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Abstract

Health practitioners, including public health nurses, health visitors and school nurses, are optimally placed to identify victims of abuse, including honour-based violence (HBV). Health appointments may be the only chance that a victim has to be alone with someone they can trust and to whom they feel able to disclose abuse. However, for this disclosure to occur the practitioner must be knowledgeable about HBV and the complexities involved. This article will examine the concept of HBV as described in the literature, how HBV differs from domestic violence, and the role of community practitioners in recognising and assessing the needs of victims.

Key words

Honour-based violence, honour, izzat, sharaf, namus, domestic violence, children

Introduction

Honour-based violence (HBV) and honour killings have been the subject of heightened media interest in the last decade due to an increase in the number of cases being reported in the UK and campaigning against HBV by women's organisations. In 2002, Heshu Yunes, a 16-year-old British Kurdish girl, was brutally stabbed to death by her father for having a boyfriend. In 2012, the parents of Shafilea Ahmed, a 17-year-old British Pakistani girl from Cheshire, were found guilty of her murder in the name of'honour', following years of abuse.

HBV is most prevalent in south Asian and Middle Eastern countries, where to maintain family honour ('izzat' in Urdu and 'sharaf' or 'namus' in Arabic) and to uphold the family's standing in the community, acts of abuse and violence are committed (Gilbert et al, 2004).

Are nursing practitioners fully aware of the implications of such abuse on health? Would they know how to recognise such a victim and how to support them?

The prevalence of this type of abuse varies dramatically throughout the UK (House of Commons, 2008). The areas prosecuting the highest number of incidents are north-west England, Yorkshire, Humberside and London (Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), 2013a). Many victims supported to flee abuse are rehoused some distance away from their home, potentially in an area where HBV is not routinely considered by professionals (CPS, 2013a).

There are few guidelines in the UK for health professionals to support the victims of HBV (WHO, 2013; Wellock, 2008). The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Code states that accountable practitioners are required to use the...

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