, established in 1983 in Frankfurt am Main. The aim of their work is to improve the living and working conditions of women migrants and refugee women, to sensitise the public and draw attention to discrimination against women migrants, violence on migrants as well as trafficking in women. As tools the organisation uses public relations work, workshops, seminars and lobbying in at various platforms, and works directly with migrants in the form of counselling, advice, accompaniment, and organisational help.
Counselling is anonymous and free of charge, functioning on the principle of “help to self-help”. The target group are women. The clients are between 20 and 60 years, and come from various countries. Agisra offers counselling in the respective languages, including in various African languages, in addition to personal and telephone counselling.
The employees of the organisation who are active throughout Germany, are of various cultures of origin. The majority has also experienced migration personally. The organisation works with African women’s organisations, women’s shelters, various migrants’ organisations, and public offices. Due to a better exchange of information, the organisation co-operates with these organisations on various projects and is a member of KOK.
On the international level, the organisation is building co-operation networks with partner organisations in Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa, serving as a basis for awareness-raising and informational activities in the countries of origin. Agisra supports exchange programmes as well as the extension and creation of contact points for returning migrants.23
Professional counselling is offered in particular for women migrants from Africa, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, as well as those who have suffered structural, physical or psychological violence through forced marriage, prostitution, trafficking or flight. Many women have come to Germany as tourists and had married in order to escape illegality.
Papatya
Papatya is a shelter for runaway girls and young women with a migrant background located in Berlin, who accommodates girls of mostly Turkish24 and Arab origin at a secret address, striving to work out solutions for their future with them and their parents. The girls are between 13 to 21 years of age. The organisation is financed by the city of Berlin.
Since 1997 Papatya has been taking part in the Daphne program of the European Commission and has built up a network of NGOs as well as done some research on
23 Activity Report (Tätigkeitsbericht) 2000/01. 24 The Turkish community is the biggest migrant group in Berlin. 14 the situation of girls and young women with a migrant background in seven European countries. The organisation also co-operates with women’s organisations in Turkey.
Forced marriage is one of the reasons of the girls to flee from home– 20-30 percent of the girls faced this problem. In 2002 the organisation came across 25 cases. Most of them are minors and run away before they are legally married. For the families the traditional or religious celebrations are important in order to signal the girl’s change of status and are also consider the rituals related to this status change to be of great importance, including the bridal night. The organisation’s main interest in this issue is child protection. Marriage migration, as a problem, is of secondary interest to the organisation, even though there is a very strong link between the two issues.25
In Germany, there are also other organisations tackling the issue of marriage migration indirectly in the course of their work. The organisations described subsequently belong to this group of NGOs. For instance, there are organisations dealing with the issue of marriage migration who also focus on the problem of trafficking in human beings. Other organisations helping refugee women in critical situations also touch upon this issue.
Amnesty for women supports female migrants of all nationalities, especially from Thailand and the Philippines, Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe. Aims include enforcing their rights and improving their legal situation, recognition of women-specific flight motives, social and legal assistance and co-operation with local, national and international organisations. The organisation’s seat is in Hamburg (http://www.amnestyforwomen.de).
Bacim (DRK) provides counselling for Turkish women. This organisation is co- sponsored by the German Red Cross, and has existed for over 15 years. The organisation is located in Berlin and has a family-oriented counselling project with social and psychological assistance for women from Turkey. Other areas dealt with include the environment, health, household, literature, theatre, massage, physical education and belly dancing. Special counselling exists regarding residence permits, nationality, training possibilities and social security. (http://www.drk_berlin.de/kv_city/bacim.htm).
Bella Donna e.V. offers counselling, crisis intervention, housing, psychological and medical assistance in all areas of life for prostitutes and victims of human trafficking, including support, observation and evaluation of legal proceedings. Networking with organisations from their home countries is a further area of focus (www.belladonnaev.com). The organisation is based in Frankfurt/Oder a city bordering Poland.
Beratungs- und Informationsstelle für Migrantinnen aus Afrika, Asien, Lateinamerika und Osteuropa. Psychological support and legal advice for victims of human trafficking and female marriage migrants are the main activities of the organisation. Assistance for female witnesses in human trafficking proceedings is provided. (www.blueplanet-ev.de ).
25 Information is taken from the presentation of the organisation Papatya at the Eurofor Conference, Marriage Migration Workshop, December 2003. 15 Dona Flor e.V. was founded in 1988. The non-profit organisation aims at establishing contacts between Germans and Brazilians. It is especially dedicated to promoting the integration of Brazilian women who have migrated to Germany through social and cultural activities (www.donaflor.de ).
FIZ Stuttgart is a project that attends to the needs of women who have entered Germany through human traffickers or marriage migration and who live in social, economic and legal distress, i.e., who are being exploited as prostitutes, spouses or illegal maids. It offers support and advice for women from Asia, Latin America and Africa, aiming at reducing racist discrimination and discrimination against women (www.fif_frankfurt.de/6fiz.htm).
Some of these organisations work at local level, such as the Frauenberatungsstelle Düsseldorf e.V., which supports women victims of human trafficking, female migrants, and women in forced marriages, irrespective of their nationality or culture. In Berlin, IN VIA Berlin focuses on women from Central and Eastern Europe who have been forced to prostitution or have fallen victims to domestic violence or human trafficking. Legal advice and psychological support and assistance for returning is provided (www.invia.caritas.de ).
In Munich, the organisation JADWIGA offers social, legal and medical support and advice for women in crisis situations, in particular for women from Central and Eastern Europe who are victims of human trafficking through prostitution tourism, international marriage agencies and illegal job offerings. JADWIGA promotes co- operation with the countries of origin of the affected women.
The organisation KOBRA e.V. provides psychological support and legal advice to trafficked women. Besides, if provides assistance in legal proceedings and helps the women when they return in their home countries (www.kobra-ev.de).
KOK - Koordinierungskreis gegen Frauenhandel Gewalt an Frauen im Migrationsprozeß e.V. (National Coordination Center Against Trafficking in Women and Violence Against Women in Migration). This organisation, founded in 1987, aims at preventing the violation of women’s rights through public campaigning and an overt condemnation of human trafficking in women as a violation of human rights. Furthermore, it tries to improve the legal and social situation of female migrants living in Germany as well as to de-criminalise women working in the sex industry. KOK cooperates with NGOs as well as state organisations (www.kok- potsdam.de).
The organisation KOOFRA provides housing, psychological and medical support and legal advice for trafficked women. Women are accompanied on visits to the authorities, offered therapy, and offered help in preparing their return to their countries of origin.
Rosa e. V. offers refuge to non-German women fleeing from forced marriages and domestic violence (http://www.graswurzel.net/253/rosa.shtml).
The organisation Solwodi e.V. offers help to women in Germany who have fallen victim to traffickers in human beings, sex tourists and marriage agents. Solwodi co-
16 operates with other counselling and aid organisations in Africa, Asia, Latin America (http://www.solwodi.de).
Support and advice for Thai women is offered by the organisation THARA e.V, which organises events, seminars and workshops and functions as a forum for exchange and dissemination of information, experiences and knowledge. The organisation was established and is run by a researcher, Ms. Pataya Ruenkaew (http://www.thailife.de).
4. Institutions Involved in the Organisation of Marriage Migration
In Germany, there are approximately 400 international marriage arrangement agencies (Partnervermittlungsagenturen). According to the assessment of the German Professional Association for Partner Mediation in Europe (Berufsverband für Partnervermittler in Europa), 90% of these agencies are not trustworthy.26
During our research, it was impossible to gain information on organisations within immigrant communities active in the field of arranging marriages between members of their community.27
Internet research on partner mediation and marriage arrangement agencies has showed that it is prevalently Thai women that are on offer through this service, followed by women from Rumania, Russia, China, the Philippines and Ukraine.
Statistical information showed that German men tend to marry women from Poland, Russia, Thailand, Romania, Bosnia, the Ukraine and Turkey. German women tend to marry men from Turkey, former Yugoslavia, Italy, the USA, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Austria, Morocco, Poland and Great Britain/Northern Ireland.
CG Partnervermittlung e.K. offers marriage mediation and contact mediation of Chinese women. The agency is a member of the Professional Association of Partner Mediators in Europe (www.china-girls.de). The organisation is seated in the town of Dingolfing.
Interfriendship is a German single-community for private East-West contacts. They offer women with character traits which can no longer be found among Western European women. They do not see themselves as a marriage agency “We are not a marriage agency, but we establish uncomplicated, direct contacts for only a small fee.” Prices are 25 Euros per woman with picture and description (www.interfriendship.de).
Eurodamen is a marriage agency for women from Kiev, Ukraine, and is a member of the Professional Association of Partner Mediators in Europe. Specialising in organised trips to Kiev or Germany, it is a privately-owned agency with a seat in Bochum (www.eurodamen.com). Another agency mediating contacts to Russian
26 Ratgeber für Internationale Partnersuche. Available online at http://www.bvp-berufsverband.de/ratgeber.htm, accessed 2.2.2004. 27 During the research we only slight hints by Imbradiva and www.frauenrechte.de were articulated.
17 women is Russische Frauen Partnervermittlung, which mediates between German- or English- speaking Russian women and interested German men (http://russische-frauen.net). The number of agencies mediating contacts to Russian women are quite numerous, as is the Marriage Mediation and Contact Mediation of Russian Women from the City of Perm (www.perm.4cool.de or people.freenet.de/valentina.perm).
In the Rhein Area of Germany the agency DPP Ruhrgebiet - German-Philippine Partnerships, promises that: “The Philippines mean joy of life”. The marriage agency completely arranges trips to the Philippines and personal contacts to Filipino women (www.dpp-bayern.de).
Thai Liebe agency attracts customers with a slogan “Asian women of your dreams ... We guarantee for an arrangement without a time limit up to marriage and assistance of up to two months afterwards” (www.thai-liebe.de). The agency, Impuls Partnervermittlung, is an international marriage agency offering Thai women to German- speaking men in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. On its website, the agency promises that: “These women are completely unprejudiced and have not had any prior experience with men... They do not have any idealistic ideas of life in Germany." (www.impuls-partnervermittlung.de). Similarly, agency “Thai Frau (Thai Woman)” also mediates personal contacts and offers Thai women to German, Austrian and Swiss men. To quote their website: "Thai women for dating, friendship, romance and marriage. Free service." It is interesting to take a look at the website illustrations, showing a possible “a mini love story” between German man and Thai woman (www.thaifrau.de).
Some of the agencies have their offices located both in Germany and in Thailand, including “AsiaDream”, with seats in Weinheim (Germany) and Chonburi (Thailand). The agencies offer its services to Austrian clients as well (www.asiadream.org).
As an individual case we have discovered an agency mediating contacts to Romanian women. Agency “Jerak”, run by a woman from Romania living in Germany, mediates contacts to Romanian women (www.jerak-online.com).
Some of the mediation agencies work for clients in other the German speaking countries, such as Austria and Switzerland. Yet, there are marriage arrangement agencies working exclusively at the German level, as shown in the annexed list.
5. Situation in Germany - Forms of Marriage Migration and Related Problems
As observed, non-governmental organisation devoted (often on voluntary basis, such as IMBRADIVA) to the protection of female migrants, dislike the distinction between "normal migrants" and marriage migrants. The main aim of their work is to help individuals with a migrant background establish their lives in Germany, find their position and role in the society, further their self-development in employment life, and master the problems that they may encounter in Germany. For this reason, many of the organisations do not question the women turning to them for help as to why and how they entered the country. For them the most important question is how to solve the concrete problems the migrant women are faced with.
18 Forced Marriages
In Germany, forced marriage is the most problematic aspect of marriage migration, as well as the aspect that receives the most attention from the media. So far, it has not been addressed by government institutions. According to the organisation, Terre des Femmes, awareness of forced marriage as a national problem is still very low.
The aspects of forced marriage within the legal framework of migration in Germany can be illustrated with three examples, representing very common forms of forced marriage.
1. The first are the so-called “import-brides”: young women who are brought to Germany from their home countries for reasons of marriage. 2. The second illustrative form is that of girls born in Germany or living here for a long time who were brought to the home countries of their parents against their will. 3. The third group consists of second or third-generation female migrants who are in possession of the German nationality and are often used as an easy way to obtain a residence permit by family reunification (Terre des Femmes).
Legal problems due to the forced marriage can be also illustrated on the basis of the three main forms of forced marriages (Terre des Femmes).
For the so-called import brides, section 19 of the German Foreigners Act has very important consequences. It says that the residence permit is dependent upon her husband for two years. This means that she cannot obtain a residence permit without being married. If she wants to divorce within these two years, she faces deportation. Coming back to the home country due to a divorce would mean for most of the victims to be banished from the family.
When she has been in a relationship for two years, she can obtain a limited residence permit for one year. After this year she has to be able to afford the living costs on her own without depending on welfare.
The only other possibility for the woman is the hardship clause that is also part of section 19 of the German Foreigners’ Act. According to this act, in cases of a particular hardship (usually in cases of extreme domestic violence or forced prostitution), the residence permit is given to the victim before this period (2 years). But an obstacle is that not each German court accepts forced marriage as a particular hardship.
The second example concerns women who were brought to their countries of origin. Here we have two different situations- a girl who is in possession of a German passport; or a girl who holds only a residence permit.
Women who are in possession of a German passport have an option to make their way back with the help of the German embassy. There have already been some successful operations in which the women were brought back safely.
If the woman has a residence permit there is no way to bring her back with the help of German institutions. If she nevertheless manages to leave the country where she
19 had been forced into marriage, she still faces obstacles to regain her residence permit. In some cases the parents inform the police that the girl is not living in Germany anymore, and in this case the residence permit automatically expires. But even if this is not the case, the residence permit only lasts for 6 months when the person is not living in Germany.
When the woman is able to flee from forced marriage and wants to return to Germany after these 6 months, she is not permitted to enter the country. In some very limited cases they may be granted permission to return after the six-month period. She has to meet three conditions:
1.) 8 years of legal residence in Germany + 6 years of school attendance in Germany; 2.) afford the living costs by her own; 3.) be between 15 and 21 years of age.
For the second- and third- generation women who are forced into marriage with someone from their home country (sometimes even a relative), the most difficult legal aspect is the responsibility for the husband. The couple has to show a secure residence status, as well as proof of sufficient housing and income. There are many women who have to stop going to school in order to earn the living costs for the couple.28
Arranged Marriages
Only very little research has been carried out in the area of arranged marriages, since it touches upon the private life of an individual and the general perception of marriage as an act of “love”, not a rational consideration. Therefore, it is very difficult to carry out objective research. According to Ruenkeaw’s research interviewing Thai- German couples, many of the German men who get to know their future wife with the assistance of an agency, lack contact to German women and other people in general, are shy and reserved. In other cases they are fully consumed by their work and have no time to engage in “woman search”, or are unable to establish natural contacts with women. In a few cases it was even the mother of the man who engaged an agency to search for a woman for the lonely sun. The spectrum is wide, and while it is not only sex tourists bring Thai women to Germany as their wives, this is certainly sometimes the case.
Ruenkaew concludes that it is in many cases men who suffer from loneliness brought about by the society (lack of contacts), who search for a woman through marriage agencies, acquaintances, advertisements or eventually through sex tourism. The outcome of her research showed that on the side of the Thai women married to a German man, it is not love, but thankfulness for being economically and socially secured. The husband usually feels that he has in some way achieved what he wanted, that he is not lonely anymore and is being well taken care of. Although such marriages are not exactly love marriages, in many cases they are balanced and functionL (Ruenkaew 1997: 37-38).29
28 Terre des Femmes, Presentation, Eurofor Conference, Marriage Migration Workshop , December 2003. 29 The conclusion is based on personal interviews by Ruenkaew. 20 Conclusion
The aim of this country study was to investigate the implications of the issue of marriage migration to Germany. It can be concluded that marriage migration into this country, in all its forms and with all the problems it often means for women who live as female marriage migrants in Germany, is - to put it shortly - the “most natural” aspect of life in a country which has to re-define itself as a country of immigration. To repeat the statistical data for 2001, “every sixth marriage celebrated in 2001 was a bi- national one, and it is important to note that bi-national marriages of the German nationals abroad are not statistically collected”. Rather than focusing on limiting and hindering marriage migration, the German legislation and public offices have to focus on implementation of conditions for steering and improving the status of female marriage migrants living and coming to live in this country. In addition, intensive and targeted support for all actors, as well as awareness-raising activities in order to prevent horror stories of forced marriages are intensely needed.
As for the legislative element of marriage migration in Germany, the change of article 19 of the Aliens’ Act (in case of separation or divorce, the right to independent residence is now granted after 2 instead of 4 years of residence in Germany) had not until now resulted in improvements. The women still have to prove to the Aliens’ Office (Ausländeramt) that they or their children had been subjected to violence if they wish to be separated from their husbands before the time limit of 2 years is reached.
Although the law foresees a Particular Hardship Regulation (Härtefallregelung) without a time limit, still, the Aliens’ Offices are making use of this measure in their work. On the contrary, in 2002, with the implementation of the Act on Protection against Violence (Gewaltschutzgesetz, on 1st January 2002), the Aliens’ Offices stubbornly started demanding proofs of the committed violence. As the organisation noticed, an impression is evoked that the still valid regulation of public management (Verwaltungsvorschriften), in particular in order to take into consideration the information provided by the affected woman, the counselling centre of the women's shelter, are successively been set out of practice (Arbeitsbericht der Beratungsstelle für Migrantinnen aus Afrika, Asien, Lateinamerika und Osteuropa für das Jahr 2002: 12-13).
Whereas in the past it was often only been possible to obtain an independent right of residence (according to the article 19 of the Aliens Act) with the assistance of a counselling organisation, currently this is nearly impossible without the help of the counselling centre (Arbeitsbericht der Beratungsstelle für Migrantinnen aus Afrika, Asien, Lateinamerika und Osteuropa für das Jahr 2002: 12-13).
Hence, it is evident that the counselling organisations, in particular NGOs working at local levels, have an extremely important role in providing help to female marriage migrants in Germany. Starting with help when applying for independent residence permits, through assistance at various contacts with public offices, organization of language courses, psychological therapy, provision of accommodation critical cases of domestic violence or forced marriage, the organisations of third sector provide highly necessary aid to female marriage migrants. Moreover, these organisations
21 represent in far too many cases the only “helping hand” for female marriage migrants, often isolated, living in Germany.
This country study has offered a rudimentary description of the presence and services provided by partner mediation and marriage arrangement agencies. Their activities shall be analysed more extensively in the course of the succeeding project “Protection and Aid Measures for Female Marriage Migrants from Third Countries in the Member States of the European Union (HeiRat II)”.
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25 LIST OF ORGANISATIONS
State Institutions:
Berliner Senatsverwaltung für Arbeit, Berufliche Bildung und Frauen Senatsverwaltung für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Frauen Abteilung Arbeit Storkower Straße 134 10407 Berlin Tel.: 9022 - 230 0 - 6 Email: [email protected]_berlin.de Email: [email protected]
Non-Governmental Organisations:
IMBRADIVA e.V. (Iniciativa de Mulheres Brasileiras contra Discriminacao e Violencia) Zentrale IMBRADIVA e.V. Egonstrasse 17 D-79106 Freiburg www.imbradiva.de mailto:[email protected]
Agisra e.V. Email: [email protected] http://www.agisra.de
Amnesty for women Große Bergstr. 231 22767 Hamburg Tel.: 040-384753 Fax: 040-385758 [email protected] Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.amnestyforwomen.de
Bacim (DRK) Oldenburger Straße 22, 10551 Berlin Tel. (030) 395 30 37 _ Fax (030) 395 30 55, Website: http://www.drk_berlin.de/kv_city/bacim.htm bacim@berlin_city.drk.de
Ban Ying e.V. Beratungsstelle (counselling centre) Koordinationsstelle Anklamer Str. 38 10115 Berlin Tel.: 030-4406373/74 Fax: 030-4405375
26 Email: [email protected] http://www.ban-ying.de
Bella Donna e.V. Heinrich-Hildebrandt Str. 22 15232 Frankfurt/Oder www.belladonnaev.com Email: [email protected]
Beratungs- und Informationsstelle für Migrantinnen aus Afrika, Asien, Lateinamerika und Osteuropa. Informationszentrum Dritte Welt Herne Owerwegstr. 31 44624 Herne Tel.: 02323-9949719 Fax: 02323-9949711 www.blueplanet-ev.de Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Bundesinitiative zur Änderung des § 19 Ausländergesetz Federal Initiative to change § 19 of the Foreigners Act c/o IZ3W Owerwegstr. 31 44625 Herne Tel.: 02323-9949720 Fax: 02323-9949711
Dona Flor e.V. Postfach 335 79003 Freiburg Fax: 0761-4538585 www.donaflor.de [email protected]
Fach- und Beratungsstelle Düsseldorf e.V. Projekt für Migrantinnen
FIZ Stuttgart Landhausstr. 62 70190 Stuttgart Tel.: 0711-261891 Fax:0711-264053 http://www.fif_frankfurt.de/6fiz.htm
Frankfurter Institute für Frauenforschung www.fif-frankfurt.de email: [email protected] [email protected] or [email protected] or [email protected] mailto:[email protected]
FiM, Frauenrecht ist Menschenrecht. www.frauenarbeit-ekhn.de/fim.html
27 Frauenberatungsstelle Düsseldorf e.V. Ackerstr. 144 40233 Düsseldorf Tel.: 0211-686854 Fax: 0211-676161 Email: [email protected]
IAF, Verband binationaler Familien und Partnerschaften (Association of Binational Families and Partnerships) Oranienstr. 34 10997 Berlin Tel.: 030-6153499 Fax: 030-6159267 Website: www.verband-binationaler.de
Bundesgeschäftsstelle Ludolfusstr. 2-4 60487 Frankfurt/Main Tel.: 069-713756-0 Fax: 069-7075092 Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
IMBRADIVA e.V. www.imbradiva.de [email protected] [email protected]
IN VIA Berlin www.invia.caritas.de Pfalzburger Str. 18 10719 Berlin Tel.: 030-86424850 Fax: 030-86424879 IN VIA Freiburg: [email protected]
JADWIGA München Lessingstr. 3 80336 München Tel.: 089-54497233 Fax: 089-54497232 [email protected]
KOBRA e.V. Postfach 4762 30047 Hannover Tel.: 0511-7011517 Fax: 0511-7011369 Email: [email protected]
28 www.kobra-ev.de
KOK - Koordinierungskreis gegen Frauenhandel Gewalt an Frauen im Migrationsprozeß e.V. (National Coordination Center Against Trafficking in Women and Violence Against Women in Migration) Behlertstr. 35 14467 Potsdam Tel. 0331-280330-0 Fax: 0331-280330-7 Website: www.kok-potsdam.de Email: [email protected], [email protected] or judy.gummich@kok- potsdam.de
KOOFRA Postfach 306144 20327 Hamburg Tel.: 040-67999757 Fax: 040-67999758 Email: [email protected]
ONA (Shelter for women from Central and Eastern Europe) Postfach 870218 13162 Berlin Tel.: 030-48096281 Fax: 030-48096282
Papatya c/o Jugendnotdienst Mindener Str. 14 10589 Berlin Tel. 030-3499934 Email: [email protected] http://www.papatya.org
Rosa e. V. Rosa e.V. Postfach 401067 70410 Stuttgart Tel. 0711-539825 http://www.graswurzel.net/253/rosa.shtml Email: [email protected]
Solwodi e.V. Tel. 06741-2232, Fax: 06741-231 Email: [email protected] or [email protected] http://www.solwodi.de
Terre des femmes Terre des femmes e.V. Postfach 2565 72015 Tübingen 29 Tel.: 07071-7973-0 Fax: 07071-7973-22 Email: [email protected] or tdf.geschäftsfü[email protected] http://www.terre-des-femmes.de
THARA e.V. c/o Pataya Ruenkaew Julius-Leber-Str. 3 33615 Bielefeld Tel./Fax: 0521-891038 Email: [email protected] or [email protected] http://www.thailife.de
ZAPO Oranienstr. 34 10997 Berlin Tel.: 030-61402409 Fax: 030-61402410 Email: [email protected] www.radapl.de
Verband binationaler Ehen und Partnerschaften (see IAF) Johannisstr. 13 66111 Saarbrücken Email: [email protected]
Zufluchtswohnung ONA Postfach 870218 13162 Berlin Tel.: 030-48096281 Fax: 030-48096282 Email: [email protected]
Dorothea Lochmann Advise for binational couples www.solu.de [email protected]
30 ADDRESSES OF PARTNER MEDIATION AND MARRIAGE ARRANGEMENTS AGENCIES
Marriage mediation and contact mediation of Russian women from the city of Perm. Email:[email protected] Website: www.perm.4cool.de or people.freenet.de/valentina.perm
CG Partnervermittlung e.K. Mozartstr. 44 84130 Dingolfing Germany AG Landshut HRA 8663 Tel: 08731/3193812 Fax: 08731/3958924 Email: [email protected] Website: www.china-girls.de
Interfriendship Kaiser and Schröder OHG Pfärrle 19 86152 Augsburg Germany Fax: 089 / 2443 19719 Tel: 0700 FRIENDSHIP [email protected] Webseite: www.interfriendship.de
Eurodamen Owner: Wolfgang Barth Industriestr. 29 44892 Bochum Germany [email protected] Website: www.eurodamen.com
ARCADIA Introductions e.K. Burzstr. 8 48529 Nordhorn Germany (registered at the commercial register, Amtsgericht Nordhorn HRA 2385) Tel: 02342399843 Fax: 05921992988 Email: [email protected]
DPP Ruhrgebiet - German-Philippine Partnerships Kettelerstr. 35 45731 Waltrop Germany
31 Tel: 02309 70464 Fax: 012125 41547013 Email: [email protected] Contact person: Ms Elvie Handick Website: www.dpp-bayern.de
Russische Frauen Partnervermittlung Website: http://russische-frauen.net Email: [email protected]
Thai Liebe Ingo Schräpler Friedersdorfer str. 21 06804 Muldenstein Germany Tel: 3493 510117 Tax: 3493 57668 Funk: 0162 7102065 Email: [email protected] Website: www.thai-liebe.de
Impuls Partnervermittlung Uwe Klasing Alter Postweg 86 38518 Gifhorn Germany Tel: 05374 672342 Mobile: 0175 5928746 Fax: 0721151 253003 [email protected] Website: www.impuls-partnervermittlung.de
Thai Frau (Thai Woman) Uwe Ellenberger Strandallee 75 23683 Haffkrug Germany Tel: 01212 5 123 62 520 Email: [email protected] Website: www.thaifrau.de
AsiaDream Rolf D. Horrey Odenwalderstr. 6 69469 Weinheim Tel.: 06201 995600 Fax 06201 995698 Email [email protected]
32 In Thailand: Asiadream Co., Ltd. 18/8 Moo 13 20260 Chonburi-Thailand Tel: 006638734387 Website: www.asiadream.org Also applies for Austria.
Jerak Focus: Romanian women. Jenica Keller Pattweg 6 50259 Pulheim www.jerak-online.com [email protected]
There are also numerous German marriage agencies specialised in Asia:
AIS Duering + Partner Asia Asia-Kontakte Asia-Kontakt-Mallkt Jasmin Asia Mahal Manila Millennium Partnervermittlung Yupin Philippinische Partervermittlung Roger Huber-Ladon Sunsite Service TBO Thai 4 You Thai Bride Thai Germany Thai-Partnervermittlung ThaiTwoHearts
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