Policing of Honour Based Violence puts victims at the heart of investigation.

Responding to the HMIC Report, National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Honour Based Abuse, Forced Marriage and FGM, Commander Mak Chishty, said:

“The report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) makes several important recommendations that underline the complexities involved in tackling honour based abuse and violence. We are working to develop a more consistent approach to policing in this area, particularly in the early identification of victims, potential offenders and protecting vulnerable people by managing risk.

“We have always placed the victim at the heart of our response to this kind of abuse. We agree with HMIC that the victims of honour based violence are often most at risk from those closest to them: their families and relatives. They have the right to be listened to, believed, taken seriously and protected; we are committed to improving our response so that this happens consistently.  

“During the last 12 months we have developed a new strategy to ensure that the police service is doing all it can to eradicate all forms of honour based abuse. We will do this by working closely with partners in health, education, social care and the voluntary sector, as well as women from affected communities to ensure our approach is informed by their experiences  and concerns. We will also work with the College of Policing to improve training and awareness across the police service”.

Anyone with information or concerns about honour based abuse should contact the police on 101 or 999 in an emergency or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously  on  0800 555 111

 Notes to editors:

The National Police Chiefs Council' s definition of Honour based Abuse is:

‘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’.

 Women and girls are primarily (but not exclusively) the victims of Honour based Abuse and Forced Marriage.  This is also highlighted by police service and [1]HM Government’s Forced  Marriage Unit data  for 2014. 

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/412667/FMU_Stats_2014.pdf