Honour Based Abuse Punita Bassi, Improvement and

Transcript:Honour Based Abuse Punita Bassi, Improvement and:
Honour Based Abuse Punita Bassi, Improvement and Problem Solving Officer Improvement |Avon and Somerset Police Police HQ, Portishead, BS20 8QJ Tel 01278 646160 | Ext 46160 Email Punita.Bassi@avonandsomerset.police.uk Definition of HBA ‘an incident or crime involving violence, threats of violence, intimidation coercion or abuse (including psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional abuse) which has or may have been committed to protect or defend the honour of an individual, family and/ or community for alleged or perceived breaches of the family and/or community’s code of behaviour’ NPCC definition Codes of honour Victims are conditioned from a very young age as to what is acceptable and what is not acceptable behaviour Within close knit families and communities, being seen as honourable and having a high social standing is paramount. Being too “Western” – short hair, wearing too much makeup, clothes which expose your skin, use of drugs / alcohol - inappropriate relationships (including same-sex), defying parental authority – all could be seen as shameful and dishonourable and lead to violence and abuse Survivors speak! What is honour……? “Consists of a learnt complex set of rules that a woman has to follow in order to protect her family’s name and maintain family position”. “It’s like the weather, you can’t question it … Honour (IZZAT) is there, it’s always been there” “Honour is the biggest issue in my life” “With every bad word a reputation can die” Case study Father sentenced to 16 years in prison for organising and carrying out a monstrous acid attack on his 3 year old child The mother said: ‘His father had threatened to kill me and my children… he said he had even been to an Imam and asked because his wife has left him… is he allowed to kill me?’ By leaving her husband, the mother of the 3 year old was seen as shameful and this act of violence was carried out in revenge Myth: Honour based abuse …is a South Asian problem. Fact: South Asian, Middle Eastern, African and, in some cases, ultra-orthodox Jewish communities are amongst some of those at risk of HBA & forced marriage. Some women’s groups also report they have encountered HBA & forced marriages among European communities …. 2 emerging ‘high risk’ groups: ultra-orthodox Jewish & Romanian females Within 19 HBA / FM cases identified force-wide in April 2019… 2 of the victims were White British females Travellers Not many