Honour killing is the murder of a woman or girl by male family members, father, brothers, uncles, cousins, sons and at times husbands who claim that the woman has brought shame and dishonor to the family name and stained the family prestige. Mothers have also participated in these murders.

‘Honour‘ based violence (HBV) is a collection of criminal conduct carried out by the family in order to control a female member.

Honour based violence can take many forms, threatening behaviour, assault, rape, kidnap, abduction, forced abortion, threats to kill, and false imprisonment. The lists in endless.

Honour based violence, where it affects children and young people, is a child protection issue. It is an abuse of human rights. Children and young people who suffer Honour Based Violence are at risk of Significant Harm through physical, sexual, psychological, emotional harm, and neglect.

In order to prevent the violence committed in the name of “Family Honour” it essential that front line service providers, public health institutions, professionals, and practitioners to know how it is defined this form of abuse against women,  its nature, roots, and distribution.

Why is this important?

Frontline service providers working to eliminate violence against women and children know that it is crucial to dientyfy signs of lethality and danger in a timely manner.

However, without an adequate awareness of how cultural factors perpetuate violence against women, they often make mistakes when condition risk assessment, in labeling these crimes and can put vulnerable women at more risk than providing a safe and effective intervention.