A/HRC/4/23 page 21 (k) The marriage-marketing trade be closely monitored and rigorous protection mechanisms established for the persons concerned. The Special Rapporteur also urges States to draft, adopt and implement legislation such as the law in the Philippines that outlaws the activities of marriage brokers, and investigate networks and individuals that organize trafficking in women and girls for the purpose of forced marriages; (l) States ensure that men who apply for visas for a foreign spouse undergo background and criminal-record checks, and that the issuing of such visas be monitored in order to identify men who have a history of serial forced or broker-facilitated marriages. In some countries, non-governmental organizations and immigration authorities have reported that a number of men who apply for visas for a foreign spouse have a long and documented history of violence against women. Also, they may have applied for more than one such visa. Women who entered the country as the spouses of these men have in many cases ended up in shelters for battered women, and in some cases been deported.23 Protection and assistance of victims of forced marriage in the context of trafficking in persons, especially women and children (m) States ensure that all girls are given equal access to education and educational institutions, and enforce their right to education through mandatory measures as well as through scholarships and tuition programmes, trust funds and other measures that facilitate their education. This move for literacy should include legal and economic literacy, which should be regarded as an important step in supporting not only the returning victims of forced marriage, but also act as a catalyst for preventing the offence of forced marriage; (n) States consider simplifying the nullification process for a forced marriage, develop measures that enable victims of forced marriage, including in the context of trafficking in persons, to sue perpetrators under the civil law for damages and, where necessary, extend limitation periods for civil litigation and criminal prosecution of forced marriages; (o) States support public authorities and non-governmental and community-based organizations that already assist victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, including immigrant women and children, and establish more facilities to protect and assist victims of trafficking, including safe shelters that provide services such as security, housing, legal advice, employment, education, health care, childcare and relocation assistance for women and girls fleeing actual or threatened forced marriages. These shelters should, together with appropriate consular and other authorities, assist in the safe repatriation of those who have undergone forced marriages abroad, if desired; 23 Tove Smaadahl, Helene Hernes and Liv Langberg Drømmen om det gode liv: En rapport om utenlandske kvinner gift med norske menn som måtte søke tilflukt på krisesentrerne i 2001 (Oslo: Krisesentersekretariatet, 2002).