A review of child protection practices has identified ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA) as an area where social care and safeguarding professionals would benefit from more “time, resources and training”.

The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel said senior managers needed to give practitioners these three things to ensure effective safeguarding and to promote “safe professional challenge” within and between agencies, as well as allowing them to gain knowledge, skill and confidence.

‘Honour’-based abuse was identified in the report as an area with skills gaps, along with intrafamilial child sexual abuse and complex mental health issues. 

Speaking of the report Afrah Qassim, CEO and Founder of Savera UK, said: “This report echoes other studies and highlights the need for more time, resources and training in challenging areas such as the one we work in.

“Savera UK was established in 2010 because we knew that ‘honour’-based abuse and harmful practices like female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage were occurring in communities across the UK, but going unidentified or not receiving an appropriate response. 

“This was largely down to a lack of awareness in spotting the signs and understanding of these issues, as well as a reluctance to challenge them when they were identified, for fear of causing offence or being accused of discrimination.

“We have seen progress in the last 14 years through working with frontline professionals to educate and better equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to address these issues and provide those at risk the help they need.

“To stop HBA and harmful practices, it is often necessary to challenge communities, other professionals, local authorities and other agencies. Specific and specialist training is needed to ensure that professionals have the skills and the tools to do this effectively and confidently.

“This report makes it clear that practitioners can only gain these skills with enough time and the right resources and training, so this must be a priority for decision makers and senior leaders in the sector.”

To find out more about Savera UK’s HBA and harmful practice training, click here.