I find it faintly astonishing that all the women - girls, really - saying they hadn’t been coerced into the relationships was given such weight. Because they’re not going to say anything else on arrival - which complicates things even for the “Romeo & Juliet” spouses: being close in age is no guarantee of it being a safe, happy & voluntary relationship
Yes exactly. I think it's unlikely these are love marriages.
The existence of a wife, or a wife and kids, helps the case of these men. There is a motivational factor there.
If the wife is a child, that extra weighting given to his immigration case shouldn't exist.
In allowing child marriages in some circumstances Denmark is allowing this extra weighting and therefore encouraging these men to grab a female child en route as a wife. Because it is likely to make a big difference to the outcome for the male, whose journey is often a huge investment for his family. Often the family sink tons of their assets into getting him to Europe.
Posters suggesting that him being around is sometimes going to be beneficial for a girl need to explain why they think that. Why a child marriage is sometimes a good thing. Support in pregnancy? Well why is she pregnant at fifteen anyway? Oh yeah, it's because it suits him. He then has two dependents. He's then a "family man".
Separating them and treating cases as individuals might seem harsh, but if you see it as harsh then presumably you see child marriage as ok sometimes. It's not ok. It's not something that's a positive for a young girl.
And in a situation where the husband is likely to have no assets, no means of working, and is as unlikely to speak Danish as she is, I can't see what practical support an older husband could offer a child.
Assessing each on a case by case basis legitimises child marriage. It says it's ok sometimes.
Worst case scenario, she stays and he is deported, for example. Are these fifteen year old girls protesting to have their 30 year old husbands allowed to stay? Are they arguing that he's a great support? I'm not seeing that. Not anywhere.
Even referring to it as a blanket approach suggests that enforcing rules against child marriage is somehow strict and unfair. Being married to a child shouldn't be something that is supported some of the time.
I'd be very surprised if there was any evidence that these girls have suffered a detriment in having these men separated from them. The detriment is to the men, who posters are supporting, when their decision to bring a child bride along is likely driven by how much it helps their case. So in removing the requirement to split these couples up, it enforces the message to the men that it's a good idea to bring along a child bride, hence making it more likely it will continue to happen.