Oslo: Police advise threatened immigrant women not to take taxis

Oslo: Police advise threatened immigrant women not to take taxis

Some people in the taxi business report young immigrant women and jeopardize their safety.

"Our experience is that many of the girls are afraid to take a taxi. They say that the family works in the taxi business. If the women are seen in the city, it's reported back to the family," Gunnar Svensson of the Oslo police told NRK.

Svensson is the police representative in the government's team against forced marriages. He knows of 1,5000 cases in recent years where young women escaped forced marriages or honor-related violence.

"We have examples of girls who left the family, and got a phone call from family abroad who know where the women are," says Svensson.

In some cases the police advises the women to keep away from taxis. "In cases where people are exposed to threats, our advice is not to take a taxi. It's simply a security risk," says Svensson.

A Danish-Pakistani woman was shot and killed by her brother in Slagelse, Denmark, in 2005. The women was tracked down by a network of Danish-Pakistani taxi drivers after she chose her boyfriend.

Source: VG (Norwegian)