header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us

Honour-based abuse— a dose of reality

© Copyright LexisNexis 2025. All Rights Reserved.
14 January 2022 / Imran Khodabocus
Issue: 7962 / Categories: Features , Family , Criminal
printer mail-detail
68400
Imran Khodabocus reports on the rise in honour-based abuse cases, and reflects on the similarities and differences with domestic abuse
  • Figures show rise in honour-based abuse with West Midlands, Thames Valley and Metropolitan Police reporting highest rates.
  • The wider impact of this abuse and what lawyers can do to help victims.

What defines honour-based abuse? The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) describes it as ‘an incident or crime which has or may have been committed to protect or defend the honour of the family and/or community’.

The common theme in such cases is control. Where a spouse, usually a husband, dictates the lives of their partner and/or children. The issues of honour and the resulting control and violence are not limited to one particular culture, but a broad range.

New figures gleaned from national police forces show there has been a huge rise in honour-based abuse with offences rising by 74% in five years. Between 2016 and 2020 the number of violent honour-based abuse cases rose from 884 to 1,539.

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Jersey litigation lead appointed to global STEP Council

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

Firm invests in future talent with new training cohort

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Traders’ convictions quashed in Libor shock
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
NLJ this week: Small firms call for tech clarity as AI looms
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
NLJ this week: Trans pool player loses discrimination fight
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
NLJ this week: Pro bono power without the red tape
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
NLJ this week: Fraud claims climb as courts brace for AI threats
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll