All in the name of honour

On 25 November 2008, the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 came into force, and with it, the establishment of 12 pilot specialist force marriage courts up and down the country which will deal with cases under the act. What judges and practitioners alike will have to come to terms with is the very high level of risk '“ in many cases to life itself '“ that clients can face when refusing a forced marriage.

In its report on domestic violence (DV), honour-based violence (HBV) and forced marriage (FM) published in May this year, the Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC) widened the definition of domestic violence to include FM and HBV, but warned that HBV differed from DV in that rather than a victim facing one perpetrator, there may be many, including close family, extended family and even the wider community to which the victim belongs. This means that the risk of evading retribution for a perceived dishonour to the family or community can be slim, and safety issues must be the first concern of any practitioner asked to advise on this issue.

In its report on HBV, the Centre for Social Cohesion described a number of ways in which honour can be perceived to have be damaged (Brandon J, Hafez S, Crimes of the Community: Honour-Based Violence in the UK. The Centre for Social Cohesion [2008] p.6). These include becoming 'Western' in dress, behaviour or attitude, defying parental rules or authority, having a boyfriend or relationship before marriage, and using drugs or alcohol. In many cases, just the suspicion of a breach of the rules can be enough. In a recent case a 16-year-old girl reported being beaten with a wooden implement until it broke across her back, just for having been seen talking to a boy in her class at school.

Breaching the family honour

Like forced marriage, HBV happens in all communities and across religions, and in the UK tends to be prevalent in communities that place inordinate store on the virginity and purity of its women and girls. As one man put it, he had 'wanted to make it clear to his daughter that she carried the family's honour in her body' (Onal.A, Honour Killing [2008] (SAQI) p.121). Forced marriage is often the knee-jerk response when a family suspects that one of their own is breaching the family honour. 'There is an absolute correlation between forced marriage and crimes committed in the name of honour. In cultures where marriages are conducted between families, and where women are valued for their capacities for domestic labour and child bearing above all others, submission and chastity become the essential of a woman's worth in life' (HASC Domestic Violence, Forced Marriage and 'Honour'-Based Violence, sixth report of session 2007'“08. p.12).

'Forced marriage is often in itself an honour crime, used as a punishment for girls who defy parental authority, and as a means to increase masculine control over a woman.' This spokesperson from the Iraqi and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation told the HASC that in this way, marriage as a transaction between families can create the conditions of shame if one party is suspected of passing on 'damaged goods'.

Conversely, honour violence and, at its extreme, honour killings have been used to attempt to force marriages where a family member is reluctant. Officially there are 12 honour killings in the UK each year, though the suspicion is that the true figure is much higher. In giving evidence to the HASC, Commander Steve Allen of ACPO's Police FM unit said that there could be as many as 1,700 victims of FM and HBV in the UK each year (HASC; Domestic Violence and 'Honour'-Based Violence, sixth report of session 2007-08 Vol 2. Oral and written evidence. p.22).

Stories from the coalface

There have been many high-profile cases of honour killing in the UK over the past few years, and in many cases FM was part of the equation: On 22 November, the International Campaign Against Honour Killings posted the story of Natalie on its website.

Through her (Middle Eastern) community in the UK Natalie was introduced to the man that her family insisted she must marry. Her family and community were aware that he had been in prison for attempting to kill his first wife.

When she refused to go through with it, she was subjected to extremes of violence, not only from her prospective husband, but from her family as well because of the shame she had brought on them. She was able to run away. Knowing she will be killed if she is found, she has changed her appearance, changed her address numerous times, and lives in fear. Her family continues to search for her.

Heshu Yones was not so lucky. On 12 October 2002, aged 16, Heshu, from a Kurdish family, was stabbed to death by her father in a flat in Acton, London.

Abdalla Yones had received an anonymous note claiming that his daughter was having sex with a boyfriend. That was enough to provoke the frenzied attack in which he stabbed her with such force that the tip of the knife broke off in her body.

Surjit Athwal, a 26-year-old British customs officer disappeared on a holiday in India with her husband and mother-in-law. She had travelled with them for a family wedding and never returned. It later transpired that she had been planning to divorce her husband. It took years of campaigning by her family to bring her murderers to justice. They were supported by Southall Black Sisters and Amnesty International who said that the case bore the marks of an honour killing (McVeigh T, 'Riddle of the Mother who Vanishes', the Guardian, 22 July 2008).

In September 2007, her husband Sukhdave and her mother-in-law Bachan Athwal were finally convicted of her murder. A statement read out on behalf of her brother, Jagdeesh Singh recounted the suffocating control exercised over Surjit by her in-laws who perceived her as being totally owned by themselves (McVeigh K, 'Woman, 70, and son get life for 'honour' killing of daughter-in-law', the Guardian, 22 July 2001). He said: 'She had no rights. Not even to complain.'

Perhaps the most disturbing of all of the cases is that of 20-year-old Banaz Mahmood, murdered by her father, uncle and cousin for having a boyfriend. Banaz was from an Iranian Kurdish family living in London. Her family had been told that she had been seeing a young man, Rahmat Sulemani, and she had been beaten and threatened with death.

Banaz was to make five appeals to the police for help, even naming the men who would eventually kill her. Sadly, the police wrote off her fears as melodramatic, with one officer, Angela Cornes, going as far as to record in her notebook that she was 'calculating and manipulative'.

On 12 December 2005 she had written to the police saying that her family was going to kill her. On New Year's Eve 2005 the police were called out to a Wimbledon Cafe to speak to a bare-footed and bleeding Banaz who smelled strongly of alcohol.

She told them that her father and uncle had forced brandy on her, and then attempted to kill her. It was on this occasion that the misguided police comments were recorded. These were later to be read out at the trial of her killers, sparking an investigation by the IPCC. In hospital, realising that she had not been believed by the police, Banaz made a chilling recording on her boyfriend's mobile (which, sadly, can be viewed on YouTube) bearing witness to the fact that she was going to lose her life.

Let down by police

By 23 January 2006 she was dead. The last recorded sighting of her alive was of her going into Mitcham police station in a last attempt to get help, at 5.50pm on 22 January 2006. She was beaten, tortured, raped and finally murdered by members of her own family. Her body was put in a suitcase and buried under the house of a relative in Birmingham. At their trial, her father and uncle showed no remorse. The IPCC commissioner, Nicola Williams recorded that the 'police response was at best mixed', and that 'in relation to two incidents, we found that Banaz Mahmood was let down by the service she received'.

It was anticipated that police disciplinary action would follow, but in an article in The Times on 1 December 2008 it was established that none would be taken. This has caused alarm and distress amongst the front line support groups working with the victims of FM/HBV.

What is clear, however, that lessons have been learned. The recommendation of the HASC report for training of frontline workers on FM and HBV is beginning to be rolled out, and ACPO have produced a protocol to attempt to ensure that these mistakes are not repeated.

Practitioners need to listen and think

What is worth reiterating is that when a client presents to a practitioner fleeing forced marriage and/or HBV, we must listen and respect the risk they run, and the courage it has taken to get to the point of asking for help.

Solicitors will need to think creatively about how to protect their client's identity and whereabouts in any action undertaken, even if it means issuing proceedings in another part of the country and using agent solicitors as a blind if they are not to inadvertently put their client's lives on the line.