Hundreds of thousands of people face violence, abuse or death each year due to ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA) and harmful practices, yet there is a common misconception that these issues only happen in certain communities. This is inaccurate, perpetuates harmful stereotypes and also can prevent cases from being identified and properly responded to, meaning that survivors and those at risk do not get the help they need.
HBA and harmful practices, including forced marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM) and conversion ‘therapy’ can happen to anyone, regardless of age, culture, sexuality, gender or ethnicity. When we expanded our service into Cheshire in April 2023, through our partnership with the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire, The initial response from some stakeholders was that these issues were not present in the borough.
However, since then Savera UK has seen a 400% increase in referrals from Cheshire for people who have been subjected to, or are at risk of HBA and harmful practices.
Savera UK Founder and CEO, Afrah Qassim, said: “The initial response to our expansion into Cheshire mirrored the response we received when we first launched Savera UK in Merseyside, more than 14 years ago. Because there was no data to evidence the presence of HBA and harmful practices, people did not believe it was an issue for Merseyside.
“From working within communities, we knew differently. The issues of HBA and harmful practices are often hidden and can be difficult for professionals to identify and challenge. We developed a service that allowed us to start collecting the data to evidence the presence of the issues and providing professionals and communities with the knowledge and tools to identify them and respond appropriately.
“We are now working with a host of organisations and statutory and voluntary services who have joined our mission to end HBA and harmful practices, and we are bringing the same model we used in Merseyside to Cheshire. We are breaking the myth that Cheshire communities are not affected and showing that HBA and harmful practices do happen here in Cheshire, and that we can end them by working together.”
Working in partnership with The Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire Savera UK’s Project Development Coordinator, Ayesha, has developed partnerships with other organisations through engagement, outreach and training, which has helped to improve identification of and response to HBA and harmful practices and increase referrals into our Direct Intervention Team.
While progress has been made, we know there’s more to do. This led to the launch of our latest campaign HBA & HARMFUL PRACTICES HAPPEN HERE.
What are HBA and Harmful Practices?
‘Honour’-based abuse (HBA) is a crime or incident that has or may have been committed to protect or defend the perceived ‘honour’ of the family and/or community.
Harmful practices have been recognised as a human rights violation. However, those who practise them, still believe that they reflect the values and beliefs held by members of a family and/or a community, as they have been held for generations.
Examples of harmful practices include: forced marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM), and conversion ‘therapy’.
Working in Cheshire
We partnered with the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire to deliver a project that would allow for training of professionals to help them spot the signs of HBA and harmful practices and equip them with the right tools when working with those at risk.
At the heart of this is building new partnerships with organisations in Cheshire in order to raise awareness among professionals in the voluntary and statutory sector, in communities, and amongst the general public that these issues can affect anyone.
Ayesha, Savera UK Project Development Coordinator for Cheshire, said: “Since stepping into my role as Project Development Coordinator of the Cheshire Project, I have encountered numerous challenges, particularly the entrenched stereotypical views surrounding honour-based abuse (HBA) and harmful practices, and misconceptions about who might be at risk.
I quickly realised that there was a significant lack of awareness and understanding among professionals, communities, and the general public.
Shafilea Ahmed was one of the most high-profile cases of an ‘honour’ killing in the UK, that happened in the area, reminding us of the importance of our role in raising awareness and working collectively to end HBA & harmful practices, for Shafilea and anyone affected.”
The Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire, Dan Price, said: “Seeing the number of referrals from Cheshire and hearing the impact Savera UK has had on those who experienced ‘honour’-based abuse, demonstrates the importance of needing this specialised service in our county. We’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this issue in Cheshire, but we’ve shown that help is available to those who need it.
“As we look to the future, I hope that we start to break the taboo of speaking out against these crimes that can often be hidden. With this in mind, I’m positive that we can begin to challenge the wider issue of ‘honour’-based abuse in the county, with the ambition of eventually removing it from our society as a whole.”
Frontline professionals in Cheshire can learn how to further improve responses to HBA and harmful practices including, forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM) at our event on the 27th September.
HBA & HARMFUL PRACTICES HAPPEN HERE
