Honour Based Abuse can take many forms, including forced marriage, virginity testing, enforced abortion, female genital mutilation, as well as physical, sexual and economic abuse and coercive control.
For some communities, the concept of ‘honour’ is prized above the safety and wellbeing of individuals. To compromise a family’s ‘honour’ is to bring dishonour and shame – which can have severe consequences. This is sometimes used to justify emotional abuse, physical abuse, disownment and in some cases even murder.
The Crime and Policing Act 2026 gives HBA its first statutory definition in England and Wales. Coercive control is a criminal offence under section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015. HBA cases also engage assault, threats to kill, false imprisonment, harassment and stalking legislation.