On Friday 4th July 2025, the Conservative MP for Leicester East, Shivani Raja, submitted a written question to the Secretary of State, asking if the Home Department plans to create a statutory definition of ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA).
It is a question that has been posed on numerous occasions by peer groups in our sector who have agreed a statutory definition and are campaigning for it to be added to the statute book through a targeted campaign #Push4Change.
In February this year, the Minister for Safeguarding and VAWG hosted a roundtable on HBA which was attended by specialist sector organisations and government departments to discuss what a statutory definition could look like, with Home Office officials then working through next steps, yet there is still no statutory definition, or clear actions to create one.
Responding to this latest question, submitted by Shivana Raja MP, the under-Secretary of State, Jess Phillips, responded, saying: “The Government is tackling ‘honour’-based abuse through its landmark mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. Key to this is ensuring that HBA is well understood by frontline professionals, Government agencies, and impacted communities. Currently there is a definition of HBA used by the criminal justice system, but we recognise there is more that can be done to raise the level of consistency of understanding regarding HBA in Government and across statutory services. The Home Office is considering this alongside other measures to prevent HBA from happening, support victims and bring perpetrators to justice. More detail will be set out in our forthcoming Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.”
Afrah Qassim, Savera UK CEO and Founder, said: “This question is timely and vital. In the past year, as a specialist service helping survivors and those at risk of HBA and harmful practices, we have seen a 46% increase in referrals, yet we know that this is just the tip of the iceberg, as many cases go unidentified, due to lack of understanding and ability to recognise them.
“A statutory definition of HBA would facilitate better identification through shared understanding across all professional sectors, improved protection of survivors and those at risk through improved statutory guidance. It would also drive for more research, improved data collection and more consistent reporting, which would allow more informed decision making and appropriate allocation of resources to specialist services. We stand with our sector peers and urge the government to prioritise the creation and agreement of a statutory definition for HBA, as it will save and change lives, and help us work toward our vision of a world without HBA and harmful practices.”
