London: 60% increase in honor-based incidents

London: 60% increase in honor-based incidents


Police have seen 'honour' crime surge by 40 per cent due to rising fundamentalism, new figures show.


Honour-based violence, including crimes like murder, rape and kidnap has rocketed in London during the past year.


Reported instances of intimidation and attempts at forced marriage have also increased by 60 per cent.


A report into the scale of the problem by Scotland Yard found there were 161 honour-based incidents recorded in 2007-8, of which 93 were criminal offences.


But in 2008/9 the number of incidents had risen to 256, with 132 being criminal offences.


The latest figures indicate that the trend is continuing, with 211 incidents reported in the last six months until October, of which 129 were offences - more than double the number in the same period last year.


Police define honour crimes as offences motivated by a desire to protect the honour of a family or community.


Diana Nammi, of the Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation, said the group is now dealing with four times more complaints relating to honour than two years ago.


She said: 'More women are coming forward. They are becoming more aware of their rights in the UK, that there is help available and they feel confident enough to report matters to the police.


'But I also think cases and violence are increasing.


'One reason is the rise in fundamentalism. The problem is increasing in communities around the UK.


'We are seeing a rise not only in honour killings, but also in female genital mutilation and polygamy.'


She added: 'The rise in Sharia courts is another indication of more fundamental beliefs.


'There must be more support from the Government to organisations who are working to combat this problem.'


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Source: Daily Mail