'Honour' Based Abuse (HBA)

'Honour' Based Abuse (HBA) is a violent crime or incident which may have been committed to protect or defend the honour of the family or community. It is often linked to family members or acquaintances who believe someone has brought shame to their family or community by doing something that is not in keeping with the traditional beliefs of their culture. This can include things such as becoming involved with a boyfriend or girlfriend from a different culture or religion, want to get out of an arranged or forced marriage, wearing clothes or taking part in activities that might not be considered traditional within a particular culture. HBA can be described as a collection of practices, which are used to control behaviour within families or other social groups to protect perceived cultural and religious beliefs and/or honour.

For further information and assistance to matters relating to 'Honour' Based Abuse, Forced Marriage and Female Genital Mutilation visit the Live Fear Free website.