So-called honour-based abuse and forced marriage

So-called honour-based abuse and forced marriages are both illegal in the UK and can lead to arrests and court orders.

Call the Forced Marriage Unit on 020 7008 0151

• What's so-called honour-based abuse?
• What's forced marriage?
• Forced Marriage Protection Orders

What's so-called honour-based abuse?

Karma Nirvana, a specialist organisation that supports victims of so-called honour-based abuse, defines so-called honour-based abuse as a form of domestic abuse motivated by the abuser’s perception that a person has brought or may bring ‘dishonour’ or ‘shame’ to themselves, their family or the community. It can take many forms and can be complex to identify, but centres around the idea of controlling individuals to make them behave in certain ways or subscribe to certain beliefs.

For some people, the concept of ‘honour’ is prized above the safety and wellbeing of individuals, and to compromise a family’s ‘honour’ is to bring dishonour and shame – which can have severe consequences. As a result, this can be used to justify many types of abuse, and even disownment or physical harm. 

What's forced marriage?

Forced marriage is where a person uses violence, threats or coercion to cause another to enter into a marriage and believes or ought to believe that the conduct may cause that person to enter into the marriage without free and full consent. It may involve:

• taking someone overseas to force them into marriage, regardless of whether the marriage actually occurs
• doing anything intended to cause a child to marry before their 18th birthday, even if no coercion or force is used
• causing someone who lacks the mental capacity to consent to marry, whether they are pressured into the marriage or not.

Forced Marriage Protection Orders

The victim or a third party such as the police can apply for a Forced Marriage Protection Order at The High Court or a designated County Court (Luton is the nearest one for Hertfordshire cases). The Orders are tailored to individual circumstances and can include taking travel documents or passports away. If someone breaches the Order they can be arrested or taken to court.

Speak to someone

The Hertfordshire Independent Domestic Violence Advocacy (IDVA) service offers emotional and practical support to survivors at high risk of harm to ensure they understand their rights and options.