Many of you have told me you can’t access the article on Policing Insight that I wrote, so I’ve posted the article in it’s entirety below. This article was published in Policing Insight on January 19, 2016. Here’s the link again to the article
Honour based violence: Improving the police response to complex and hidden crimes
And below is my unedited version of the article that I submitted to Policing Insight so you can read it directly here. I’ve been asked by many colleagues and friends for copies and I’ll direct you all here to my blog!
Honour based violence: Improving the police response to hidden and complex crimes
“For too long, we’ve been so frightened of causing offence that we haven’t looked hard enough at what is going on in our communities”
Prime Minister David Cameron’s speech October 2015 regarding the government’s commitment to address Honour Based Violence
On December 8, 2015, the HMIC released its first ever report on the performance of the police forces’ with respect to addressing honour based violence (HBV). The report covers the police services’ response to honour based violence (HBV), forced marriage (FM) and female genital mutilation (FGM). Entitled, The depths of dishonour: Hidden Voices and shameful crimes, the report found that only three forces were prepared to some extent to effectively protect and support victims of HBV (see https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/wp-content/uploads/the-depths-of-dishonour.pdf). These forces include Derbyshire, Northumbria and West Midlands. The HMIC’s focus, on these crimes is part of the broader UK government’s international commitment to end all forms of violence against women and girls. (See A Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls, Action Plan, UK Government 2014 at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-call-to-end-violence-against-women-and-girls-action-plan-2014)
Honour based violence, including the specific crimes of FGM and FM, are complex and hidden making it difficult for police to identify and protect potential victims of these crimes as well as to prosecute perpetrators. Although these crimes occur much like other forms of domestic abuse within the context of the home and community, they are different in several crucial aspects, making it even more difficult for police and partner agencies to identify and assist potential victims. First there is a lack of understanding by police and partners about the nature of the crimes and a tendency not to see them as criminal offenses, but rather as elements of a person’s particular culture. Secondly, there is insufficient data as to the frequency and extent of these crimes throughout England and Wales making it difficult to identify the scope of the problem—how many victims are actually potentially at risk?. Thirdly, because of the family and community context in which these crimes occur where perpetrators are often multiple and are often family members, victims are usually very reluctant to come forward.
What is honour based violence? HBV, FGM and FM defined.
The Home Office defines honour based violence (HBV) as “any act of violence, predominately against women and girls, which is committed by a family or community member(s) in order to defend their perceived honour.” HBV refers to a collection of coercive practices whose primary purpose is to maintain a family’s perceived honour, “Izzat”, or social standing which is determined by certain perceived cultural and religious beliefs. Although no major religion explicitly condones honour based violence in their holy books, religious and community leaders manipulate religious and cultural beliefs to define and defend notions of honour in which HBV is often sanctioned by these leaders and families. HBV is justified by these leaders and family members as punishment for any transgression of the cultural code.
HBV is normally planned and carried out collectively by the victim’s family and often involves the cooperation of the wider community. HBV includes not only physical violence, but also psychological abuse and physical imprisonment of offenders in the home.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and Forced Marriage are two of many specific forms of HBV. The World Health Organisation defines FGM comprising “all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.” (HMIC report P. 27)
FGM is performed usually on girls between the age of five and eight although in some instances it is performed on girls at birth or as they enter puberty. It is prevalent in 29 African countries as well as in parts of the Middle East including Egypt and Asia. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that as of 140 million women and girls have undergone the procedure. (the different kinds of FGM can be found at http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/fgm/overview/en/). As of 2011 an estimated 137,000 women and girls are living with the consequences of FGM in England and Wales. According to research conducted by City University and Equality now, there are currently 65,000 girls at risk of FGM in England and Wales.
Reasons for the practice include culture (an initial rite), to promote chastity and virginity, to increase a girl’s marriage prospects (in cultures that practice FGM, a girl who is not cut is considered unmarriageable), a matter of family honour, and can be viewed as a religious obligation.
A marriage is considered forced if one or both spouses do not consent, but are coerced into marriage. Coercion can include physical, psychological, financial, sexual and emotional pressure. In the case of vulnerable adults, a marriage can be considered forced if the adult lacks the capacity to consent. FM is different from arranged marriages where, although the marriage may be arranged by the parties’ families, both parties are able to exercise free will to either consent to the marriage or decline it. Arranged marriages are not illegal whereas forced marriages are.
In both the case of FM and FGM, although religion is often cited as a reason for these practices, no religion endorses them. Rather, they are forms of abuse. Abuse is not part of any culture, whether the victim’s family are Christian, Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, or Jewish.
HBV, including FM and FGM, are considered crimes in the UK
Historically there has been a reluctance by police and other public services to address HBV. One of the barriers has been that these practices have been seen to be a normal part of the individual’s culture and therefore something, in the name of being tolerant, in which people feel they ought not to get involved. Out of fear of being accused of being racist or Islamaphobic, public officials have often failed to intervene. However, these practices are illegal and are considered by UK, European and international law, to be a violation of an individual’s human rights. They constitute crimes which are prosecutable in England and Wales. The legal framework is briefly outlined below.
A number of crimes are capable of being considered HBV depending on the motive for, and the context of, their commission. They include murder, manslaughter, crimes contrary to the Offences of Person Act 1861, and false imprisonment. These kinds of HBV are usually not recorded as HBV, but are recorded under the broader statutes under which they fall.
Section 121 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act of 2014 makes the specific offenses of FM illegal and prosecutable. Under the law of England and Wales, a person commits an offense if they ‘use violence, threats or any form of coercion for the purpose of causing another person to enter into a marriage; and believes or ought to reasonably believe, that the conduct may cause the other person to enter into the marriage without free and full consent.” (HMIC report p. 153). Under this law, FM protection orders can be obtained by a potential victim or on her behalf in order to prevent her family from forcing her to marry against her will.
A person convicted of FM is liable to imprisonment of up to seven years. The first conviction for FM was first secured in June 2015 and the man was sentenced to four years in prison.
The Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 ‘makes it an offence to excise, infibulate, or otherwise mutilate the whole or any part of a girl or woman’s labia majora, labia minora, or clitoris, except for necessary operations performed by a registered medical health professional on physical or mental health grounds; or an operation performed during labour or just after giving birth for the purposes connected with labour or birth. (HMIC report p. 156)
It is an offense for any person to perform FGM in the UK, to assist a girl to carry out FGM on herself in the UK or to assist a non-UK person to carry out FGM outside the UK on a UK national or permanent resident of the UK. It is also an offense for a UK national or habitual UK resident to perform FGM abroad, assist a girl to perform FGM on herself outside of the UK and to assist a non-UK resident to carry out FGM outside of the UK on a UK national or permanent resident.
The recently passed FGM Serious Criminal Act of 2015 also requires mandatory recording and reporting of FGM by regulated health and social care professionals as well as qualified teachers employed or engaged to carry out teaching work in schools and other institutions in England and Wales. Reports can be made to the police force area within which the girl resides by calling 101. Police are obliged to record the information and initiate the multiagency response. Mandatory reporting is required under the law, when informed by a girl under 18 that an act of FGM has been carried out on her or where the professional has observed physical signs which appear that an act of FGM has been carried out on a girl under 18. The relevant age is the girl’s age at the time of the disclosure/identification of FGM. The duty doesn’t apply in relation to at risk or suspected cases or in cases where the woman is over 18. Under the law, FGM is considered to be child abuse.
The new law also allows for the filing of FGM protection orders to protect girls at immediate risk of having FGM done to them. Bedfordshire Police were the first Police Force to make use of this provision in June 2015. The Protection order was used to prohibit a parent from taking a girl abroad who was considered at risk of having FGM performed on her whilst abroad.
European and international law also place obligations on public authorities. These include:
- The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
- The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
- The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
- The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
Data
According to the December 2015 HMIC report, there are no reliable data across the UK for the prevalence of these crimes. Specific figures for the numbers of FGM and FM cases are not available because they are aggregated into larger crime categories. For example, FGM crimes are counted in the category ‘assault with injury.’ Additionally, there are no national data on the extent of HBV because it is not a crime category in its own right. Rather many HBV crimes are recorded under categories such as homicide, or assault with injury.
Since 2012, 15 FGM cases have been referred to the CPS but no further action was taken in 14 of these cases. The one case that was prosecuted ended in acquittal. The Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) does record data with respect to the numbers of forced marriages reported and data is available from 2012 onwards (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/forced-marriage#statistics-on-forced-marriage-collected-by-fmu). However, because of the hidden nature of these crimes and the reluctance for victims to come forward, the crime is vastly under-reported. Prosecutions are even rarer. For example, in 2014/2015 of the 82 cases of FM referred to the CPS (HMIC report, p. 34), there were 46 completed prosecutions for FM; only 29 resulting in convictions. With respect to FM, the most common reason for a prosecution not to end in conviction was victim retraction. In the same period of the 225 completed prosecutions of HBV, only 129 resulted in a conviction. (HMIC report, p. 24)
It is widely agreed that these crimes are vastly under-reported whilst existing in all 43 policing areas in England. According to the HMIC report, not a single region in the UK is exempt from the occurrence of these crimes.
How to better identify and address these crimes
In addition to better data that would better help identify the numbers of people (mostly women and girls) at risk of HBV, FGM and FM, a better understanding of the barriers that prevent victims coming forward to the police and/or partner agencies, a better understanding of who constitute potential perpetrators of these crimes, and a better awareness of the warning signs that indicate potential victims are also required. Below are some brief guidelines that will assist police and partner organisations in these areas.
Barriers to victims coming forward to the police and/or partner agencies include:
- Being disowned by their families
- Ostracism from the community
- Fear of the unknown
- Language barrier
- Lack of trust in agencies
- Fear of not being believed
- Fear of being found – bounty hunters, reprisal
- Worried they may bring shame on the family
Potential perpetrators of FGM, FM and other forms of honour based violence include immediate and/or extended family members including women and siblings. For example, n the case of FGM, it is particularly women, mothers and grandmothers who are the instigators of having their daughters cut.
Although the warning signs below specifically apply to victims of FM, many of them also apply to potential victims of other forms of HBV.
Warning signs that help identify potential victims include:
- Truancy or extended absence
- Withdrawn from school
- Surveillance by siblings
- Prevented from going to higher education
- Self-harm or attempted suicide
- Eating disorders
- Depression
- Isolation
- Accompanied to doctor’s
- Not allowed to work
- Confiscation of wages/income
- Accompanied to/from work
- Not allowed to work
- Siblings forced to marry
- Death of a parent
- Family disputes
- Running away from home
- “House arrest”
- Victim reported missing by family
- Reports of DV
- Threats to kill
- Victim reported for offences
Some Guidelines for Best Practice in dealing with potential victims of HBV:
According to Karma Nirvana, a charity founded in 1993 to address Forced Marriage, best practice for police and partner agencies coming into contact with potential victims of FM, which would in most cases would also apply to other potential victims of HBV coming forward to complain would include:
- Speak to the individual alone
- Maintain victim’s confidence do not approach family without expressed permission – consider the risk that some of the family members may be the perpetrators
- Provide them reassurance that they are not going against their religion and or culture
- Create spaces for the victim to access helplines & websites
- Implement a safety plan-some victims are returned to perpetrators
- Offer option to speak to a survivor
- DO NOT use a relative, friend, community leader or neighbour as an interpreter. This is crucial as these individuals may be numbered amongst the perpetrators.
- DO NOT attempt to be a mediator or encourage mediation, reconciliation, arbitration or family counselling.
- DO NOT disclose information of risk, including ‘perceived’ risk that is deemed shameful by victim
- DO NOT send the victim back to the family perpetrators in the belief that this is not a professional matter
- DO remind the person that they are not alone. Many survive disownment. signpost them to agencies that are able to assist them.
- Once chance rule. In most cases, the Police and other partners may only have one chance to assist the victim given that the family are often perpetrators. Victims face significant risk to themselves by coming forward.
Conclusion:
Greater awareness of these crimes as well as better training for police in order to identify and protect potential victims and also to prosecute perpetrators is needed. Although the HMIC’s first ever report revealed that these crimes are not being given the priority by police that their victims deserve, it does provide a basis for moving forward to better address these crimes. In the report the HMIC has put forward a total 15 recommendations to the Home Office, the National Police Chiefs’ Council, Chief Constables and the College of Policing. Recommendations include improving data and data collection that will help develop a better picture of the numbers and individuals at risk of HBV, researching and identifying best practice for the police service for addressing these crimes, and the developing joint policies and working structures between individual forces and their partner agencies to ensure an integrated approach to HBV, FM and FGM. The HMIC has put a deadline of no later than June 2016 for these recommendations to be achieved. Below is a list of resources from which will assist police, educators, and health and social care professionals to better understand and assist and protect potential victims of HBV-related crimes.
RESOURCES
For more information about FGM:
WHO Fact Sheet: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/
FGM Unit: FGMenquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
ACCM (UK) http://www.accmuk.com/
FGM resource pack: www.gov.uk/government/publications/female-genital-mutilation-resource-pack/female-genital-mutilation-resource-pack
Training to recognise and/or prevent FGM training www.fgmelearning.co.uk/
Prevention: Multi-Agency Practice Guidelines: Female Genital Mutilation https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/380125/MultiAgencyPracticeGuidelinesNov14.pdf
Mandatory reporting: www.gov.uk/government/publications/mandatory-reporting-of-female-genital-mutilation-procedural-information
NSPCC FGM Helpline 0800 028 3550/ fgmhelp@nspcc.org.uk
For more information about FM:
The Right to Choose: Multi-agency statutory guidance for dealing with forced marriage https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/322310/HMG_Statutory_Guidance_publication_180614_Final.pdf
Multi-Agency practice guidelines: Handling Cases of Forced Marriage, https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/322307/HMG_MULTI_AGENCY_PRACTICE_GUIDELINES_v1_180614_FINAL.pdf
Forced Marriage Unit Contact Details: Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7008 0151 Email: fmu@fco.gov.uk Email for outreach work: fmuoutreach@fco.gov.uk Facebook: Forced Marriage page Twitter: @FMUnit Media enquiries: +44 (0) 20 7008 3100ls
FMU National Helpline: 020 7008 0151 9a.m-5p.m. Through the FMU national helpline and email victims are given reassurance, assistance, and options.
FMU Website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/forced-marriage
Karma Nirvana: Helpline for victims as well as professionals: 0800 5 999 247, website: www.karmanirvana.org.uk
But It’s Not Fair, Edition 2 by Aneeta Prem, available through Freedomcharity.org.uk A novel illustrating the vulnerabilities of young teenage girls from traditional cultures and how teenagers might help a friend who’s being put through this trauma.