“Honour-based” abuse – this is a form of domestic violence and abuse and happens when you force a victim to marry someone when they do not consent.
“Honour-based” abuse can be described as a collection of practices that are used to control behaviour within families or communities to protect perceived cultural and religious beliefs and/or honour. is a crime or incident committed to protect or defend the ‘honour’ of a family or community. If your family or community think you’ve shamed or embarrassed them by behaving in a certain way, they may punish you for breaking their ‘honour’ code. Forced marriage is a form of domestic violence and abuse. It happens when you force a victim to marry someone when they do not consent. You may make demands that the victim accepts the marriage proposal through physical, mental or emotional pressure and violence.
People who carry out “honour-based” abuse are often close family members but also extended family or community members.
Parents who force their children to marry often justify their behaviour as protecting their children, building stronger families and preserving cultural or religious traditions. However, forced marriage cannot be justified on religious grounds or cultural grounds and forcing someone to marry against their will is illegal.
Types of “honour-based” abuse
There isn’t one specific crime of “honour-based” abuse as it can involve a range of crimes and behaviours, such as:
- forced marriage
- domestic abuse (physical, sexual, psychological, emotional or financial)
- sexual harassment and sexual violence (rape and sexual assault or the threat of)
- threats to kill, physical and emotional violence and murder
- pressure to go or move abroad
- being kept at home with no freedom
- not allowed to use the telephone, internet, or have access to important documents like your passport or birth certificate
- isolation from friends and members of your own family
Are you a victim of “honour-based” abuse?
Have you been threatened or abused if you’ve tried to:
- have a relationship or marry someone outside your community or someone within your community that your family don’t approve of
- separate or divorce
- talk to certain people
- have sex before marriage
- become pregnant or give birth outside of marriage
- wear clothes your family or community think are inappropriate
- use drugs or alcohol
- access higher education
- challenge what your family or community expect of you
- disagree with the religion of your family or community
Recognising the signs/warning signs
Are you concerned that someone is being abused? Here are some indicators to look out for:
- the person acting withdrawn or upset
- bruising or other unexplained physical injury
- depression, self-harming or attempted suicide
- unexplained absence or poor performance at school or work
- their movements at home are strictly controlled
- family rows, domestic violence
- running away from home
- a family history of relatives going missing.