Honour-based abuse/Extended Family Member Abuse
Women, children and young people can experience abuse from intimate partners and simultaneously multiple perprtrators in the name of family or community "honour" (sometimes called izzat).
Research by Elaine McLaughlin (2017) highlights that perpetrators can include partners, ex-partners, family members, or wider community members. Being raised in an honour-based culture, where loyalty to family honour is highly valued, can heavily influence a woman’s decisions, including when she tries to leave an abusive situation.
What Does Honour-Based Abuse Look Like?
A woman or young person may be criticised or experience abuse for:
- Refusing a forced marriage
- Having a relationship that the family or community disapprove of
- Wearing make-up, clothes, or socialising in ways considered unacceptable
- Challenging family or community expectations
- Pursuing higher education, career goals, or ambitions outside of marriage
- Separating or divorcing
- Talking to or being associated with certain people
- Disagreeing with the family or community’s religion or beliefs
Honour-Based Abuse Can Include
Much like domestic abuse, honour-based abuse can take many forms and involve multiple crimes or harmful behaviours, including:
- Forced marriage
- Domestic abuse: physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, or financial
- Sexual harassment or sexual violence, including rape or threats
- Threats to kill, physical violence, emotional abuse, or murder
- Pressure to move abroad
- Being confined at home with no freedom
- Not being allowed to use mobile phones or the internet
- Denial of access to important documents such as passports, visas, or birth certificates
- Isolation from family, friends, or the wider community
Learn More
Hemat Gryffe Women’s Aid has developed an animation in partnership with Police Scotland to raise awareness and explain honour-based abuse.
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.
