General Article Reports of ‘honour-based’ abuse increased following lockdowns and change to police recording rules

Topic Selected: 'Honour-based' Abuse Book Volume: 443

Reports of ‘honour-based’ abuse increased following lockdowns and change to police recording rules

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Sadiq Bhanbhro, Sheffield Hallam University

Cases of so-called honour-based abuse (HBA) are on the rise in England and Wales.

Home Office figures show 2,905 HBA offences in 2022-23 – an increase of 1% in the year ending March 2023 from the year before. This is a rise of 10% since 2020-21.

It has been mandatory for police in England and Wales to record crimes often referred to as “honour-based” since 2019. Between 2016 and 2020, the number recorded rose by 81%.

This mandatory reporting may be behind some of the increase in offences. But the pandemic lockdowns also provided abusers with greater opportunity to offend. What’s more, there may be many cases of HBA that go unreported.

There are a variety of harmful practices categorised as HBA. These include forced marriages, sexual, psychological and economic abuse, female genital mutilation, and honour killings. The...

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