So-called honour-based violence
HELP AND SUPPORT
Forced Marriage Unit Helpline: +44 020 7008 0151
National 24-hour Domestic Violence Helpline 0808 2000
247
There is no such thing as honour-based violence, but sometimes
the notion of honour is invoked to justify violence.
So-called honour-based violence is rooted in unequal and unjust
gender relations where women are denied the right to exercise
choice and control over their own lives. It includes forced and
early marriage, dowry-related incidents and female genital
mutilation.
The Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act
2007 came into force on 25 November 2008, and provides civil
protection for people threatened with forced marriage. This Act
will give family courts the power to issue Forced Marriage
Protection Orders to prevent someone from forcing another person
into marriage. This Act sends out a clear message that forced
marriage will not be tolerated.
The Government launched an innovative joint Foreign &
Commonwealth Office / Home Office
Forced Marriage Unit on 25 January 2005 to allow the relevant
government agencies to work closely together. The Forced Marriage
Unit operates a helpline, which deals with around 5000 enquiries
per year. In 2007 the Unit assisted approximately 400 people, 15%
of which were male and 85% female. Around a third of the cases the
Unit deals with involve children subjected to forced marriage, some
as young as 13 years old.
As well as providing support and assistance to victims and
potential victims, the Forced Marriage Unit also does a great deal
of outreach and awareness-raising work, speaking to interested
groups and providing training to social workers, teachers, police
officers and health professionals at around 85 events each year
across the UK.
Following the results of a public consultation which closed on
15 October, the Government has published statutory guidance setting
out the strategic responsibilities of agencies in England and Wales
who may be involved with handling cases of forced marriage. The
guidance can be viewed at the Forced Marriage Unit website.
A Government Equalities Office
Factsheet on Forced Marriage is available.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a cruel and brutal practice
that the Government is determined to tackle. FORWARD, who campaign for the
elimination of FGM, estimate that over 20,000 girls under the
age of 15 are potentially at risk of FGM and over 66,000 women have
been subjected to the procedure in England and Wales. The
Female
Genital Mutilation Act 2003 makes it an offence for UK
nationals or permanent residents to carry out FGM abroad or to aid,
abet, counsel or procure the carrying out of FGM abroad, even in
countries where the practice is legal.