One local agency that offers assistance (SEIF, Selvhjelp for innvandrere og flyktninger) said pleas for help have tripled during the last five years.
The number of crisis cases skyrocketed after a young woman in Sweden was killed by her father in 2002, after she pursued a romantic relationship of her choice. A third of those seeking help in Norway are under age 18.
Even though many are equipped with new legal identities, new addresses and a portable alarm that summons police if they feel threatened, most say they won't feel secure until they're also allowed to change the number that everyone resident in Norway is issued by the government.
Many of those seeking help are escorted by teachers in whom they've confided at local public schools. Not all are girls who fear their fathers will force them to marry cousins or others handpicked by the parents. Several boys also have sought help, fearing for their lives if they refuse to accept the wife chosen by their parents.
