It is likely that awareness that a child is the victim of an honour based crime will only come to light after an assault of some kind has taken place e. There are inherent risks to the act of disclosure for the victim and possibly limited opportunities to ask for help for fear of retribution from their family or community.
There may be evidence of domestic abuse, including controlling, coercive and dominating behaviour towards the victim. Self-harming, family disputes, and unreasonable restrictions on the young person such as removal from education or virtual imprisonment within the home may occur.
Other warning signs may be FGM, sexual abuse and forced marriage. Continual assessment and review is paramount as circumstances can change very quickly, for example, following disclosure to the police the risks to the victim and others who are supporting the victim may increase. All aspects of their safety need to be carefully assessed at every stage.
Initially this needs to address whether it is safe for them to return home following a disclosure. The young person will need practical help such as accommodation and financial support, as well as emotional support and information about their rights and choices. Some families go to considerable lengths to find their children who run away, and young people who leave home are at risk of significant harm if they are returned to their family.
They may be reported as missing by their families, but no mention is made of the reason. It is important that practitioners explore the underlying reasons before any decisions are made.
Any suspicion or disclosure of violence or abuse against a child in the name of honour should be treated equally seriously as any other suspicion or disclosure or significant harm against a child. This can include but is not limited to: Having a relationship with someone from a different culture or religion Wanting to get out of a forced marriage Wearing clothes or taking part in activities not considered traditional within a culture What should I look out for?
How to report it? Where to get help? Below are details of other organisations which will be able to offer help and support. Karma Nirvana. Although awareness is growing, research indicates that these important issues remain largely under the radar of most agencies, including the police.
HMIC established a diverse expert reference group, to seek the perspective of people who have an in-depth knowledge of these issues, and an active involvement with the victims.
The membership of the expert reference group includes partnership organisations from the criminal justice and voluntary sector. The inspection covered all police forces in England and Wales.
In phase 1, all 43 police forces in England and Wales completed a self-assessment of their preparedness to protect and support victims of HBV. At the same time, we completed a review of relevant documents and data provided by forces, and an analysis of information available to the public through force and police and crime commissioner websites.
This phase of the inspection was designed to provide a point of comparison to inform activity in both police forces and inspection in future years. In phase 2, we conducted fieldwork in eight police forces, during which we interviewed senior and operational lead officers, and held focus groups with frontline officers, staff and partners.
Examples can include:. We understand how difficult the position is for those faced with honour based violence. We also recognise the enormous cultural issues that can make reporting this very personal crime to the police or any third party extremely difficult. We have a number of officers who specialise in investigating and supporting victims of this type of crime. The specialist investigators, based within our Harm Reduction Unit will provide you with a personal, empathetic and confidential service, which respects and understands the type of cultural issues that sit behind this type of crime.
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