Inquiry launched into honour-based abuse

The Women and Equalities Committee has launched a new inquiry into so-called honour-based abuse in an effort to better understand and prevent violence against women and girls.

The Committee will be looking to gather information on the nature and prevalence of abuse committed to protect or defend the so-called honour of an individual, family, or community.

They said the research indicates this abuse is most often directed at women, with crimes including murder, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, and physical and psychological abuse.

“Honour-based abuse has been brought to our attention several times as an important area to investigate,” said Kim Johnson MP, member of the Women and Equalities Committee and leader of the inquiry. Johnson continued:

“We know that the true number of offences is likely to be much higher than reported and more must be done to make sure victims feel safe enough to seek help.

We want to understand more about who commits this kind of abuse and in what contexts, so that it can be better countered, and its victims better served.”

While there is much to learn about honour-based abuse and how to tackle it, it is not a new or foreign concept. Specifically, there were 2,887 honour-based abuse-related offences recorded by the police in England and Wales in the year ending in March 2022.

Of concern, however, is that the Home Office says it is a hidden crime and these are likely to only represent a small proportion of the actual offences committed that year – something the inquiry looks to address.

The Committee added that MPs are interested in exploring the barriers faced by victims of such abuse in seeking support or protection. The police response and the legal protections for victims will also be examined in the inquiry.

Terms of reference

The Women and Equalities Committee is inviting written submissions by 19th December 2022 addressing any or all the following points:

  • What forms of violence against women and girls are motivated by so-called honour? Are these different forms understood by the Government, police and other agencies?
  • How prevalent is honour-based abuse? What do we know about the background or characteristics of victims and perpetrators?
  • What is known about abuse practised under the pretext of upholding cultural norms? Is there available data and/or research on the prevalence of these practices?
  • What are the challenges or barriers faced by victims of honour-based abuse in seeking support or protection?
  • How would you assess the police response to honour-based abuse? How could it be improved?
  • Is the current law in relation to honour-based abuse adequate to protect victims? If not, what should change?
  • What are the challenges for services supporting victims of honour-based abuse? How could those challenges be mitigated or overcome?

All you need to know about the call for evidence is available here.

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