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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
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Results for honor-based violence
7 results foundAuthor: Roy, Sumanta Title: The Missing Link: A Joined Up Approach to Addressing Harmful Practices in London Summary: This study was commissioned and funded by the Greater London Authority to address a knowledge gap on the needs of black, minority ethnic and refugee (BMER) women experiencing harmful practices (HPs). The specific aim of the study was to provide a document which would help to engage commissioners, funders, policy-makers and frontline practitioners to improve the way London responds to HPs. The study was carried out between December 2010 and March 2011. There is no universal definition nor is there an exhaustive list of harmful practices. The term ‘harmful traditional practices’ was used by the World Health Organisation in 1979 at a regional seminar held in the Sudan as a less contentious cover for raising the subject of female genital mutilation. It was used at a time when the issue was considered to be too controversial to be raised as a single issue. Henceforth, other practices, including early marriage and forced feeding, along with female genital mutilation were referred to as harmful traditional practices. Historically, there are practices that would not be considered to be gender-based violence within the evolving definition of HPs. The United Nations has defined harmful traditional practices as: "forms of violence that have been committed against women in certain communities and societies for so long that they are considered part of accepted cultural practice. These violations include female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM), dowry murder, so-called ‘honour killings,’ and early marriage. They lead to death, disability, physical and psychological harm for millions of women annually" (UNFEM 2007). In addition to the above list, acid attacks would also be a type of HP (UN 2009:4). There are a number of reasons why these forms of violence may occur. First, harmful practices, as forms of violence against women, are rooted in gender inequality. Other reasons cited often include ‘traditional’ values, such as the authority and wisdom of parents and children’s duty of obedience. However, the commonality between these forms of violence tends to be the existence of established hierarchical power-relationships between men and women and between parents and children. Despite their harmful nature and their violation of international human rights laws, such practices persist because they are not questioned and take on an aura of morality in the eyes of those practicing them (UN, Office of the High Commissions for Human Rights, undated).The United Nations recognises that “the ways in which culture shapes violence against women are as varied as culture itself” (UN 2009:7). For example, some writers have referred to the phenomenon of ‘date rape’ as a cultural norm although it is not always labelled as such. Some academics have argued that there is inadequate focus on harmful practices in western societies. Jeffreys (2005), for example, argues that prostitution and pornography are harmful practices yet are rarely discussed in the context of cultural practices. Furthermore, it is evident that new HPs are constantly developing, and existing HPs have altered as a result of globalisation, migration and practices against women (UN 2009:7,11). For this study, the term ‘harmful practices’ was used instead of ‘harmful traditional practices’. The use of the word tradition was considered to be inappropriate for a number of reasons. By framing violence in certain communities as a custom, tradition or within a religious context it implies that violence against women and girls (VAWG) is an accepted norm or practice and makes it difficult to understand and challenge from within the VAWG framework. In addition, ‘traditional’ reinforces the ghettoisation of violence against women in BMER communities. Details: London: Greater London Authority, 2011. 86p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 27, 2012 at: http://www.imkaan.org.uk/index_htm_files/The%20Missing%20Link%20Full%20Report%20September%202011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.imkaan.org.uk/index_htm_files/The%20Missing%20Link%20Full%20Report%20September%202011.pdf Shelf Number: 125422 Keywords: Female Genital MutilationForced MarriageGender-Based ViolenceHonor-Based ViolenceViolence Against Women (U.K.) |
Author: Great Britain. Crown Prosecution Service Title: Violence against Women and Girls Crime Report: 2011-2012 Summary: This CPS Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Crime Report is the fifth edition published by the CPS. As in previous years, it covers a range of VAWG strands: • domestic violence • rape and sexual offences • human trafficking, with a focus on trafficking for sexual exploitation • prostitution, • forced marriage, honour based violence and female genital mutilation • child abuse • pornography. The report provides data and commentary in separate sections on each of the VAWG strands, including a number of case studies and good practice. Key issues that were identified in 2011-12 have been highlighted within each section and may differ according to strands. The CPS collects data14 to assist in the effective management of its prosecution functions. The CPS does not collect data which constitutes official statistics as defined in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 200715. Equality profiles of defendants, by gender and ethnicity, are assessed and reported on in this report. Data on victims are reported where available and are still under further development. Details: London: Crown Prosecution Services, 2012. 67p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 5, 2012 at: http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/docs/cps_vawg_report_2012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/docs/cps_vawg_report_2012.pdf Shelf Number: 126876 Keywords: Child AbuseDomestic ViolenceHonor-Based ViolenceHuman TraffickingPornographyProsecutionProstitutionRapeSexual ViolenceViolence Against Women and Girls (U.K.) |
Author: Woodward, Catherine Title: Policing Honour-Based Violence within the UK: The Importance of an Honour-Based Violence Risk Assessment Tool and the Validity of 'DASH' Summary: Although practised in some parts of the world for centuries, honour-based violence is a relatively new and unfamiliar concept for Western law enforcement. This unfamiliarity has hampered the UK police's ability to effectively protect honour-based violence victims. This paper contextualises this unfamiliarity by describing the origins, behaviours and characteristics of honour-based violence, and the impact this has had on UK policing, in order to argue that a competent honour-based violence risk assessment tool is fundamental to the effective policing of this crime. Drawing on evidence within academic literature, the current tool, known as 'DASH' (Richards, 2009), which is endorsed by the National Police Chiefs' Council and used by UK police forces to risk assess honour-based violence victims, is then critically analysed within this paper to ascertain whether it is fit to assess honour-based violence risk. The analysis reaches the conclusion that DASH is, in fact, not fit for this purpose and recommendations will be made to remedy this deficiency, along with wider suggestions for improving the UK police's ability to effectively protect honour-based violence victims. Details: Canterbury, UK: Canterbury Christ Church University, School of Law, Criminal Justice & Computing, 2015. 65p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed October 20, 2015 at: http://library.college.police.uk/docs/theses/WOODWARD-honour-based-violence-2015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://library.college.police.uk/docs/theses/WOODWARD-honour-based-violence-2015.pdf Shelf Number: 135072 Keywords: Honor-Based ViolenceVictims of ViolenceViolence Against Women |
Author: Great Britain. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary Title: The Depths of Dishonour: Hidden Voices and Shameful Crimes. An inspection of the police response to honour-based violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation Summary: This is the first time that Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has inspected and reported upon the police service's response to crimes of honour-based violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation. Further, it is the first time that any inspectorate within England and Wales has examined the service provided to victims2 of these crimes, actual and potential, supported by the most powerful of insights, from victims themselves. It is one of the most important reports ever produced by HMIC. Crimes committed in the name of so-called honour are despicable and damaging; they may be life-changing or life-threatening; in some cases, they end in death. Forced marriage is a specific crime that is equally serious, equally damaging. Female genital mutilation is not a requirement for any religion but it is a practice that reaches across numerous cultures to ruin the lives of many women and girls. This report provides information and analysis for the public about how police forces respond to, investigate, and protect victims of these appalling and damaging crimes. It provides a baseline on which police and other public sector agencies can build to establish effective responses to victims. It should also focus the minds of those organisations to work together to prevent others from becoming victims in future. Details: London: HMIC, 2015. 191p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 8, 2016 at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/wp-content/uploads/the-depths-of-dishonour.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/wp-content/uploads/the-depths-of-dishonour.pdf Shelf Number: 137804 Keywords: Female CuttingFemale Genital MutilationForced MarriageGender-Based ViolenceHonor-Based ViolencePolice Policies and ProceduresPolice-Community PartnershipsViolence Against Women, Girls |
Author: Gillespie, Terry Title: Honour based violence and the Multi-Age Approach in Nottingham Response of local agencies to honour based violence Summary: The focus of the research was to gain an understanding of the current levels of HBV in Nottingham and the nature of the multi-agency response. The main aim of the research was to gain an understanding of practitioners' work with a range of issues relating to honour based violence (HBV) within partnership agencies. The revised Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy Action Plan published by the government in 2010 (Home Office, 2010) gave precedence to a co-ordinated approach to ending all forms of violence against women including HBV and forced marriage. There is a paucity of empirical research on HBV, which Gill (2011) argues is under-researched. The current literature on honour based violence demonstrates a lack of agreement regarding the definition of keys terms. It has been argued that there has been an emphasis on traditional male 'honour' which often overlooks violence that is used as a means of control over women. Therefore, Gill (2011) argues in favour of a radical departure from such 'semantic struggles', '...the notion of HBV should be overthrown entirely...the problem should be seen as a specific manifestation of VAW' (Gill, 2011, p. 219, cited in Idriss and Abbas). We address the debate on definitions of HBV in Section Two of this report. Both primary and secondary research methods were adopted for this study in order to gain an understanding of how practitioners work locally and within the context of current legislative and policy underpinnings. The primary research took the form of semi-structured interviews which were conducted with representatives from the Police, Nottingham City Council, local domestic abuse and HBV support networks, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Nottingham City Care, Domestic Abuse Support Unit (DASU) and a family law barrister. Key findings from the research: - There were significant issues concerning the recording of HBV at a local level. It was found that HBV is often not recorded separately from other domestic abuse. - There was an effective use of Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACs) (monitoring high risk cases of domestic abuse) with cases of HBV. - Many practitioners had received some basic training on domestic abuse (DA) and HBV but most felt more was needed, particularly in relation to HBV. - It was felt that greater awareness needs to be raised amongst communities, for example, through the education of young people in schools and colleges. - The research highlighted the importance of partnership working in order to continue to provide support for survivors of HBV. - There were levels of uncertainty about how the Coalition Government's restructuring of local authority spending could affect frontline services. Recent government campaigns, endorsed in the views expressed by the participants in this study, focus on the importance attached to classifying cases as honour based (Home Office, 2011). For example, it was found from the primary research that there is a need to respond differently to these crimes and to identify a range of risks to the survivors, their friends and family. It is believed this is only possible when they are being flagged separately from other cases of domestic abuse and that practitioners are trained to identify these cases. This topical research has highlighted the need for a better understanding of the nature of HBV and the importance of multi-agency working to provide effective support for survivors. It has also raised questions about the prevention and detection of such cases and the sanctions imposed by the criminal justice system. However, the latter was not a key focus of the study and it is suggested in the Conclusion to this report that this could be an area for future research Details: Nottingham, UK: Nottingham Trent University, 2011. 73p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 28, 2016 at: http://irep.ntu.ac.uk/16032/1/203829_FinalElectronicHBVReportDec2011%20converted.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://irep.ntu.ac.uk/16032/1/203829_FinalElectronicHBVReportDec2011%20converted.pdf Shelf Number: 146162 Keywords: Domestic ViolenceGender-Related ViolenceHonor-Based ViolenceViolence Against Women |
Author: SafeLives Title: Your Choice: 'honour'-based violence, forced marriage and domestic abuse Summary: Our fourth Spotlight report focuses on domestic abuse victims and survivors who are at risk of so called 'honour'-based violence, including forced marriage. Throughout this report we will refer to this type of abuse using the acronym HBV, though this in no way indicates any actual sense of honour being conferred on this type of activity by SafeLives or by contributors to this report. The numbers The prevalence of 'honour'-based violence (HBV) is extensive in the UK and around the world, but the true scale of the problem is unknown. In 2014 a Freedom of Information request to UK police forces revealed that over 11,000 cases of so-called 'honour' crime were recorded between 2010-141 . Forced Marriage is a significant part of the abuse for many victims of HBV, with the Government's Forced Marriage Unit supporting over 1,400 cases in 20162 . Many more crimes are never reported, with numerous barriers preventing victims from coming forward. For instance, reporting the abuse may trigger further HBV, and can lead to isolation from family and communities. The context 'Honour'-based violence is in evidence across countries, cultures and religions. Circumstances which may lead to the abuse are wide ranging and not culturally specific. It is important to remember that, despite the use of this label, there can be no 'honour' in abuse, and where culture or tradition are used to exert power or control over others, this can only be a misuse of that culture. HBV affects people of all ages, but often begins early, in the family home. This can lead to a deeply embedded form of coercive control, built on expectations about behaviour that are made clear at a young age. Often the control is established without obvious violence against the victim, for instance through family members threatening to kill themselves because of the victim's behaviour. Women are particularly at risk of 'honour'-based violence, and as such it is important to recognise this form of abuse within the wider context of violence perpetrated against women and girls, resulting from an underlying denial of their human rights. Data from the Crown Prosecution Service on cases flagged as 'honour'-based violence reveals that (where gender was recorded) 76% of victims were female3 . Many contributors to our Spotlight highlighted the links between HBV and patriarchy, with women being tasked with carrying the 'honour' of their fathers, their husbands and their sons. Despite the strong evidence of disproportionate effect on women and girls, 'honour'-based violence is experienced by both men and women, with factors such as sexuality and disability putting some men at particular risk. As we will explore, perpetration of this type of abuse is also a complex picture. Details: Bristol, UK: SafeLives, 2017. 70p. Source: Internet Resource: Spotlight Report #Hidden Victims: Accessed February 12, 2018 at: http://safelives.org.uk/sites/default/files/resources/Spotlight%20on%20HBV%20and%20forced%20marriage-web.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://safelives.org.uk/sites/default/files/resources/Spotlight%20on%20HBV%20and%20forced%20marriage-web.pdf Shelf Number: 149092 Keywords: Domestic ViolenceForced MarriageGender-Based ViolenceHonor-Based ViolenceViolence-Against Women |
Author: American University. Washington College of Law. Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Title: Gender Perspectives on Torture: Law and Practice Summary: I once asked a Guatemalan public defender how she knew when a woman's murder was the result of gender-based violence and not a simple homicide. She showed me several pictures of women's half or fully naked bodies exhibiting obvious signs of torture, mutilation, and violent sexual assault prior to their deaths. She said that was how women's bodies were usually found. That was the difference between gender-based violence and simple homicide. Women's bodies are often used as instruments to send messages of terror, or as instruments of pleasure, or as instruments of experimentation. In all of these cases, gender-based violence is recognizable because of its profound denial of personhood. The common thread running through the collection of articles presented in this publication is that women's bodies are still looked at and treated as instruments, or means to achieving a goal, rather than as autonomous individuals. Killing a body to end a life is different than killing a body to send a signal. In both cases, the person is refused her or his basic right to life, but in the latter, the person is a mark, a sign for others to see and use. The first chapter of this volume elaborates on the notion of gender-based violence, the need to incorporate a gender perspective in legal systems in general, and the responsibilities of States with regard to those at the margins of legal protections. Although gender-based violence has existed since the beginning of time, it has only entered the realm of human rights as a specific issue within the last decades. International human rights law, traditionally, has not protected women from the harms they have suffered as a result of being women. As with the rest of legal and political institutions, women have had to struggle for their experiences to be recognized. The invisibility of women's harms has also included a lack of reparations with a gender perspective; if the suffering women have endured is not understood, its consequences cannot be adequately addressed. Owing to the inclusion of a gender perspective, human rights treaty bodies have started to include reparations that put women, and not only their families or communities, at the center of their analyses. The new trends in international human rights are welcome by the international community, but they have not necessarily translated into substantive protection of women's and girl's rights, and States must work to ensure that they carry through with their obligations to investigate incidents of gender-based violence and provide redress for victims. Chapter two examines specific forms of violence that women and girls experience throughout the world, including honor killings, female genital mutilation, pregnancy and virginity testing, and the use of forced contraception and addresses the need to advance the humanization of women's rights. States have been reluctant to introduce laws opposing these forms of violence on grounds that certain practices are based on culture or religion. Although international human rights law protects the right to freedom of religion, sexual-based violence cannot be excused on religious grounds, and it has taken too long for laws to begin to act against practices that constitute torture or ill-treatment. The chapter invites readers to view women as the protagonists of human rights standards rather than continually framing men as the central figures of such rights; the standard of protection cannot always be viewed through the lens of male actors. The chapter then moves beyond the gender perspective as a tool to protect women and analyzes the need for the specific recognition of harms suffered by trans and intersex individuals. Perhaps one of the most important challenges that legal systems face is the deconstruction of the male-female binary, and international human rights is not shielded from this challenge. The chapter reinforces the need for human rights to go beyond the binary with regard to the protection of individuals by analyzing how torture and ill-treatment has played an intricate role in the lives of a whole category of individuals. For many trans and intersex persons, torture and ill-treatment are a constant in their lives and this chapter invites us to better understand what torture and ill-treatment means from the perspective of these individuals. The third chapter focuses specifically on deprivation of liberty, and the torture and ill-treatment that often take place under custodial settings. Vulnerability increases in detention facilities, even when the detention is considered lawful. In the cases of LGBTI individuals, who are at greater risk of being in contact with the criminal justice system, once in custodial settings they are subject to brutality and abuse by prison authorities and fellow inmates. This violence is usually underreported and tends to be ignored by State officials because of the underlying assumption that people of diverse sexualities "deserve punishment" for not conforming to traditional gender roles. For custodial settings to cease being places of torture and ill-treatment for LGBTI individuals, violence must be understood from a gender and sexuality perspective. For prison officials, this means not placing trans individuals, whose legal names may not correspond to the gender with which they identify, in solitary confinement because they are unsure of where to house them-it simply replaces one form of violence with another form. The chapter also addresses how criminal justice systems are structured around the idea of a male detainee. Incarcerated women-and their visitors-often endure invasive and humiliating searches, where the women are forced to undress in front of unqualified male officers who may also perform unnecessary body cavity searches. These techniques are not used with the legitimate purpose of ensuring safety within the detention facility, but rather to dehumanize and assert power over the already powerless. This is even more serious when it affects young girls. Criminal justice systems are also not structured with families in mind; "ideal perpetrators" are not only male but also single and with no dependents. Women detainees tend to be mothers with children and usually in a position of vulnerability with nobody to care for their children. In these conditions, it is not uncommon to find detention facilities and jails where children live with their mothers for some time, increasing the incarcerated population to include children, who at a young age, develop their first connections with the world through the prism of a detention facility. A gender perspective requires legal frameworks that look at detained persons not as isolated beings, but as individuals with dependents and family connections. Chapter four considers torture and ill-treatment within the context of women's health care and reproductive rights. Women face mistreatment when seeking maternal health care, undergo forced sterilizations, can face criminal repercussions for self-inducing abortions, and are often denied safe and legal abortion services. It is not uncommon for women in custodial settings to deliver their babies while in shackles, and this chapter explores how the lack of adequate maternal health care can amount to ill-treatment or torture. Depriving women of their right to reproductive self-determination is an additional example of how States have long-ignored the needs of women as citizens. A traditional concept of torture does not allow for an understanding of the common experiences of women, and this chapter expands on the idea that torture and ill-treatment not only occur in situations where government actors themselves are the perpetrators of harm, but when the government allows harms to occur out of a complete disregard for women's bodies. To understand how the lack of adequate maternal care or reproductive rights can be so severe that it amounts to ill-treatment and even torture, one simply has to compare the experiences of women-be it forced sterilization, lack of access to painkillers during childbirth, or lack of abortion regulations-with international human rights standards, and it becomes clear that often ill-treatment, torture, and the experiences of women are all the same. In that sense, this volume expands on the important and influential report by the former Special Rapporteur on Torture on the issue of women and torture. Restrictions on reproduction have long been used to control women's bodies and entire populations, and legal systems, including the norms, standards, and rules of international law, have denied women from seeing their harms recognized as such. Rape was not considered torture until recently; it was not worth the time of special war crime tribunals or worth the time of international treaty bodies. But this is changing, and this publication is a testament to that change. Seeing torture as a gendered practice requires a specific gaze that for most people is a learned process. Only recently have our legal systems started viewing and treating women as individuals. Only recently have legal systems understood and given a name to women's specific harms. In the case of LGBTI persons, those strides are still in their infancy. Despite how widespread and deep-rooted violence against women has been for centuries, torture and ill-treatment were primarily viewed and analyzed through a "male as the main victim" lens. This publication takes a formidable step toward debunking the myth of heterosexual cisgender men as exclusive victims and reinforces the need to integrate women's rights and sexuality perspectives into the mainstream of international human rights. Details: Washington, DC: The Center, 2018. 344p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 2, 2018 at: https://www.wcl.american.edu/impact/initiatives-programs/center/documents/gender-perspectives-on-torture/ Year: 2018 Country: International URL: https://www.wcl.american.edu/impact/initiatives-programs/center/documents/gender-perspectives-on-torture/ Shelf Number: 149650 Keywords: Female Genital MutilationGender-Based ViolenceHonor-Based ViolenceHuman Rights AbusesTortureViolence Against Women, Girls |