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Police are told to treat hundreds more attacks as 'honour' crimes
Martin Bentham, Home Affairs Editor22 Sep 2009
Police and prosecutors are to be told to presume that hundreds more crimes are "honour" based in a new drive to bring more offenders to justice.
Under the new guidance it will be assumed that an honour crime has been committed in any case in which there is the slightest sign that such an offence has taken place - even if the victim has not reported it.
Prosecuters hope the drive will also ensure that victims receive more rapid protection that can save them from possible further violence or a forced marriage.
The new approach will be unveiled tomorrow at a London conference organised by the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Crown Prosecution Service.
Elements of the strategy are designed to ensure that potentially vital evidence of honour-based persecution is not overlooked.
It will include information for police and prosecutors on how to identify male victims amid concern that at least 15 per cent of cases involve attacks or forced marriage inflicted on men.
The horrific consequences of honour violence were highlighted by an attack in Leytonstone in July in which a 24-year-old Danish man of Asian origin man had acid poured down his throat and was repeatedly stabbed because of his relationship with a Muslim woman.
Officers will also be instructed to look out for disabled victims in response to evidence that some people with learning difficulties are being pressed into marriages to help their new spouses gain entry to Britain.
There will also be a new attempt to persuade victims of female genital mutilation to come forward following the failure of legislation passed six years ago to outlaw the practice to result in a single conviction.
Under the new approach, which mimics the detection techniques used to tackle race-hate crime following the Stephen Lawrence murder, reports from friends or relatives about possible honour violence will be taken seriously, even if the victim has failed to raise the alarm.
Other indications such as a girl's sudden disappearance from school will also be seen as significant.
Announcing the new measures, Nazir Afzal, the Crown Prosecution Service's legal director, said: "It will be about making sure we look for the signs so that we don't miss cases."
On the issue of male victims, Mr Afzal said one vulnerable group were gay men, who were sometimes forced into marriage because of a desire from their families to hide their sexuality, while other cases arose when relatives wanted to divert a male family member away from criminal associates.
The number of specialist prosecutors tackling the problem will also be increased with the number employed in London, which currently has 10, scheduled to double over the coming months.
Daughter was killed for loving the wrong man
Banaz Mahmod was killed after falling in love with a man her family did not want her to marry.
The 20-year-old, who had left an arranged marriage and started a relationship with Rhamat Sulemani, 29, was strangled with a bootlace at her home in Surrey in January 2006. Her father Mahmod Mahmod, 52, and uncle Ari Mahmod, 50, of Mitcham, were convicted of the killing. The pair decided she must pay “the ultimate price” for bringing shame on them.
Ms Mahmod had made a series of complaints to police and agreed to press charges a day before she was killed. The Independent Police Complaints Commission investigated how police dealt with her. Six detectives received warnings.
Reader views (6)
In some ways, collective punishment may be appropriate. Honour killings take place because a girl (usually) is deemed to threaten or to have harmed the honour of her family (or even her community). Asian and Middle Eastern understandings of relations make no room for the individual. Thus, to say 'All will be punished' is a real threat, since it will harm everyone who puts the family above the rights and freedoms of the individual. This is murder, after all, and murder of the worst kind (when a mother or father, brother or sister kills a daughter/sister). If people want to live by the collectivity, then sanctions against the collectivity must be used to put an end to this evil.
- Denis Maceoin, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, 22/09/2009 22:52
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The softly, softly, tiptoeing around these horrendous family murder crimes, has given the green light to the murderous brutes who kill their own relatives. Precisely because so many 'honour' killer perpetrators never have had their crimes prosecuted, or even investigated, seems to have encouraged more people to indulge a bloodlust which is mistaken for upholding culture/tradition.
Cowardice to prosecute has left some with badly stained consciences. This crime will only cease by backing the communities where this is happening. By denouncing and displaying the utmost intolerance for this sickening crime. Because there remains a tacit sanctioning/acceptance in some communities, it carries on and shames us all. If it becomes the ultimate social taboo, fear of being outcast will prevent many killings by those who hold primitive views of ownership of other human beings.
- Raj, London, 22/09/2009 19:25
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They finally seen the elephant in the room then?
- Paul, Bromley, 22/09/2009 14:27
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@Frank: Your advocating collective punishment. If a member of your family where to commit a crime (let's say a distant cousin) how would you feel about being punished for their criminal act!
It's a ridiculous idea!
- Cee, London, 22/09/2009 13:46
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Not before time - how many people have suffered and even killed because the authorities were too afraid of offending someone's culture.
- Very Very Angry At Paying Tax For Mp'S Expeses, Home Counties, 22/09/2009 13:33
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After all these years, finally more is being done to tackle this crime. Better late than never. The members of the family and anyone involved in the crime should be
deported immediately to their country of origin & if that person was born in the UK, they should be deported to the parents country of origin. If a family know that all members of the family will be deported, not just the person who committed the crime then they will think twice about doing it. The entire family must take ownership of the crime.
- Frank, Copenhagen, Denmark, 22/09/2009 10:30
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