'Vulnerable honour based abuse victims will be stuck in a vicious cycle unless change happens now'

Leeds-based charity Karma Nirvana has written to the Government calling on a statutory definition of honour based abuse.

The charity's goal is to end honour based abuse in the UK. It runs a national helpline to help those affected and in its latest campaign, has called on the Government to do more to help victims and create a statutory definition, for which there is currently none in England and Wales.

Karma Nirvana has previously campaigned with sector partners including Women's Aid and Right to Equality, as well as Leeds mum Yasmin Javed - whose daughter Fawziyah was pushed from Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh by her husband Kashif Anwar. The #Push4Change campaign was launched in March this year and called upon the Government to introduce the definition.

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The charity said: "Since then, the sector has come together to agree on a statutory definition for Honour Based Abuse, which is legally sound and ready to be added to the statute book with the support of the minister. This development signals not only progress but also a powerful call to action. As advocates for change, the sector champions the rights of HBA [Honour Based Abuse] survivors and demands accountability from policymakers."

A letter has been written to MP Laura Farris inviting her to meet with those campaigning "to understand the impact this would have and to urgently introduce a statutory definition for HBA".

Karma Nirvana said: "The impact of this will mean there's better identification through shared understanding of Honour Based Abuse across all professional sectors, better protection of victims through better guidance from statutory guidance and through victim empowerment, more research and accurate data collection as well as more consistent reporting, which in turn leads to appropriate resource allocation through informed decision-making.

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"Despite the tireless efforts of charities over the past three decades, effectively dealing with Honour Based Abuse remains challenging. Last year, the Women and Equality Committee's recommendation for a legal definition was rejected by the government, leaving vulnerable HBA victims in a vicious cycle of being continually misunderstood without a definition."

In the last year, Karma Nirvana says it has handled 2,549 cases involving Honour Based Abuse and 9,074 people contacted its helpline in 2023.

A survivor of Honour Based Abuse, who provided evidence to the Inquiry, said: "As someone who has faced Honour-Based Abuse, it's disheartening to know that we still don't have a clear legal definition. If we genuinely want to put an end to this, we need to start by accurately defining it. It's not just a matter of words; it's about giving survivors the recognition and support they deserve, and that begins with acknowledging the problem for what it truly is."

Natasha Rattu, executive director of Karma Nirvana, said: "We’ve written to Minister Laura Farris today with an urgent request to add a statutory definition for Honour Based Abuse. We’ve requested her to meet with us and discuss the impact of a lack of statutory definition in the UK, which is a crucial starting point for identifying cases and supporting victims.

"We’ve come together as a sector to write a legally sound definition which is ready to be put into the statute book."

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