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Posts Tagged ‘honour based violence’

FGM: A tale of force, emotional blackmail and evil dreams

She saw the blade, but dared not move. That was the command! If she did, it would haunt her, her children and the generations to come. That was the cultural notion.

Syada Chebet (middle) is now an activist against Female Genital Mutilation in her village

She saw the blade, but dared not move. That was the command! If she did, it would haunt her, her children and the generations to come. That was the cultural notion.

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Syada Chebet, only a teenager then, told herself it was indeed for the best. So if she braved the knife, that funny-looking blade, just for a second, it would be just fine.

Her future would be just fine.  It was only part of her genitalia, it should be fine, she thought.

“It will not take long, it cannot take long,” she soothed herself.  She would let the wrinkly and mean-looking old lady sucking on a tobacco pipe, cut her genitalia. After all, they said it should take a second, right? No, it did not!

The closer, the rusty blade got, the more frightened she got. So, she thought to herself: “I can run, I will run!” Sadly, before she could react, two giant men tore her thighs apart, and pressed them on each side.

“Stay down!” they commanded, all the while stepping on her thighs.

The old woman, also the village’s mutilation surgeon, had since abandoned her pipe and had now started speaking like she was possessed. With her rough fingers, the old woman latched onto Chebet’s genitalia, and pulled.

Read More: http://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1413895/fgm-tale-force-emotional-blackmail-evil-dreams

Only 18 FGM protection orders issued in three months despite thousands facing the illegal practice

Only 18 of the new specialist protection orders designed to shield young girls from female genital mutilation (FGM) have been issued since they were introduced three months ago, according to Government figures.

From July to September only 28 applications were made, of which 18 were approved; a remarkably small number considering the estimated 63,000 young girls who are at risk of undergoing the illegal practice, and the 170,000 women aged 15 and over who have already undergone it.

Speaking to the Guardian, Celia Jeffreys, head of the National FGM Centre, a partnership project between Barnardo’s and the Local Government Association (LGA), said that professionals tasked with protecting children need to be ‘braver’ in there use of the powers afforded by the protection orders.

Read More: http://www.localgov.co.uk/Only-18-FGM-protection-orders-issued-in-three-months-despite-thousands-facing-the-illegal-practice/40059

Met police not prepared in dealing with honour crimes, new report finds

The Metropolitan police (MPS) needs to be more prepared for how it would protect victims of honour based violence.

A new report, the first of its kind on honour crimes, found the force is under-prepared in keeping victims of forced marriages and female genital mutilation safe.

The report, carried out by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), identified that the MPS struggled with enforcing protection and preventing the crimes from taking place. Honour-based violence is the term used to refer to practices used to control the behaviour of women and girls in order to protect supposed cultural and religious beliefs.

The London Borough of Hounslow was recognised last week for its work to eradicate violence against women, but it appears more work is yet to be done across London. A spokesperson for the Met told Getwestlondon: “The MPS is committed to continuing to work with affected communities, health, education, social care and other partners to tackle and eradicate honour-based abuse and harmful practises in all its forms.

“By working with affected communities, charities and public services, we aim to get a better understanding of the risks faced by victims to prevent such crimes taking place, safeguard victims and where appropriate bring offenders to justice.”

Read More: http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/news/west-london-news/met-police-not-prepared-dealing-10565981http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/news/west-london-news/met-police-not-prepared-dealing-10565981

Victims of honour crimes being failed by ‘majority of police forces’, says inspectorate

Victims of honour based violence are being failed by the majority of police forces in England and Wales, according to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC).

In its first ever inspection of the way police deal with honour-based violence, including female genital mutilation and forced marriage, HMIC reveals that just three out of 43 forces are properly prepared to deal with cases. And almost half of forces are not ready when it comes to being able to protect victims.

riting in the foreword, Sir Thomas Winsor, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, says: “Our findings show that honour-based violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation are not yet being given the priority by the police service that victims deserve.”

The inspectors warn that existing laws do not fully cover the range of risks faced by victims. Although forced marriage and female genital mutilation are criminal offences in their own right, the report warns that there is “no bespoke provision in law for the protection of victims”in cases of honour-based violence which do not include these crimes.

Responding to the findings, Yasmin Khan, director of Halo Project, a charity which helps people who have suffered honour-based violence, said: “It is absolutely paramount that police and safeguarding agencies act swiftly and deal with risks associated with this abhorrent abuse. Too many victims are suffering unnecessarily due to the lack of training and procedures within many organisations.”

Newham has second highest number of reported honour based crime in London

Statistics from a Freedom of Information request to the Met revealed that Newham had 59 reports of honour related crime since 2010.

According to the figures, the borough came joint second with neighbouring Redbridge for the number of reported honour crimes in London, while Brent topped the list with 82 incidents.

Sudarshan Bhuhi, chief executive officer of Stratford charity Aanchal Women’s Aid, said she was not surprised by the figures and that she believes more incidents may be going unreported.

She added: “The issue is quite close to my heart.

“I have been working in here and the economic divide is so diverse – there’s not enough funds for specialised support.” Balvinder Saund, of the Sikh Women’s Alliance (SWA) in Ilford, explained that the “idea of honour” was still present.

“It’s about control and subservience. These old ways of thinking should be left behind – there’s no place for it,” she said. A Newham Council spokesman explained confidential support is available to all victims of domestic and sexual abuse.

Read More: http://www.newhamrecorder.co.uk/news/newham_has_second_highest_number_of_reported_honour_based_crime_in_london_1_4295030

Asian trio who rammed their car into the boyfriend of one of their sisters in ‘honour attack’ all avoid prison

Three Asian men who carried out an ‘honour attack’ on the boyfriend of one of their sisters have all avoided prison terms.

Kasim Ali, 25, and his cousins Adeel Ali, 20, and Razi Khalid, 18, targeted Aquib Baig because their family did not approve of him seeing their sister, a court was told. They rammed his car before chasing him into a corner store in Blackburn, Lancashire, where they kicked and beat him in front of horrified shoppers.

Despite a judge condemning the violence, the trio were this week spared jail for their attack on Mr Baig, which took place on April 13. Sentencing them at Preston Crown Court Sessions House, Recorder Julian Shaw told them: ‘There is no place for any religious or honour based violence.

‘It’s abhorrent, it’s against your religion, it’s unlawful. I have had to see the violence perpetrated.

‘Mercifully, perhaps more by luck than judgement, the victim didn’t sustain more serious injuries. ‘He was attacked by all three of you together at the same time despite attempts by member of the public to break it up and despite the perception that he offered no violence towards you at all.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3301689/Asian-trio-carried-honour-attack-Blackburn-avoid-prison.html#ixzz3qRm7wYYj

The Halo Project Charity delivering forced marriage, honour based violence and FGM training across the UK

Wednesday 28/10/2015
Noreen Riaz states – due to our model of delivery and case work, we are able to draw upon expertise and situations which can highlight specific issues for victims. This allows tailored training for a range of professionals based on sector specific needs.

Today, we are in London providing a programme to Refuge and Women’s Aid

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Girl forced to marry a 78-year-old when she was just NINE is freed after four years of marriage in Kenya

A girl in Kenya who was forced to marry a man old enough to be her grandfather when she was only nine years old has been freed after four years of hell.

Younis, 13, who is part of the Samburu tribe, was married off by her parents in accordance to tribal custom, which also includes female genital mutilation and offering girls to male relatives for sex.

She was forced to live with the 78-year-old man for four years until she escaped and walked barefoot to a boarding school for girls called the Samburu Girls Foundation.

Tragic tale: Younis endured four years of  trauma after being married off to a 78-year-old man by her parents

Explaining her harrowing and heartbreaking tale, Younis told CNN: ‘When I was about nine years old, my father married me off to an old man who was 78 years old’  ‘He told me that I will be a wife but I was just innocent, I wanted to come to school. But that man wanted me to be a third wife. I told him, I will not be your wife, and he caned me.’

Luckily for Younis and around 200 other girls across Kenya, the Samburu Girls Foundation offered her a way out.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3269250/Girl-forced-marry-78-year-old-just-NINE-freed-four-years-marriage-Kenya.html#ixzz3oN2YsyNl

Syrian gang rape victim who fled to Germany after her ordeal is stabbed to death ‘in honour killing ordered by her own mother because she was seen as unclean after her sex assault’

A woman whose family branded her ‘unclean’ after she was gang-raped in her Syrian homeland has been found murdered in Germany – allegedly on the orders of her own mother.

Police believe the victim, named only as Rokstan M, 20, was stabbed to death by her father and brothers in the twisted logic that she had brought disgrace on her family through the sex attack.

Shortly before she was found dead in an allotment garden in the eastern German city of Dessau, she apparently had a premonition of her fate. Writing on her WhatsApp profile, she said: ‘I am awaiting death. But I am too young to die.’

Rokstan had been living in a house for single women before returning to her family a few days before she was murdered and buried in a shallow grave. The killing has served to pull into sharp focus the cultural gulf between Germans and the more than one million refugees expected to arrive in the country this year.

Rokstan had arrived in Germany two years ago following her ordeal.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3262990/Syrian-gang-rape-victim-fled-Germany-ordeal-stabbed-death-honour-killing-ordered-mother-seen-unclean-sex-assault.html#ixzz3ntf4lsHu

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