Honor-Based Violence

A pattern of violence, threats, coercion or other abuse committed against a family member, most often a woman or girl, by one or more relatives who believe the victim has brought shame or dishonor on the family, typically in connection with a relationship, a refusal of an arranged marriage, dress, or another perceived departure from expected cultural or religious norms. Distinguished in criminological and law enforcement literature from an honor killing specifically in that honor-based violence covers the broader range of non-lethal abuse, including assault, forced confinement and forced marriage, that a victim may face, of which killing is only the most extreme and least common outcome; the United Kingdom's Crown Prosecution Service and a number of police forces maintain a specific honor-based violence and abuse policy and reporting category, distinct from ordinary domestic violence, reflecting a documented pattern in which multiple family members, rather than a single abusive partner, may be complicit in planning or carrying out the abuse.