HONOUR CRIMES AS GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN THE UK: A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT

Abstract

This article focuses on gender-based violence within the family, with an emphasis on ‘honour killings’. These types of crimes are associated with the concepts of ‘honour’ and ‘shame’ within patriarchal societies. Until recently, such crimes largely escaped national scrutiny, and it is argued, to some extent still do, because they are often viewed as ‘traditional or cultural practices’, outside the scope of accepted state intervention. This article takes a feminist perspective with the conceptual goal to reconcile the feminist approach with multiculturalism, by removing the assumption that multiculturalism is simply moral relativism. It concludes that 'crimes of honour' should be treated as a violation of human rights and not as a religious or cultural practice.