∆† Polygamy: "Activists Call for End of Polygamy Abuses" -- posted: 3/28/02


International Cultic Studies Association News Summaries: topic terrorism
		Vol. 1, No. 1, 2002
sub_H1_descrip_v3news


_______________________________________________
News Summaries
	News Summaries: February 15, 2002
	Group:	Founder:
	Category:	Topic: polygamy, children, legal
Polygamy Activists Call for End of Polygamy Abuses The following is excerpted from a February 5 press release produced by The Polygamy Justice Project, The Child Protection Project, and The International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) of the New York University School of Law Clinical Program. Activists are demanding that the United States put a stop to the serious human rights abuses against women and children that are being carried out in the name of religious freedom by polygamists in Utah . . . and neighboring states. They say that women and girls in polygamous communities are subjected to a pattern of abuses that violate not only U.S. law, but also U.S. obligations under international law. Federal and state governments have not adequately enforced the law, advocates charge, allowing to go unpunished abuses such as incest, violence, child marriage, trafficking in girls, coerced marriage of adult women, sexual abuse, and the denial of education and access to information. "As U.S. citizens, we like to believe that we are on the cutting edge of progress as a society. But women and children in polygamous communities in the U.S. are suffering daily from human rights violations that the perpetrators claim are justified by their religious beliefs," said Laura Chapman, director of the Colorado-based Polygamy Justice Project. "No religious belief excuses the reality." *Polygamy Experience* Chapman, who fled from a fundamentalist Mormon group 10 years ago, is all too familiar with the "crippling" effects of life in these communities. "Whenever I describe practices that were considered normal within my family and our polygamous community, people can't believe that this could be happening in the U.S. in the 21st century," said Chapman, whose efforts to help two girls escape forced marriages in polygamous families were chronicled on CBS's "48 Hours." . . . Many of these polygamous families belong to a religious group known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints, which broke away from the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints (the "Mormon Church") over the mainstream Church's official ban on polygamy. Although polygamy is prohibited by the Utah State Constitution and its bigamy statutes, the prosecution of Tom Green in 2001 for polygamy was the first since 1953. Most observers believe that Mr. Green was prosecuted only because he had embarrassed state officials through his aggressive promotion of polygamy in the media at a time when preparations for the Winter Olympics had focused public attention on Utah. Women and girls who have fled polygamous families report that religious teachings emphasize their duty to submit to the authority of their fathers, husbands, and male religious leaders, and link polygamy to their spiritual salvation. The religious teachings of these polygamous groups and the closed nature of their communities create conditions in which women and girls are especially vulnerable to violence, coercion, and abuse. . . Constitutional Defense These violations cannot be excused in the name of religious freedom. Leaders of polygamous groups and several public officials have claimed that religious freedom protects the right to practice polygamy. They argue that government action against polygamy-related abuses amounts to religious persecution. But religious practices that violate the human rights of others are not permitted by international law, which stipulates that religious practices can be restricted when necessary to protect the rights and freedoms of others. Nor does the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protect religious practices that cause harm to others. The harm associated with polygamy-related abuses puts these practices beyond the scope of religious freedom under the Constitution, including: the physical and mental harm caused by violence and abuse; the harmful effects of child marriage on a girl's health, educational opportunity and psychosocial development; and the harmful emotional and psychological consequences of isolation within communities that instill a belief in women's subordination. Officials in Utah, Arizona and the U.S. Federal Government have allowed those responsible for polygamy-related abuses to escape justice, with few exceptions.
____________________________________________ ^

News Summaries - group

*∆ News Section Index
News: added: by date index
News: by organization
∆†*News: by topic
∆‡* News: by group

___________________________________________^


International Cultic Studies Association News Summaries: topic terrorism
		Vol. 1, No. 1, 2002
sub_H1_descrip_v3news


_______________________________________________
News Summaries
	News Summaries: February 15, 2002
	Group:	Founder:
	Category:	Topic: polygamy, children, legal
Polygamy Activists Call for End of Polygamy Abuses The following is excerpted from a February 5 press release produced by The Polygamy Justice Project, The Child Protection Project, and The International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) of the New York University School of Law Clinical Program. Activists are demanding that the United States put a stop to the serious human rights abuses against women and children that are being carried out in the name of religious freedom by polygamists in Utah . . . and neighboring states. They say that women and girls in polygamous communities are subjected to a pattern of abuses that violate not only U.S. law, but also U.S. obligations under international law. Federal and state governments have not adequately enforced the law, advocates charge, allowing to go unpunished abuses such as incest, violence, child marriage, trafficking in girls, coerced marriage of adult women, sexual abuse, and the denial of education and access to information. "As U.S. citizens, we like to believe that we are on the cutting edge of progress as a society. But women and children in polygamous communities in the U.S. are suffering daily from human rights violations that the perpetrators claim are justified by their religious beliefs," said Laura Chapman, director of the Colorado-based Polygamy Justice Project. "No religious belief excuses the reality." *Polygamy Experience* Chapman, who fled from a fundamentalist Mormon group 10 years ago, is all too familiar with the "crippling" effects of life in these communities. "Whenever I describe practices that were considered normal within my family and our polygamous community, people can't believe that this could be happening in the U.S. in the 21st century," said Chapman, whose efforts to help two girls escape forced marriages in polygamous families were chronicled on CBS's "48 Hours." . . . Many of these polygamous families belong to a religious group known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints, which broke away from the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints (the "Mormon Church") over the mainstream Church's official ban on polygamy. Although polygamy is prohibited by the Utah State Constitution and its bigamy statutes, the prosecution of Tom Green in 2001 for polygamy was the first since 1953. Most observers believe that Mr. Green was prosecuted only because he had embarrassed state officials through his aggressive promotion of polygamy in the media at a time when preparations for the Winter Olympics had focused public attention on Utah. Women and girls who have fled polygamous families report that religious teachings emphasize their duty to submit to the authority of their fathers, husbands, and male religious leaders, and link polygamy to their spiritual salvation. The religious teachings of these polygamous groups and the closed nature of their communities create conditions in which women and girls are especially vulnerable to violence, coercion, and abuse. . . Constitutional Defense These violations cannot be excused in the name of religious freedom. Leaders of polygamous groups and several public officials have claimed that religious freedom protects the right to practice polygamy. They argue that government action against polygamy-related abuses amounts to religious persecution. But religious practices that violate the human rights of others are not permitted by international law, which stipulates that religious practices can be restricted when necessary to protect the rights and freedoms of others. Nor does the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protect religious practices that cause harm to others. The harm associated with polygamy-related abuses puts these practices beyond the scope of religious freedom under the Constitution, including: the physical and mental harm caused by violence and abuse; the harmful effects of child marriage on a girl's health, educational opportunity and psychosocial development; and the harmful emotional and psychological consequences of isolation within communities that instill a belief in women's subordination. Officials in Utah, Arizona and the U.S. Federal Government have allowed those responsible for polygamy-related abuses to escape justice, with few exceptions.
____________________________________________ ^

News Summaries - group

*∆ News Section Index
News: added: by date index
News: by organization
∆†*News: by topic
∆‡* News: by group

___________________________________________^


International Cultic Studies Association News Summaries: topic terrorism
		Vol. 1, No. 1, 2002
sub_H1_descrip_v3news


_______________________________________________
News Summaries
	News Summaries: February 15, 2002
	Group:	Founder:
	Category:	Topic: polygamy, children, legal
Polygamy Activists Call for End of Polygamy Abuses The following is excerpted from a February 5 press release produced by The Polygamy Justice Project, The Child Protection Project, and The International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) of the New York University School of Law Clinical Program. Activists are demanding that the United States put a stop to the serious human rights abuses against women and children that are being carried out in the name of religious freedom by polygamists in Utah . . . and neighboring states. They say that women and girls in polygamous communities are subjected to a pattern of abuses that violate not only U.S. law, but also U.S. obligations under international law. Federal and state governments have not adequately enforced the law, advocates charge, allowing to go unpunished abuses such as incest, violence, child marriage, trafficking in girls, coerced marriage of adult women, sexual abuse, and the denial of education and access to information. "As U.S. citizens, we like to believe that we are on the cutting edge of progress as a society. But women and children in polygamous communities in the U.S. are suffering daily from human rights violations that the perpetrators claim are justified by their religious beliefs," said Laura Chapman, director of the Colorado-based Polygamy Justice Project. "No religious belief excuses the reality." *Polygamy Experience* Chapman, who fled from a fundamentalist Mormon group 10 years ago, is all too familiar with the "crippling" effects of life in these communities. "Whenever I describe practices that were considered normal within my family and our polygamous community, people can't believe that this could be happening in the U.S. in the 21st century," said Chapman, whose efforts to help two girls escape forced marriages in polygamous families were chronicled on CBS's "48 Hours." . . . Many of these polygamous families belong to a religious group known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints, which broke away from the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints (the "Mormon Church") over the mainstream Church's official ban on polygamy. Although polygamy is prohibited by the Utah State Constitution and its bigamy statutes, the prosecution of Tom Green in 2001 for polygamy was the first since 1953. Most observers believe that Mr. Green was prosecuted only because he had embarrassed state officials through his aggressive promotion of polygamy in the media at a time when preparations for the Winter Olympics had focused public attention on Utah. Women and girls who have fled polygamous families report that religious teachings emphasize their duty to submit to the authority of their fathers, husbands, and male religious leaders, and link polygamy to their spiritual salvation. The religious teachings of these polygamous groups and the closed nature of their communities create conditions in which women and girls are especially vulnerable to violence, coercion, and abuse. . . Constitutional Defense These violations cannot be excused in the name of religious freedom. Leaders of polygamous groups and several public officials have claimed that religious freedom protects the right to practice polygamy. They argue that government action against polygamy-related abuses amounts to religious persecution. But religious practices that violate the human rights of others are not permitted by international law, which stipulates that religious practices can be restricted when necessary to protect the rights and freedoms of others. Nor does the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protect religious practices that cause harm to others. The harm associated with polygamy-related abuses puts these practices beyond the scope of religious freedom under the Constitution, including: the physical and mental harm caused by violence and abuse; the harmful effects of child marriage on a girl's health, educational opportunity and psychosocial development; and the harmful emotional and psychological consequences of isolation within communities that instill a belief in women's subordination. Officials in Utah, Arizona and the U.S. Federal Government have allowed those responsible for polygamy-related abuses to escape justice, with few exceptions.
____________________________________________ ^

News Summaries - group

*∆ News Section Index
News: added: by date index
News: by organization
∆†*News: by topic
∆‡* News: by group

___________________________________________^


International Cultic Studies Association News Summaries: topic terrorism
		Vol. 1, No. 1, 2002
sub_H1_descrip_v3news


_______________________________________________
News Summaries
	News Summaries: February 15, 2002
	Group:	Founder:
	Category:	Topic: polygamy, children, legal
Polygamy Activists Call for End of Polygamy Abuses The following is excerpted from a February 5 press release produced by The Polygamy Justice Project, The Child Protection Project, and The International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) of the New York University School of Law Clinical Program. Activists are demanding that the United States put a stop to the serious human rights abuses against women and children that are being carried out in the name of religious freedom by polygamists in Utah . . . and neighboring states. They say that women and girls in polygamous communities are subjected to a pattern of abuses that violate not only U.S. law, but also U.S. obligations under international law. Federal and state governments have not adequately enforced the law, advocates charge, allowing to go unpunished abuses such as incest, violence, child marriage, trafficking in girls, coerced marriage of adult women, sexual abuse, and the denial of education and access to information. "As U.S. citizens, we like to believe that we are on the cutting edge of progress as a society. But women and children in polygamous communities in the U.S. are suffering daily from human rights violations that the perpetrators claim are justified by their religious beliefs," said Laura Chapman, director of the Colorado-based Polygamy Justice Project. "No religious belief excuses the reality." *Polygamy Experience* Chapman, who fled from a fundamentalist Mormon group 10 years ago, is all too familiar with the "crippling" effects of life in these communities. "Whenever I describe practices that were considered normal within my family and our polygamous community, people can't believe that this could be happening in the U.S. in the 21st century," said Chapman, whose efforts to help two girls escape forced marriages in polygamous families were chronicled on CBS's "48 Hours." . . . Many of these polygamous families belong to a religious group known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints, which broke away from the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints (the "Mormon Church") over the mainstream Church's official ban on polygamy. Although polygamy is prohibited by the Utah State Constitution and its bigamy statutes, the prosecution of Tom Green in 2001 for polygamy was the first since 1953. Most observers believe that Mr. Green was prosecuted only because he had embarrassed state officials through his aggressive promotion of polygamy in the media at a time when preparations for the Winter Olympics had focused public attention on Utah. Women and girls who have fled polygamous families report that religious teachings emphasize their duty to submit to the authority of their fathers, husbands, and male religious leaders, and link polygamy to their spiritual salvation. The religious teachings of these polygamous groups and the closed nature of their communities create conditions in which women and girls are especially vulnerable to violence, coercion, and abuse. . . Constitutional Defense These violations cannot be excused in the name of religious freedom. Leaders of polygamous groups and several public officials have claimed that religious freedom protects the right to practice polygamy. They argue that government action against polygamy-related abuses amounts to religious persecution. But religious practices that violate the human rights of others are not permitted by international law, which stipulates that religious practices can be restricted when necessary to protect the rights and freedoms of others. Nor does the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protect religious practices that cause harm to others. The harm associated with polygamy-related abuses puts these practices beyond the scope of religious freedom under the Constitution, including: the physical and mental harm caused by violence and abuse; the harmful effects of child marriage on a girl's health, educational opportunity and psychosocial development; and the harmful emotional and psychological consequences of isolation within communities that instill a belief in women's subordination. Officials in Utah, Arizona and the U.S. Federal Government have allowed those responsible for polygamy-related abuses to escape justice, with few exceptions.
____________________________________________ ^

News Summaries - group

*∆ News Section Index
News: added: by date index
News: by organization
∆†*News: by topic
∆‡* News: by group

___________________________________________^


International Cultic Studies Association News Summaries: topic terrorism
		Vol. 1, No. 1, 2002
sub_H1_descrip_v3news


_______________________________________________
News Summaries
	News Summaries: February 15, 2002
	Group:	Founder:
	Category:	Topic: polygamy, children, legal
Polygamy Activists Call for End of Polygamy Abuses The following is excerpted from a February 5 press release produced by The Polygamy Justice Project, The Child Protection Project, and The International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) of the New York University School of Law Clinical Program. Activists are demanding that the United States put a stop to the serious human rights abuses against women and children that are being carried out in the name of religious freedom by polygamists in Utah . . . and neighboring states. They say that women and girls in polygamous communities are subjected to a pattern of abuses that violate not only U.S. law, but also U.S. obligations under international law. Federal and state governments have not adequately enforced the law, advocates charge, allowing to go unpunished abuses such as incest, violence, child marriage, trafficking in girls, coerced marriage of adult women, sexual abuse, and the denial of education and access to information. "As U.S. citizens, we like to believe that we are on the cutting edge of progress as a society. But women and children in polygamous communities in the U.S. are suffering daily from human rights violations that the perpetrators claim are justified by their religious beliefs," said Laura Chapman, director of the Colorado-based Polygamy Justice Project. "No religious belief excuses the reality." *Polygamy Experience* Chapman, who fled from a fundamentalist Mormon group 10 years ago, is all too familiar with the "crippling" effects of life in these communities. "Whenever I describe practices that were considered normal within my family and our polygamous community, people can't believe that this could be happening in the U.S. in the 21st century," said Chapman, whose efforts to help two girls escape forced marriages in polygamous families were chronicled on CBS's "48 Hours." . . . Many of these polygamous families belong to a religious group known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints, which broke away from the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints (the "Mormon Church") over the mainstream Church's official ban on polygamy. Although polygamy is prohibited by the Utah State Constitution and its bigamy statutes, the prosecution of Tom Green in 2001 for polygamy was the first since 1953. Most observers believe that Mr. Green was prosecuted only because he had embarrassed state officials through his aggressive promotion of polygamy in the media at a time when preparations for the Winter Olympics had focused public attention on Utah. Women and girls who have fled polygamous families report that religious teachings emphasize their duty to submit to the authority of their fathers, husbands, and male religious leaders, and link polygamy to their spiritual salvation. The religious teachings of these polygamous groups and the closed nature of their communities create conditions in which women and girls are especially vulnerable to violence, coercion, and abuse. . . Constitutional Defense These violations cannot be excused in the name of religious freedom. Leaders of polygamous groups and several public officials have claimed that religious freedom protects the right to practice polygamy. They argue that government action against polygamy-related abuses amounts to religious persecution. But religious practices that violate the human rights of others are not permitted by international law, which stipulates that religious practices can be restricted when necessary to protect the rights and freedoms of others. Nor does the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protect religious practices that cause harm to others. The harm associated with polygamy-related abuses puts these practices beyond the scope of religious freedom under the Constitution, including: the physical and mental harm caused by violence and abuse; the harmful effects of child marriage on a girl's health, educational opportunity and psychosocial development; and the harmful emotional and psychological consequences of isolation within communities that instill a belief in women's subordination. Officials in Utah, Arizona and the U.S. Federal Government have allowed those responsible for polygamy-related abuses to escape justice, with few exceptions.
____________________________________________ ^

News Summaries - group

*∆ News Section Index
News: added: by date index
News: by organization
∆†*News: by topic
∆‡* News: by group

___________________________________________^

International Cultic Studies Association
News Summaries: topic terrorism

News Summaries: February 15, 2002

Polygamy

Activists Call for End of Polygamy Abuses

Constitutional Defense

International Cultic Studies Association
News Summaries: topic terrorism

News Summaries: February 15, 2002

Polygamy

Activists Call for End of Polygamy Abuses

Constitutional Defense

International Cultic Studies Association
News Summaries: topic terrorism

News Summaries: February 15, 2002

Polygamy

Activists Call for End of Polygamy Abuses

Constitutional Defense

International Cultic Studies Association
News Summaries: topic terrorism

News Summaries: February 15, 2002

Polygamy

Activists Call for End of Polygamy Abuses

Constitutional Defense

International Cultic Studies Association
News Summaries: topic terrorism

News Summaries: February 15, 2002

Polygamy

Activists Call for End of Polygamy Abuses

Constitutional Defense

International Cultic Studies Association News Summaries: topic terrorism

News Summaries: February 15, 2002

Polygamy

Activists Call for End of Polygamy Abuses

Constitutional Defense

International Cultic Studies Association News Summaries: topic terrorism

News Summaries: February 15, 2002

Polygamy

Activists Call for End of Polygamy Abuses

Constitutional Defense

International Cultic Studies Association News Summaries: topic terrorism

News Summaries: February 15, 2002

Polygamy

Activists Call for End of Polygamy Abuses

Constitutional Defense

International Cultic Studies Association News Summaries: topic terrorism

News Summaries: February 15, 2002

Polygamy

Activists Call for End of Polygamy Abuses

Constitutional Defense

International Cultic Studies Association News Summaries: topic terrorism

News Summaries: February 15, 2002

Polygamy

Activists Call for End of Polygamy Abuses

Constitutional Defense

International Cultic Studies Association
News Summaries: topic terrorism

International Cultic Studies Association
News Summaries: topic terrorism

International Cultic Studies Association
News Summaries: topic terrorism

International Cultic Studies Association
News Summaries: topic terrorism

International Cultic Studies Association
News Summaries: topic terrorism