So-called honour-based abuse

Women and Equalities Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 4 Nov 2022 Closed: 6 Feb 2024 Parliament page
An inquiry to examine the prevalence of so-called honour-based abuse in the UK, the extent to which the Government, police and other services understand the forms of such abuse, and the support in place to help victims. Read the terms of reference to learn more about the inquiry . This … Read more
10 Recommendations
6 Conclusions
1 Report
2 Oral sessions
2 Letters
2 Events
Activity timeline 8 events
15 Sep
2023
Report published
19 Jul
2023
Report published
22 Mar
2023
Correspondence
22 Mar
2023
Correspondence
11 Jan
2023
Oral evidence
11 Jan
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 8, Palace of Westminster
7 Dec
2022
Oral evidence
7 Dec
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 16, Palace of Westminster
Oral evidence sessions 2 sessions
11 Jan 2023
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So-called honour-based abuse
DCC Ivan Balhatchet · National Police Chiefs' Council Jaswant Narwal · Crown Prosecution Service Nicole Jacobs, Designate Domestic Abuse Commissioner Sarah Dines MP · Home Office The Rt Hon Edward Argar MP · Ministry of Justice
7 Dec 2022
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So-called honour-based abuse; Women and Equalities Committee
Dr Hannana Siddiqui · Southall Black Sisters Dr Roxanne Khan · University of Central Lancashire Ms Diana Nammi · Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation Ms Surwat Sohail · Roshni Birmingham Ms Yasmin Khan Prof. Aisha K Gill PH.D CBE · University of Bristol
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Sixth Report - So-called honour-based abuse HC 831 19 Jul 2023 16 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
16 results
1 Conclusion Accepted
Sixth Report - So-called honour-ba…
Inconsistent honour-based abuse data collection by police and social care
There is inconsistency in how data on honour-based abuse offences is collected and recorded by the police. This is partly due to incorrect recording by police officers, either in failing to recognise an offence as honour-based, or in making an … Read more
Government Response
The government recognises the importance of high-quality data and states police are already working with partners to agree national data standards for recording protected characteristics, including ethnicity and race.
Government Equalities Office
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2 Recommendation Deferred
Sixth Report - So-called honour-ba…
Publish refreshed guidance for police on recording honour-based abuse and victim data
The Home Office, National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing should publish refreshed guidance for forces on how to accurately and consistently record incidents of honour-based abuse. The Home Office should instruct police forces across England and Wales to … Read more
Government Response
The government states the Department for Education is responsible for the 'children in need census' and is considering the committee’s feedback for future data collections, without addressing the recommendation for police data and guidance from the Home Office.
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3 Conclusion Accepted
Sixth Report - So-called honour-ba…
Add honour-based abuse options to children's social care assessment census categories
The Department of Health and Social Care and the Department of Education should add options for honour-based abuse to both the ‘primary need at first social work assessment’ and ‘factors identified at the end of the assessment’ categories in the … Read more
Government Response
The government does not address the recommendation to add HBA options to the 'Children in need' census, instead detailing existing e-learning courses and statutory guidance on FGM and forced marriage for professionals.
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4 Conclusion Accepted
Sixth Report - So-called honour-ba…
More work needed to empower honour-based abuse victims and ensure safeguarding
We welcome the steps taken by the police service in response to the concerns raised in the super-complaint on honour-based abuse brought by Liberty and the Halo Project in 2020. However, there is still more work to be done if … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the importance of professionals having the right skills and details extensive existing training, e-learning courses, statutory multi-agency guidance, and resource packs provided by the Home Office, College of Policing, and the Forced Marriage Unit to enhance the recognition and response to HBA.
Government Equalities Office
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5 Recommendation Accepted
Sixth Report - So-called honour-ba…
Set out progress on police and safeguarding professionals' honour-based abuse training
In response to this Report, the Government should set out the progress made in implementing the national training package for frontline police officers on recognising so-called honour-based abuse. The Government must also set out the steps it will take to … Read more
Government Response
The government states the Department for Education has contracted research to understand the quality of implementation and teacher confidence in teaching statutory requirements related to HBA, with a report due in early 2024. It also notes that HBA is already included in teacher training modules.
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6 Recommendation Deferred
Sixth Report - So-called honour-ba…
Include specific questions on honour-based abuse within the Domestic Abuse Risk Assessment tool
The Government must include specific questions on honour-based abuse in the Domestic Abuse Risk Assessment tool to help both victims and police officers identify risks confidently and accurately.
Government Response
The government does not address the recommendation to include specific HBA questions in the Domestic Abuse Risk Assessment tool, instead discussing existing non-statutory definitions and statutory guidance for FGM and forced marriage, and stating they will keep the need for a statutory definition under review.
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7 Recommendation Accepted
Sixth Report - So-called honour-ba…
Improve the teaching of honour-based abuse within Relationships, Sex and Health Education settings
The Government is currently reviewing the content of relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) taught in schools. It is clear from the evidence we received that the teaching of honour-based abuse is currently inadequate. The ongoing review of RSHE should … Read more
Government Response
The government states that honour-based abuse is already taught as part of the ‘being safe topic’ in RSHE, with specific teacher training modules covering it. The ongoing RSHE review is assessing whether overall coverage is appropriate and can be strengthened on various topics, but does not specifically commit to improving HBA teaching as part of the review.
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8 Conclusion Deferred
Sixth Report - So-called honour-ba…
Lack of a statutory definition for honour-based abuse hinders understanding and justice
In order to tackle so-called honour-based abuse effectively, it is crucial there is shared understanding of it across all agencies. The introduction of a statutory definition of honour-based abuse would contribute to social and professional understanding, help to improve data … Read more
Government Response
The government deflected the recommendation, responding instead about existing funding for HBA charities and VAWG services, without addressing the call for a statutory definition of honour-based abuse.
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9 Recommendation Rejected
Sixth Report - So-called honour-ba…
Introduce a statutory definition for honour-based abuse with accompanying multi-agency guidance
The Government should introduce a statutory definition of honour-based abuse. It should consult a wide range of experts, specialist by-and-for services and survivors of honour-based abuse on framing the definition using the existing Crown Prosecution Service definition as a starting … Read more
Government Response
The government explains that a clear non-statutory definition of honour-based abuse already exists and it is not clear that making it statutory would improve outcomes, though they will continue to keep it under review.
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10 Conclusion Deferred
Sixth Report - So-called honour-ba…
Current Migrant Victims Protocol insufficient to protect victims with insecure immigration status
Abusers use the insecure immigration status of their victims to deter and prevent them from seeking support, exploiting fears that reporting abuse to the police will lead to action against the victim by Immigration Enforcement. We are not satisfied that … Read more
Government Response
The government deflected the concern about the Immigration Enforcement Migrant Victims Protocol and the impact of insecure immigration status, instead focusing on support for male victims of HBA and existing VAWG strategies.
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11 Recommendation Rejected
Sixth Report - So-called honour-ba…
Establish a robust firewall between police and Home Office on victim immigration data sharing
The Government should establish an appropriate firewall-type mechanism between the police and the Home Office to prevent data sharing for the purposes of enforcing immigration rules against victims of abuse. The firewall should be designed to ensure the police only … Read more
Government Response
The government rejected the establishment of a firewall-type mechanism for data sharing between police and the Home Office regarding victims of abuse, stating it is in the public interest for individuals without lawful status to be brought into the immigration system and that a firewall would be impractical for police to encourage regularisation of status.
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12 Conclusion Accepted
Sixth Report - So-called honour-ba…
By-and-for services for honour-based abuse victims are underfunded with complex commissioning
By-and-for services, which are organisations designed and run by and for people who are minoritised, are vital to ensuring victims of honour- based abuse receive the support they need. However, the sector is underfunded, and complex commissioning processes often prevent … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the vital work of HBA charities and states it has implemented measures like promoting consortium bidding, extended application times, and launched a £8.3m fund for 'by and for' services, alongside a commissioning toolkit.
Government Equalities Office
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13 Recommendation Accepted
Sixth Report - So-called honour-ba…
Increase multi-year funding for by-and-for honour-based abuse services via simpler grants
The Government should increase the funding available to by-and-for services that support victims of honour-based abuse. The Government should commit to providing this funding across multiple years. It should also assess the merits of that funding being made available in … Read more
Government Response
The government highlights existing measures, including the £8.3m VAWG Specialist and Support Services Fund for 2023/24 and 2024/25 and efforts to simplify funding applications for HBA charities, but does not commit to increasing overall funding or providing multi-year funding beyond the current period.
Government Equalities Office
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14 Recommendation Deferred
Sixth Report - So-called honour-ba…
Reconsider Istanbul Convention Article 59 reservation and extend migrant victim support eligibility
The Support for Migrant Victims Scheme pilot has been valuable and we welcome its extension to 2025. However, there are shortfalls in funding to support victims with no recourse to public funds. We are concerned this is aggravated by the … Read more
Government Response
The government is deferring its decision on reconsidering the reservation to Article 59 of the Istanbul Convention, pending careful consideration of a pilot scheme evaluation, but will continue to fund the Support for Migrant Victims Scheme until 2024-25.
Government Equalities Office
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15 Recommendation Rejected
Sixth Report - So-called honour-ba…
Introduce a distinct honour-based abuse strategy specifically aimed at male victims
We recognise the overwhelming majority of victims of honour-based abuse are female, but this must not detract from the experiences of male victims. We are concerned the inclusion of men and boys in strategies primarily aimed at women and girls … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects introducing a distinct strategy for male victims of honour-based abuse, stating that existing strategies and the 'Supporting Male Victims' document already cover male victims and address their specific challenges.
Government Equalities Office
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16 Recommendation Deferred
Sixth Report - So-called honour-ba…
Require Sentencing Council to include motivations of honour as an aggravating factor in domestic abuse guideline
It is reassuring to hear judges have robustly rejected any attempts to use ‘honour’ to reduce a sentence. Explicitly recognising so-called honour in sentencing guidelines would go further; it would strengthen the understanding that honour-based abuse is taken seriously by … Read more
Government Response
The government states that the independent Sentencing Council has been alerted to the recommendation and will consider including motivations of honour as an aggravating factor as part of a planned review of the domestic abuse guideline.
Government Equalities Office
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Government Response AI assessment · 16 of 10 classified
Accepted 7
Deferred 6
Rejected 3
Total 10 recs + 6 conclusions
Correspondence 2 letters
22 Mar 2023 To committee Letter from the Minister for Safeguarding relating to the Honour-Based Abuse inquiry
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22 Mar 2023 To committee Letter from the CPS relating to follow-ups to the So-called honour-based abuse inquiry
Parliament page