Forced Marriages and Honour Based Violence is a global problem

Forced Marriages and Honour Based Violence is a global problem, but the extent of these issues within the UK was underestimated and the magnitude of the local problem was previously unknown.  

Honour based violence is a cultural phenomenon and can affect any community. There was a lack of understanding of the problem and professionals did not understand the cultural issues involved.  Many girls and women suffered in silence as it was difficult to name and address the problem of honour based violence.

The number of reported incidents of forced marriages (FM)  and honour based violence (HBV) has been increasing every year, and now some of these issues are being addressed with the introduction of new agencies to support victims of FM and HBV, training and advice is being made available to frontline agencies and changes in legislation have been welcomed to combat this abuse of basic human rights.