Warning: This blog covers some extremely sensitive issues. The UK government has refused to define honour-based abuse – but it’s on the rise in Britain and risks remaining a hidden crime. With few legal options for honour-based abuse sufferers to pursue, Holland Family Law wants to further bring this issue into the light.
Honour-based abuse explained
Honour-based abuse (HBA) is a form of control, sometimes violence, perpetrated against individuals – more often than not women and girls – in the name of protecting the perceived honour, reputation, or status of a family or community.
HBA is rooted in cultural, religious, or traditional beliefs that serve to protect the collective reputation of a family or community over the right and autonomy of individuals.
The current situation with honour-based abuse
According to recent figures reported by The Guardian, and published by Today’s Family Lawyer, there has been a 60% rise in honour-based abuse offences recorded by police forces in England over the past two years.
This trend reflects 2,594 cases reported in 2022 compared to 1,599 in 2020. The rise in reported cases has been attributed to better police identification and heightened global political and social tensions around the issue of honour-based abuse offences.
However, the figures not only show that honour-based abuse cases are rising, but they’re becoming more severe.
Director at the Family Law Company, Imran Khodabocus, said: “My experience is that honour-based offences are not just rising, but they are getting more severe.”
“In cases like this, you can’t minimise the impact of global political and social issues. In my experience, some people are becoming more rigid in their thinking and this is creating more instances where they feel they must defend their, or their families’, honour,” Mr Khodabocus added.
The latest figures show that Metropolitan police forces in the West Midlands and Greater Manchester top the charts for honour-based abuse reports with a combined total of 1,213 cases reported.
Types of honour-based abuse
Key characteristics of honour-based abuse include:
#1 – Forced marriage: One of the most common types of honour-based abuse is forced marriage. This see individuals coerced or compelled into a marriage against their will. Abuse can involve threats, physical violence, emotional manipulation, and psychological pressure from family members.
#2 – Female genital mutilation (FGM): FGM involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. It is often justified as a way to control a woman’s sexuality, maintain her purity, and to uphold family honour. FGM can have serious physical, emotional, and psychological consequences for victims.
#3 – Physical and emotional abuse: Honour-based abuse can sometimes involve physical violence like beatings, torture, and confinement. Emotional abuse can include threats, intimidation, isolation, and public humiliation. Perpetrators use these tactics to exert power and control over their victims, and to enforce cultural or family norms.
#4 – Threats and intimidation: Victims of honour-based abuse may face threats of violence, including death threats, if they disobey family expectations or attempt to exercise their independence. These threats can create a climate of fear and silence, making it difficult for victims to seek help or escape abusive situations.
#5 – Social exclusion and stigmatisation: Honour-based abuse sufferers might be subjected to social exile, isolation, and stigma within their communities if they are perceived to have brought shame or dishonour upon their families. This can further perpetuate the cycle of abuse, making it difficult for victims to access support.
#6 – Control of behaviour and choices: The perpetrators of honour-based abuse seek to control every aspect of a victim’s life including:
- How they dress
- Their appearance (i.e. use of make-up)
- Relationships
- Education
- Employment
- Freedom of movement
This control is applied to maintain family and community power structures and uphold so-called traditional gender roles.
What is the UK government doing about the issue?
In 2023, MPs rejected calls to legally define honour-based abuse, which came as a blow to those suffering abuse, and despite a Women’s and Equalities Committee report that found ‘significant support for a shared legal definition of honour-based abuse, which it said would improve social and professional understanding and ultimately help to bring abusers to justice.’
In response, the Women’s and Equalities Committee Chair, Caroline Nokes MP, said: “We are disappointed the UK Government has rejected our call to introduce a statutory definition of honour-based abuse, similar to the domestic abuse definition in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. Ministers have said such a definition is unnecessary despite findings from our inquiry showing significant variation in understanding across statutory agencies.”
“The development of effective strategies to combat honour-based abuse is currently hampered by inadequate data collection. A statutory definition would help police officers and other frontline agencies recognise and record incidents of honour-based abuse accurately and consistently. This matters, a lack of data makes it difficult to identify where honour-based abuse occurs, in what forms, and importantly who is most at risk.
“While the UK Government is taking welcome steps in its efforts to tackle honour-based abuse and there is no doubt the issue is being taken seriously, it is clear that opportunities to protect victims are being missed and victims are deterred from reporting the crimes committed against them,” Nokes added.
What options do victims have?
Despite a lack of UK Government intervention to define honour-based abuse in Britain, victims do have several legal options available to them to seek protection, support, and justice, including:
#1 – Reporting to the police: Victims of honour-based abuse can report incidents to the police. Law enforcement agencies in the UK take honour-based abuse seriously and have specialised units or officers trained to handle such cases. Victims can report incidents of violence, threats, forced marriage, or other forms of abuse to the police, who can investigate, provide protection, and take legal action against perpetrators.
#2 – A Forced Marriage Protection Order (FMPO): Individual forced into marriage can apply for a Forced Marriage Protection Order (FMPO) through the Family Courts. An FMPO is a civil order that can contain various provisions to protect the victim, including preventing a forced marriage from taking place, prohibiting perpetrators from contacting or harassing the victim, and requiring perpetrators to surrender their passports.
#3 – Legal advice and representation: Honour-based abuse sufferers can seek legal advice and representation from solicitors or organisations specialising in domestic violence and human rights. Legal aid may be available to help victims access legal assistance, navigate the legal system, and obtain protective orders or injunctions against perpetrators.
#4 – Accessing support services: Various support services exist for victims of honour-based abuse in the UK, including shelters, helplines, counselling services, and advocacy organisations. These services offer practical, emotional, and legal support to victims and survivors, including assistance with safety planning, housing, financial support, and access to healthcare.
#5 – Participating in criminal proceedings: Victims of honour-based abuse have the right to participate in criminal proceedings against perpetrators, including providing evidence, making statements, and seeking protection measures such as restraining orders. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutes cases of honour-based violence and works to secure convictions against perpetrators.
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