More young immigrants rebelling against parents

Ethnic youth in Denmark increasingly seeking help dealing with family demands

Apr 22, 2014

In 2013 the Rehabilitation Centre for Ethnic youth in Denmark received 227 enquiries from young immigrants seeking help dealing with family pressures and threats – three times as many as in 2006.

The statistics show that as many as 25 girls reported a threat of forced marriage, with 11 wanting to escape from an existing one.

Other sought help because of family threats, violence and social control, such as not being allowed to have a Danish partner.

Rebellion
Leader for the centre, Anita Johnsen, believes that there is currently a rebellion amongst young immigrants.

“They will simply not tolerate that their parents decide who they can be with or what they can or cannot do” she said to Jyllands Posten.

She believes that more youths with immigrant backgrounds are renouncing the culture of their parents from their homeland, distancing themselves from the idea of concepts such as honour and shame.

Too early to tell
However Susanne W. Fabricius, a project manager at the crisis centre for women and children, LOKK, believes that it is too early to tell whether there is a rebellion among young immigrants.

“But there is a movement, and there are more youths that are going up against this issue because they know that they can actually get help and that it is not ok to be restricted in this way,” she said to Jyllands Posten.

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