Honour-based abuse (HBA) is a crime committed by an individual to protect or defend the ‘honour’ of a family or community. The abuse can take many forms, including child marriage, virginity testing, enforced abortion, breast-flattening, female genital mutilation, as well as physical, sexual and economic abuse and coercive control.

Between March 2021 and March 2022, 2,887 HBA-related offences were recorded in the UK. Approximately seven cases a day are reported. However, the Home Office says that these cases are likely to only represent a small proportion of the actual offences committed.

Off the back of these statistics, the Women and Equalities Committee launched a UK inquiry into HBA. It recently published its findings in a report, released by Commons last month. It calls for a clear legal definition of honour-based abuse, which does exist for other crimes such as domestic violence and forced marriage, but is missing for HBA.

The absence of a clear definition means that police often incorrectly record the abuse and the context behind it, which makes it more difficult for these crimes to be prosecuted. A lack of definition also means that victims do not fully understand the implication of what is happening to them, and so the abuse goes unreported.

Also, many victims do not report the abuse to police because of their immigration status, in fear that they will be deported.  This means that abusers can exploit the vulnerability of victims, knowing full well that their behaviour will go unreported.

Consequently, the committee concluded in its report that careful procedures must be put in place, so that the police are unable to share data with the Home Office when dealing with HBA cases. Such procedures will protect the victim from any penalties relating to their immigration status, enabling them to report the abuse safe in the knowledge that they will be helped by the authorities and not penalised.

The report makes it clear that drastic change in the legal system is necessary to protect vulnerable women from abuse and to ensure the perpetrators are stopped and held to account.

HBA is deeply complex as it is infused with deep-rooted cultural beliefs and often perpetrated by family members and within communities. Prosecuting perpetrators of this type of abuse is therefore never going to be straightforward. However, a new regime could be adopted by authorities to make it easier for victims to come forward and to improve the success rate of convictions.

The main issues faced by the government and the police are examined below with some possible changes and steps to take.

Change in the law: a clear definition and a firewall

As recognised by the committee, the law needs to be clearer for a better understanding of what constitutes HBA. The main benefit of a new legal definition is the provision of a direct route for police to charge an abuser whose behaviour might not fit straightforwardly into other categories of abuse.  

A firewall put up and maintained between the police and the Home Office is also imperative for the protection of a victim whose immigration status may be holding them back from making a criminal complaint; often, a perpetrator will use this fact to coerce the victim into silence.

Nationwide police training

As already noted, abuse related to ‘honour’ is complex, subtle and often difficult to spot.  Police officers may encounter HBA through different scenarios such as a complaint of domestic violence made by a neighbour, or concerns raised by a social worker regarding a child’s welfare. It may not be reported as honour-based, but with the proper training police officers should be able to spot the signs at the very outset of a criminal complaint.

Community outreach

It is a serious concern in the current system that victims are not coming forward with the abuse they have suffered. This could be due to immigration status as mentioned, and threats of further violence, abuse or death by their abuser.

All communities in the UK should have access to support services, with specific experience and understanding of the cultures prevalent in those communities.  The service providers should be trained to spot the warning signs of HBA and able to signpost the victim to a charity, who can provide support and assist the victim with making a criminal complaint.  

Protection for the victim during the legal process

HBA often takes place behind closed doors, in the family home and within communities. Often victims will not be safe returning home or placed back in the hands of their family after making a complaint. A thorough safeguarding assessment should be carried out at the outset of an investigation and appropriate protections put in place, such as rehousing in a refuge centre or temporary accommodation.  Victims need to know from the beginning that they will be protected from any further abuse should they report their abuser.   

It is evident that most of the issues in our legal system are rooted in the complexities of identifying the crime and the difficulty of creating a safe environment where a victim can realistically disclose the abuse.

It must be accepted that violence within communities can be subtle, easily hidden by perpetrators and not recognised as a crime by the victim, due to manipulation involved relating to ‘honour’ within communities. There is no quick-fix solution, and the problem is always going to be highly nuanced and difficult to solve.  

With the appropriate training within police forces nationwide, support implemented within communities from trained professionals offering encouragement for victims to come forwards, there is a greater chance for justice and a greater chance of communicating to perpetrators that there is no ‘honour’ in abuse, and it will not be tolerated in this country.

 

Emma Barrow is a solicitor in the abuse team at Bolt Burdon Kemp

Topics