Cleveland’s Police and Crime Commissioner has today pledged to back a new initiative aimed at tackling what he described as the ‘misery and suffering’ caused by so-called honour-based violence and forced marriages. Barry Coppinger, speaking at the launch of the HALO Project held in Middlesbrough, stressed that, as well as providing support to victims, it […]

Forcing someone to marry is set to be made a crime after David Cameron rejected claims that doing so would simply drive the practice underground. The move, expected to be announced tomorrow would represent a victory for campaigners who argued that only full criminalisation would deter abusive families. Almost 1,700 people a year in Britain […]

David Cameron is right to criminalise forced marriage. This abominable, inhumane act robs people of their lives. In deciding to criminalise forced marriage – the act of coercing a person to marry against their will – the government has made a bold statement: that this heinous, inhumane, oppressive act is never acceptable. The decision couldn’t come soon enough. […]

Parents who coerce their children to marry will face jail under moves to be set out tomorrow by David Cameron. The Prime Minister will announce that forced marriage will be made a criminal offence following reports that up to 8,000 Britons are made to marry against their consent every year. He has previously described the […]

The issue must be seen in the context of violence against women and the inequality found throughout society. On Sunday a Canadian court found three members of an Afghan family, the father, mother and son, guilty of killing three teenage sisters and another woman. The judge described the crimes as “cold-blooded, shameful murders” resulting from a […]

Nearly 3,000 so-called honour attacks were recorded by police in Britain last year, new research has revealed. According to figures obtained by the Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation (Ikwro), at least 2,823 incidents of ‘honour-based’ violence took place, with the highest number recorded in London. The charity said the statistics fail to provide the […]