Dishonour Abuse Definition

Dishonour Abuse Definition: Why the New Law Must Not Hide the Abuse

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The dishonour abuse definition must help professionals recognise abuse before it becomes a crisis. A legal definition matters, but it will not protect a child, a woman or a vulnerable adult unless the person in front of them understands coercion. Dishonour abuse often hides inside family pressure, silence, immigration control, financial dependency, spiritual threats, forced marriage and isolation.

The law may finally be catching up with dishonour abuse. Frontline safeguarding must now catch up too.

Why the dishonour abuse definition matters

For years, Freedom Charity has said that there is no honour in abuse. We use the term Dishonour Abuse because it names the reality. Perpetrators may claim “honour”, but they use that language to control, punish or silence someone who has allegedly brought “shame” on a family or community.

That distinction matters.

If professionals soften the language, they may soften the risk. When they treat abuse as a cultural misunderstanding, a family disagreement or a private matter, they can miss the pattern in front of them.

A clear definition should expose abuse. It should never make abuse sound more polite.

What has changed

The Crown Prosecution Service has updated its guidance on so-called “honour”-based abuse and forced marriage. The guidance now includes harmful practices such as dowry abuse, immigration-related exploitation, transnational marriage abandonment, and spiritual or ritualistic abuse linked to beliefs in witchcraft, spirit possession or demonic influence. It also refers to virginity testing and hymenoplasty, following changes in legislation.

The CPS says prosecutors should consider family pressure, cultural expectations and coercive control when they identify and flag cases. That matters because dishonour abuse rarely appears as one isolated incident. It often involves a pattern of control, several perpetrators, extended family members and pressure from outside the immediate household.

The Home Office has also announced a new legal definition and guidance to help frontline professionals support victims and pursue perpetrators more effectively. The Government says the change aims to improve recognition, support and accountability.

This development matters. However, a definition must change practice, not simply sit in a policy document.

A definition does not protect anyone on its own

No definition protects a child if the adult in front of her fails to understand fear.

Legal wording cannot protect a woman if police treat immigration threats as a private family issue.

A young person remains at risk if school staff hear alarm, but wait for visible injuries.

Vulnerable adults also remain exposed if professionals assume relatives can consent for them.

The legal shift matters. Yet the real test happens in classrooms, GP surgeries, police stations, hospitals, universities, social care meetings and family courts.

In those places, victims either gain safety early or carry the danger alone.

Dishonour abuse does not always look like visible violence

Professionals must stop looking only for bruises.

Dishonour abuse can involve surveillance, threats, emotional pressure, forced travel, removal from education, phone control, marriage pressure, threats of being sent abroad, immigration threats, financial control and fear of family or community punishment.

It can also involve spiritual fear, dowry demands or family pressure disguised as duty.

Freedom Charity explains that dishonour abuse can include forced marriage, female genital mutilation, virginity testing, coercive or controlling behaviour, threats, assault, abduction, overseas abandonment, false imprisonment and murder.

Victims may not use the word “abuse”. A child may say, “I am scared to go home.” A young woman may say, “They have taken my passport.” A student may say, “My family are checking my phone.” A wife may say, “They will send me away.” Someone with learning disabilities may not have the words to explain pressure at all.

Therefore, professionals need to recognise the pattern before the victim has to prove the danger.

Immigration status can become a weapon

The CPS update matters because it recognises immigration-related exploitation. This can include threats of deportation, withholding vital documents, restricting access to support services, financial control, reporting someone to the authorities, or taking a spouse abroad and abandoning them without resources to prevent their return to the UK.

An abuser may control someone through fear of losing immigration status, fear of separation from children, fear of having no access to public funds, fear of disbelief, or fear of abandonment abroad without documents.

This is not a technical immigration issue. It is coercive control.

A passport can become a weapon. So can a visa. So can silence.

Forced marriage remains central

Forced marriage happens where one or both people do not, or cannot, consent to the marriage and pressure or abuse enters the picture. Freedom Charity’s Forced Marriage information explains that forced marriage breaches human rights and can involve physical, emotional, psychological or financial pressure.

This issue must stay central to the new definition.

Forced marriage is not only about a wedding ceremony. It can involve family control, threats, isolation, travel, deception, disability, care needs, immigration motives, sexual abuse, domestic abuse and long-term dependency.

A family cannot force someone into marriage because it solves a problem.

A wife is not a care plan.

A husband is not an immigration route.

Compliance is not consent.

Capacity must not be misunderstood

Some forced marriage cases involve people who cannot consent because of learning disability, cognitive impairment or other capacity concerns. In those cases, professionals must act with particular care.

Families cannot consent to marriage on behalf of another adult. Marriage requires free and valid consent from the person who marries. Where capacity is absent, pressure, ceremony or family approval cannot make the marriage safe or lawful.

Safeguarding professionals must understand this. A person may appear compliant, quiet or willing because they have learned to obey, because they fear consequences, or because they do not understand what marriage means.

That is not consent.

Capacity is a safeguarding issue, not a cultural issue.

Schools must not wait for a disclosure

Schools often see warning signs first. A child may become withdrawn. Attendance may change. A family may suddenly discuss travel. A student may fear holidays. Relatives may monitor a young person. Sometimes another child raises the alarm first.

Education matters because prevention should begin before crisis.

Freedom Charity’s PSHE-accredited forced marriage and FGM lesson plans support schools with accurate, practical and safe education. Teachers should not have to improvise around complex safeguarding issues.

Children need to know that forced marriage and FGM are not their fault. They also need to know that help exists.

Silence does not protect children. Clear education can.

Professionals must not mediate

Informal mediation can place victims at greater risk.

A professional may think they are helping by calling parents, relatives, community leaders or family friends. In reality, that call can expose a disclosure, alert perpetrators, trigger retaliation or accelerate plans to remove someone from safety.

Dishonour abuse can involve several perpetrators. Risk may sit in the family network, not only in one individual.

The safest professional response is not mediation. It is safeguarding.

That means listening carefully, recording accurately, following safeguarding procedures and seeking specialist advice.

Cultural sensitivity must never become professional hesitation

There is no cultural sensitivity in missing coercion.

Respect for cultural diversity does not require silence about abuse. Freedom Charity is clear that arranged marriage and forced marriage are not the same. Arranged marriage involves choice. Forced marriage involves pressure, abuse or the absence of valid consent.

Professionals should not fear direct questions when they have concerns. They should ask calmly, privately and safely.

They can ask:

Are you under pressure to marry?

Has anyone taken your passport?

Are you frightened of being sent abroad?

Does anyone watch or control you?

Can you use your phone freely?

Are you worried about what will happen if your family knows you have spoken to us?

Questions like these can open a door to safety.

What frontline professionals should do differently

The new dishonour abuse definition should change daily practice.

Police, teachers, NHS staff, social workers, university welfare teams and local authority professionals should look for patterns of control. They should record concerns clearly and avoid language that minimises abuse. They also need to understand that victims may feel frightened, loyal, conflicted or under intense pressure.

Risk can escalate quickly.

A fear of being taken abroad matters. Missing documents matter. Fear of a holiday matters. Sudden removal from education matters. Preparation for marriage involving a vulnerable adult matters.

Safeguarding depends on connecting the dots.

What Freedom Charity wants to see next

Freedom Charity welcomes stronger recognition of the complexity of dishonour abuse. However, recognition must now become practice.

Professionals need clear language, stronger understanding of coercive control and better awareness of forced marriage, capacity and immigration-related abuse. They should also treat overseas abandonment as a serious safeguarding risk and avoid mediation where family pressure may increase danger.

In addition, agencies must act before physical violence occurs. They need to record patterns across services, seek specialist safeguarding advice and make prevention part of school education.

The new definition should shape what happens when someone asks for help. Otherwise, it risks becoming another official phrase that does not change the victim’s reality.

How Freedom Charity helps

Freedom Charity works to protect children and young people from forced marriage, FGM and dishonour abuse through education, safeguarding resources, professional awareness, books, public campaigns and practical support.

Freedom’s work includes Dishonour Abuse guidance, Forced Marriage information, PSHE Educational Resources, PSHE-accredited lesson plans, But It’s Not Fair and Cut Flowers.

Freedom also provides a helpline and practical safeguarding support for those affected or worried about someone at risk.

The definition must lead to action

The new dishonour abuse definition matters because words shape recognition. However, official language must not hide the abuse behind another phrase.

This issue affects children removed from school, women controlled through passports and visas, girls threatened with shame, and vulnerable adults who cannot consent. It also includes forced marriage, FGM, dowry abuse, transnational abandonment, spiritual fear and coercive control.

Above all, it asks whether professionals recognise danger early enough to prevent harm.

The law may finally be catching up with dishonour abuse. Frontline safeguarding must now do the same.

FAQs

What is the dishonour abuse definition?

The dishonour abuse definition should describe abuse used to control, punish or silence someone for allegedly bringing shame on a family or community. Freedom Charity uses the term dishonour abuse because there is no honour in coercion, violence or control.

Why does Freedom Charity say dishonour abuse?

Freedom Charity uses dishonour abuse because the word “honour” can echo the excuse used by perpetrators. Dishonour abuse places accountability where it belongs, with those who control, threaten or harm others.

What does the new CPS guidance include?

The CPS guidance now includes dowry abuse, immigration-related exploitation, transnational marriage abandonment, spiritual or ritualistic abuse, virginity testing and hymenoplasty within the wider framework of so-called “honour”-based abuse and harmful practices.

Is forced marriage part of dishonour abuse?

Yes. Forced marriage can form part of dishonour abuse where pressure, fear, family control or abuse makes someone marry. A person must give free and valid consent.

Can immigration status become abuse?

Yes. Immigration status can become a method of abuse through deportation threats, document control, financial control, restricted access to help, or abandonment abroad.

What should professionals do if they suspect dishonour abuse?

Professionals should listen privately and record concerns clearly. They should avoid mediation, follow safeguarding procedures and seek specialist advice. Where family involvement may increase risk, they should not contact relatives for reassurance.

Call to action

If you are worried about forced marriage, FGM or dishonour abuse, or you are concerned about someone else, contact Freedom Charity for support and guidance.

Schools and professionals can also use Freedom’s PSHE-accredited forced marriage and FGM lesson plans and educational resources to help children understand their rights before crisis.

CPS: Spiritual and immigration abuse included in guidance
CPS: Honour-Based Abuse and Forced Marriage prosecution guidance
GOV.UK: New laws to protect victims of so-called honour-based abuse
GOV.UK: Forced marriage guidance
GOV.UK: Forced Marriage Unit statistics

By Aneeta Prem, Founder of Freedom Charity
Published: 9 May 2026