The charity Karma Nirvana define Honour Based Abuse as 'a form of Domestic Abuse which is motivated by the abuser’s perception that a person has brought or may bring ‘dishonour’ or ‘shame’ to themselves, their family or the community’. It can take many forms, and can be complex to identify, but centres on the idea of controlling individuals to make them behave in certain ways or subscribe to certain beliefs.
Honour Based Abuse
For some people, the concept of ‘honour’ is prized above the safety and wellbeing of individuals and to compromise a family’s ‘honour’ is to bring dishonour and shame – which can have severe consequences. This can be used to justify many types of abuse, and even disownment or physical harm.
People may feel shame, exclusion or fear around the following:
Becoming pregnant or being sexually active outside marriage
‘Unsuitable relationships’, for example a partner from a different culture, religion or of the same gender
Wanting to leave or end a forced marriage
Wearing clothes or taking part in activities that might be considered inappropriate by the family or group
Victims of Honour Based Abuse are seven times more likely to experience abuse from multiple perpetrators and are at greater risk of serious harm or homicide (Karma Nirvana).