What is honour-based abuse?
In some families and communities women, children and young people can experience abuse from multiple perpetrators in the name of family and/or community ‘honour’ or ‘izzat’.
Honour-based abuse perpetrators can include males, females, ex-partners, family or community members (McLaughlin 2017).
Being raised in an honour culture whereby allegiance to their family honour can be an important factor and influential upon a woman’s decision when attempting to flee abusive behaviour (McLaughlin 2017).
Hemat Gryffe Women’s Aid is the leading and most experienced women’s organisations in Glasgow providing accommodation and outreach services to women, children and young people from minority ethnic backgrounds experiencing honour-based abuse.
We recognise that there are women and girls living in Scotland requiring protection from multiple perpetrators who are intimate partners, family members, friends and associates who collude in collective victimisation.
What does honour-based abuse look like?
A woman or young person may be criticised and experience abuse for:
- Refusing a forced marriage
- Having a relationship with someone that the family or community do not approve of
- Wearing make-up or certain clothes or socialising in a way that the family or community disapprove of
- Challenge what your family or community expect of you
- Access higher education or work towards other ambitions outside of marriage
- Separate or divorce
- Talk to or be associated with certain people that your family or community disapprove of
- Disagree with the religion of your family or community
Much like domestic abuse, there is not one specific crime within honour-based abuse. 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)
- Threats to kill, physical and emotional violence and murder
- Pressure to move abroad
- Being kept at home with no freedom
- Not allowed to use mobile phones, internet
- No access to important documents such as passports, visas or birth certificates
- Isolation from family and friends and others in the community
Watch an animation launched by Hemat Gryffe Women’s Aid, in association with Police Scotland.
Read more on Honour-Based Abuse in Scotland: Evidence and pathways to strengthen protection for victims by Dr Elaine McLaughlin, Dr Scott Grant, Mhairi McGowan, Professor Elizabeth Gilchrist and Dr Rhonda Wheate.
