Policing Honour Based Abuse and Forced Marriage

This chapter identifies the similarities of HBA/FM with ‘traditional’ forms of domestic abuse, as well as delineating the distinctly cultural ‘specificities’ of these crimes.
‘Victim blaming’ is apparent, whereby perpetrating family members discredit and undermine accounts of child victims and those suffering poor mental health. ‘Accepting’ these explanations leads to inaction and under protection by police and social service practitioners. An area of improvement is to ensure these incidents are appropriately recorded as crimes in line with National Crime Recording Standards (NCRS). Moreover, the role of women in effecting and sanctioning such abuses, particularly mothers, is important to recognise to ensure safeguarding can be effective.

To support practitioners in effective decision making, warning signs indicating the onset of HBA/FM will be explained, such as girls becoming sexually active or children being “too westernised”. The interconnectedness of HBA and FM will be explored, along with the distinction between ‘forced’ and arranged’ marriage. Due to the uneven power relations and higher status enjoyed by men, HBA remains undoubtedly a highly gendered crime affecting women and girls. However, this chapter additionally underlines the impact of crimes on vulnerable and marginalised groups, notably LGBTQ communities, children and vulnerable adults with learning or physical disabilities.