Honour Based Abuse

FGM/Honour Based Abuse– so called ‘Honour’-based abuse is defined as a crime or incident which has or may have been committed to protect or defend the honour of the family and / or the community. It is a collection of practices used to control behaviour and includes Forced Marriage (FM) and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

Honour-based abuse can affect both men and women, and cuts across a number of cultures and communities. It is closely associated with domestic abuse and child protection matters.

Issues such as dress, choice of friends, relationships with members of the opposite sex and career choice (among others) could all impact on a family’s honour. Violence and abuse can occur when family members perceive that a relative has shamed the family and/or community by breaking their honour code – this is honour-based abuse.

There are many examples of how honour-based abuse can affect someone’s life including being isolated from local communities, not being allowed independence, forced into marriage or under duress from their family.