"The Spoon Trick" Is A Simple Thing That Victims Can Do To Escape Their Abductors Discreetly

"When is a spoon not just a spoon?"

Damjan

• Published in Interesting
• November 23, 2020

Thousands of people fall victim to human trafficking every year in their own and foreign countries. One of the reasons for committing such a crime is forced marriage. It is estimated that more than 15.4 million people were forced into marriages in 2016.

Of course, the majority were women and girls – 88% to be more exact. And the estimate is based on reported cases. Sadly, most of these abductions go unreported.

The UK-based charity “Karma Nirvana,” which helps victims of cruelty and involuntary marriage, came up with a way to notify the authorities that you’re at risk. They’ve named it “metal spoon technique,” which involves hiding a metal spoon in your undies to activate airport metal detectors.

The victim would be taken away for a body search, allowing them to raise the alarm securely and confidentially.

Concealing a metal spoon in underwear will activate airport metal detectors and will show the airport security that a person is in danger

Anup Magnota is the operations manager at Karma Nirvana, the charity that came up with this idea. Anup explained that one of their call handlers got the idea 9 years ago, after talking to a person who was worried about being taken abroad for marriage.

“The call handler reacted instinctively and stated to put a spoon in her underwear, and whilst going through security at the airport, she will have the opportunity of speaking to someone privately and disclose that she does not want to leave the country because of a forced marriage.”

Anup clarified that the spoon method is a weapon of last resort to prevent a victim from leaving the country, “as we will aim to work with partners to ensure a victim is removed from an abusive situation before.”

The metal spoon technique received a lot of attention after one person shared it on Twitter

Lockdown and quarantine periods have been a difficult time for many women who contacted Karma Nirvana. Anup said that “they experience constant surveillance by their perpetrators, who often are parents or their partner. We receive contacts via email, as it’s a safer way of seeking help.”

Fortunately, the challenging situation did not stop numerous victims from calling the helpline for help. “Victims have managed to call for help when they went for a walk or call when the perpetrator was out of the home.”

The UK administration has also contributed by developing ways to raise the alarm about maltreatment and physical abuse. “Victims can dial 55 when speaking to the police to alert they are a victim of domestic abuse. This will trigger a response to the address to get the victim away safely.”

People joined the discussion

Karma Nirvana was founded in 1993, and their helpline has been active since 2008. Anup said that they’ve had more than 100,000 contacts to the helpline.

“Over lockdown, since 23 March, we have supported 1371 people in the UK that are suffering honor-based abuse, at risk of forced marriage and domestic abuse,” Anup told the reporters.

The idea originated from a UK -based charity that helps victims of abuse and involuntary marriage

Anup emphasized that their organization would never decide for the victim but will give them options and support them, which is especially important when women lack confidence or have some language barriers.

“A case is never closed on the helpline, and our service will remain open regardless of where the victim is in the journey. Sometimes a victim will want to just speak to someone as they feel very low and require emotional support, which has increased significantly over the lockdown.”

And this is how people commented:

If you are at risk or have someone in the UK that is in danger, contact the British charity Karma Nirvana’s helpline for private support to both victims and professionals at 0800 5999 247.

Damjan