Honour Based Abuse and Dishonour Abuse

 

Honour Based Abuse and Dishonour Abuse: Why Words Save Lives

People search for honour based abuse, and many professionals also search HBV (honour-based violence), because that is the language used in headlines, systems and policy. However, the phrase carries a built-in distortion. The word “honour” sits beside abuse, as if the two can belong together.

At Freedom Charity, we call it what it is: Dishonour Abuse. There is no honour in coercion, control, threats, forced marriage, FGM, or violence. Power is the motive. Fear is the outcome.

This page keeps the search term people use, because findability can save lives. It also corrects the framing, because accuracy protects survivors.

For journalists and producers covering HBV and honour based abuse

If you are reporting on HBV (honour-based violence), honour based abuse, forced marriage, FGM, or safeguarding failure, you can cite this page and our framing: Dishonour Abuse.

Freedom Charity position: there is no honour in abuse.

Fast briefing you can use:

Press contact: use Freedom Charity’s contact route and include your deadline in the message.
https://freedomcharity.org.uk/contact-us/

Quick definition: HBV and honour based abuse

Honour based abuse is a pattern of intimidation, threats, coercion, control and violence. A perpetrator may claim they are preventing “shame” or restoring “family reputation”.

In reality, this is Dishonour Abuse, because shame belongs to the abuser and any colluders, not to the survivor.

One person can carry it out. Multiple perpetrators or enablers are more common. Risk can escalate quickly, and it can also remain hidden for years.

Why the words matter

Survivors tell us the same thing in different ways: the word “honour” can silence them. That language can also mislead the public and professionals at the exact moment when clarity matters most.

The word can do three dangerous things at once. First, it can sound like a cultural norm rather than a safeguarding crisis. Next, it can encourage professionals to treat the family as a route to “resolution”. Finally, it can shift embarrassment onto the survivor instead of onto the perpetrators.

That is why Freedom Charity insists on Dishonour Abuse. The term places moral responsibility back where it belongs. Professional responsibility becomes clearer too, because this is abuse and it demands safeguarding action.

HBV in policy: what prosecutors and Parliament mean by “so-called honour”

Public bodies often use the phrase “so-called honour-based abuse”. That wording matters because it rejects the idea that “honour” is a valid explanation.

Crown Prosecution Service guidance is clear that cases are prosecuted for the offences committed, while being flagged as so-called honour-based abuse where relevant.
https://www.cps.gov.uk/prosecution-guidance/so-called-honour-based-abuse

For wider context, the CPS overview page is also useful for journalists and professionals.
https://www.cps.gov.uk/types-crime/violence-against-women-and-girls/honour-based-abuse

What Dishonour Abuse looks like on the ground

Dishonour Abuse often presents as a tightening circle. A survivor may not call it abuse at first. Instead, they describe pressure, panic, monitoring, fear, or “family problems”.

Common signs include:

Importantly, honour based abuse can be engineered to look like “choice”. Compliance may be a safety strategy rather than consent.

The most dangerous professional mistake: family contact and mediation

Many safeguarding models assume parents are safe partners. Dishonour Abuse cases can punish that assumption.

Where the family system is part of the control, contact can increase danger. A disclosure can trigger rapid escalation and punishment. In addition, it can increase the risk of removal from school or services, forced travel, or violence.

Specialist safeguarding practice matters here. Safe enquiry, careful recording, and multi-agency routes reduce risk. Improvisation can do the opposite.

Where the law already bites in England and Wales

Dishonour Abuse is not one offence. It is a pattern of offences. Depending on the facts, it can include:

The legal point is simple. Culture does not need to be proven. Conduct, coercion, intent, and harm are what matter.

For prosecutors and investigators, the CPS guidance on forced marriage and related offending is also relevant.
https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/forced-marriage-and-related-offences

A practical tool professionals can use: the Dishonour Index

Headline terms can hide harm. That is one reason survivors fall through cracks.

Freedom Charity’s Dishonour Index focuses on behaviours beneath the label, including surveillance, collusion, escalating threats, and control that may not leave visible injury. It also recognises how perpetrators may use systems, family networks, and “reputation” narratives to pressure compliance.

In practice, early warning signs are often administrative and behavioural, not medical. Sudden travel talk, school withdrawal, device control, and intensified monitoring should be treated as risk indicators, not “family issues”.

If you are worried about someone: what to do in the first hour

When honour based abuse is suspected, treat time as a safeguarding factor. Early mistakes can increase risk.

Use these steps:

Immediate danger requires emergency services.

For specialist support, Freedom Charity’s helpline route is here:
https://freedomcharity.org.uk/helpline/

If you work in a school: safer safeguarding practice

Schools are often the first safe place a child has. That reality also makes schools a high-risk point for discovery by perpetrators.

If a pupil discloses honour based abuse:

Statutory guidance for schools in England is here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education–2

If you are a GP, nurse, social worker, or police officer: what good practice looks like

Dishonour Abuse tests professional discipline. Multiple perpetrators, collusion, and rapid escalation are common features.

Strong practice includes:

Multi-agency statutory guidance is here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children–2

For journalists: how to report HBV without reinforcing the myth

Language can either protect survivors or strengthen perpetrator narratives.

Good reporting describes the conduct as coercive control and violence motivated by shame and control. Strong pieces name tactics clearly, including intimidation, surveillance, collusion, threats, forced marriage, and FGM. Responsible coverage focuses on institutional duties, rather than recycling “honour” myths or community stereotypes.

Framing to avoid:

Why this matters for public policy

Policy lives or dies through consistency. Data that is recorded inconsistently becomes risk that is not seen. Practice that treats “honour” as explanation can turn safeguarding into negotiation.

Clear definitions, disciplined professional practice, and consistent recording close the gaps where survivors are harmed.

Freedom Charity: practical help and prevention

Freedom Charity exists for one reason: safety.

If you need help, or you are worried about someone, reach out:

You can also support prevention through our campaigns and resources: