Joint Working - Focus heightens on honour killings

When the father of Muslim schoolgirl Tulay Goren was jailed last month for murdering his daughter, it brought the issue of honour killings to the forefront of public attention.

With an estimated 12 so-called honour killings taking place in the UK each year it is vital that those working with children and young people are in a position to help those in danger.

But what are the warning signs and is enough being done to tackle the issue?

The government's Violence Against Women and Girls strategy, published last November, has already mapped out a number of action points.

These include the teaching of issues around violence towards women and girls in personal, social, health and economic lessons and making sure staff in schools know how to help girls affected.

Police training on honour-based violence (HBV) is also being updated, while the Home Office is assessing the feasibility of developing an information pack about HBV for new entrants to the UK.

But the Local Government Association (LGA) says police, councils and schools also share a role in tackling forced marriages and HBV.

This can include ensuring systems are in place to make young people feel more confident about coming forward and reporting HBV.

"There are things that can be picked up on in schools, such as girls on an extended period of absence or going back to the Indian sub-continent," an LGA spokesman says.

"There is a role there for teachers and schools to follow up a particular absence.

"If a girl comes into school showing signs of distress, questions can be asked and it can be looked into."

He adds that metropolitan areas with large ethnic minority populations are usually more aware of the issue than rural areas.

The Foreign Office's Forced Marriage Unit is leading the fight against forced marriage and related honour-based violence, providing support to frontline professionals such as teachers and police officers.

Olaf Henricson-Bell, head of the unit, says those working with young people are more aware of the issues than they were a decade ago but the fact that honour killings still happen means more progress can be made.

"From my experience we get lots of calls from teachers who are aware that we are here to help them, what we can do for them and the serious risks associated with these cases."

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Victim Support, says community leaders must take a proactive stance on the issue.

"The government recognising honour-based violence as a serious problem is real progress," she says. "There is clearly more to do to raise awareness, increase reporting and successfully prosecute perpetrators.

"But what will make the most difference is community leaders taking action themselves. They need to take a visible stance against these horrific crimes and help people report and seek help," she says.

Understanding honour crimes - Nazir Afzal OBE, community confidence adviser, Crown Prosecution Service

"Awareness of honour-based violence and forced marriage was limited at best when 15-year-old schoolgirl Tulay Goren went missing almost 11 years ago.

Since then, the efforts of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the police and others have greatly improved our understanding of these abuses and why they occur.

Over the past 10 years we have learned to identify the common characteristics of these crimes.

We now know that the escalation of violence is rapid - the decision to take action can result in the death of the woman or girl within hours.

We know that after the initial furore over the girl's behaviour, 'soothing noises' are often made to keep the victim pliant and to lull them into a false sense of security.

Vitally, we know the first contact that a victim may have with the authorities is the most important.

They must be believed, protected and supported.

When these women and girls come forward and speak out they effectively give up everything in their world: their friends, family, support groups and worldly possessions. There can be no turning back.

We have learned since 1999 that honour crimes are more common than we ever imagined. More than 4,000 calls were made to the National Honour Network in its first year; hundreds of referrals to victims' groups and women's groups; and dozens of incidents reported to police services.

There are undoubtedly many more of these crimes waiting to be discovered.

The CPS has taken the lead on awareness raising and training.

We helped the police to devise a training scheme that will teach 120,000 officers to recognise the warning signs and all of our prosecutors will receive special guidance on dealing with this type of crime early this year.

From the first point of contact through to the courts, the criminal justice system is waking up to the reality of this problem.

This comprehensive and head-on approach tells victims and potential victims that they will be taken seriously and protected."