Swedish airport advises girls to tuck a spoon in their underwear

  • Girls putting a spoon in their underwear will raise the alarm Gothenburg Airport
  • Idea came from a British charity who have saved women from forced marriage
  • Activists will encourage other cities to adopt the spoon initiative to protect girls

The spoon in the underwear tactic is being used as a last-ditch effort to save girls from forced marriage

Girls travelling in Gothernburg are being told to tuck a spoon in their underwear if they fear being taken abroad for forced marriage or female genital mutilation (FGM).

Airport staff at Sweden’s second-largest city have been told how to respond in such circumstances.

‘The spoon will trigger metal detectors when you go through security checks,’ said Katarina Idegard, who tackles honour-based violence there. 

‘You will be taken aside and you can then talk to staff in private.’ 

Airport staff in Gothenburg have been trained to respond if the alarm is raised

Airport staff in Gothenburg have been trained to respond if the alarm is raised

 ‘It is a last chance to sound the alarm,’ Idegard added.

She said a national hotline received 139 calls last year about child marriage or forced marriage. 

Activists will encourage other cities to follow Gothenburg’s lead and adopt the spoon initiative to protect girls.

The idea comes from British charity Karma Nirvana, which said the tactic had already saved a number of girls in Britain from forced marriage.

Last month they called for tougher penalties on forced marriages after police revealed there had been more than 3,500 cases in the past three years. 

The charity said hiding a spoon in their underwear was a safe way for girls to alert the authorities which can be difficult if they were surrounded by family. 

Forced marriage and FGM are illegal in Sweden, even if carried out abroad, and punishable by prison terms.

Over 100 cases of child marriage or forced marriage were reported in Gothenburg last year

Over 100 cases of child marriage or forced marriage were reported in Gothenburg last year

In 2016, a father was convicted of forcing his daughter to marry against her will after tricking her into making a trip to Afghanistan.

In a 2014 case, a 14-year-old girl whose father had taken her to Ethiopia to marry an older cousin was rescued after asking a school counsellor for help via Facebook.

Idegard said a 2015 study found up to 38,000 girls and women living in Sweden may have undergone FGM — with victims including women born in Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Egypt and Gambia.

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