UK: New measures against honor crimes

UK: New measures against honor crimes

Note the PC-speak: A Danish 'Asian' was attacked for having a relationship with a Muslim woman.

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Hundreds of attacks are to be treated as 'honour' crimes in a new drive by police to prosecute more offenders.


Prosecutors hope the drive will also ensure that victims receive more rapid protection that can save them from possible further violence or a forced marriage.


Under the new guidance it will be assumed that an honour crime has been committed in any case in which there is the slightest sign that such an offence has taken place - even if the victim has not reported it.


Elements of the strategy are designed to ensure that potentially vital evidence of honour-based persecution is not overlooked.


It will include information for police and prosecutors on how to identify male victims amid concern that at least 15 per cent of cases involve attacks or forced marriage inflicted on men.


The horrific consequences of honour violence were highlighted by an attack in Leytonstone in July in which a 24-year-old Danish man of Asian origin had acid poured down his throat and was repeatedly stabbed because of his relationship with a Muslim woman.



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Officers will also be instructed to look out for disabled victims in response to evidence that some people with learning difficulties are being pressed into marriages to help their new spouses gain entry to Britain.


The new approach will be unveiled tomorrow at a London conference organised by the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Crown Prosecution Service.


There will also be a new attempt to persuade victims of female genital mutilation to come forward following the failure of legislation passed six years ago to outlaw the practice to result in a single conviction.


Under the new approach, which mimics the detection techniques used to tackle race-hate crime following the Stephen Lawrence murder, reports from friends or relatives about possible honour violence will be taken seriously, even if the victim has failed to raise the alarm.


Other indications such as a girl's sudden disappearance from school will also be seen as significant.


Announcing the new measures, Nazir Afzal, the Crown Prosecution Service's legal director, said: 'It will be about making sure we look for the signs so that we don't miss cases.'


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Source: Daily Mail (English)