Citation

Gill A. Int. J. Comp. Appl. Crim. Justice 2008; 32(2): 243-263.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, American Society of Criminology's Division of International Criminology, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Crimes of 'honour-based' violence are characterised by violence against women and, as such, are not gender-neutral. The relationship between gender and violence, in communities where honour crimes are committed, is examined by exploring the status of women in South Asian communities, though the paper also considers a range of other contexts in which honour-based crimes are practiced. Participatory observation and analysis of a unique roundtable discussion, held in 2007, provides material for a discussion of criminal justice responses to this issue over the last ten years, following the murder of a young Iranian Kurdish woman (Banaz Mahmod). Case descriptions are employed to illuminate how the concept of honour is used to mediate femicidal violence, demonstrating the ways in which the official UK criminal justice response is often at odds with the day-to-day reality of honour-based violence that women encounter. A number of strategies for reducing this type of violence are suggested in conclusion.