Fear of the Loss of Honor: Implications of Honor-Based Violence for the Development of Youth and Their Families

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Violence committed against young women, and in some cases young men, who are considered to have violated honor-based norms are reported in several countries, making honor-based violence (HBV) a global concern. This article is an overview of research in this area and summarizes key findings from a Swedish program of research dedicated to this subject. To gain deeper understanding of HBV from the perspective of participating families, as well as to situate these study findings in the wider literature. The studies reported here were based on qualitative interviews with adolescent girls and young women with immigrant backgrounds and their family members (N = 23) who experienced honor-based conflicts and/or violence—in one case resulting in homicide. Interviews were primarily conducted once in the general study, however, in some cases interviews were conducted on more than one occasion. Interviews were analyzed according to grounded theory. The inductive approach used in these studies was useful and study findings were nuanced. Results indicated, for example, that fear was essential to understanding the genesis and progression of the conflicts within participating families. Practitioners should attend to building trust with families and ameliorating isolation, as well as early-stage awareness raising, education, the promotion of contextually relevant conflict resolution skills. Systematic intervention development is also likely to advance this field.