Login


Honour Based Violence

The Crown Prosecution Service, Association of Chief Police Officers and support groups have a common definition of honour based violence (HBV):
"'Honour based violence' is a crime or incident which has or may have been committed to protect or defend the honour of the family and/or community."
 
There is no specific offence of "honour based crime". It is an umbrella term to encompass various offences covered by existing legislation. So called 'Honour based violence' (HBV) can be described as a collection of practices, which are used to control behaviour within families or other social groups to protect perceived cultural and religious beliefs and/or honour. Such violence can occur when perpetrators perceive that a relative has shamed the family and/or community by breaking their honour code.
 
It is a violation of human rights and may be a form of domestic and/or sexual violence. There is no, and cannot be, honour or justification for abusing the human rights of others.
 
Eliminating so called 'Honour Based Violence' forms part of the Home Office Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.