Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Accepted
Paragraph: 37
More work needed to empower honour-based abuse victims and ensure safeguarding
Conclusion
We welcome the steps taken by the police service in response to the concerns raised in the super-complaint on honour-based abuse brought by Liberty and the Halo Project in 2020. However, there is still more work to be done if victims of honour-based abuse are to feel empowered to report the crimes against them and feel confident that they will be safeguarded against further harm. People subject to honour-based abuse take huge 40 risks in reporting the crimes against them, and it is critical that the public services in place to protect them are able to recognise that abuse at the first opportunity.
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of professionals having the right skills and details extensive existing training, e-learning courses, statutory multi-agency guidance, and resource packs provided by the Home Office, College of Policing, and the Forced Marriage Unit to enhance the recognition and response to HBA.
Paragraph Reference:
37
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
We recognise the importance of professionals having the right skills and understanding to respond effectively to HBA. We are clear that cultural sensitivities must not be a barrier to tackling these crimes. That is why the Home Office provides free e-learning courses on FGM1 and forced marriage2 for professionals (including police officers, social workers, and teachers), with specific chapters for a range of professions to help them recognise the warning signs and ensure that the right action is taken to help protect those at risk. We have also published statutory multi-agency guidance for both FGM3 and forced marriage4, as well as publishing an FGM5 and forced marriage6 resource pack which features specific guidance for a range of professionals including police, teachers, social workers and health care professionals. In addition, the College of Policing has developed a briefing note to support first responders in addressing HBA. The College issued a call for practice to all forces in 2020 and developed a paper setting out approaches used by different forces – this enables all forces to learn from the experience of colleagues. The College has also developed a national training package called ‘Family Disturbance’. It is focused on HBA, forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM). It has been available for two years. All information about College products is available on a single page on the College website along with links to other sources of information, such as CPS Forced marriage and honour based abuse | College of Policing. The joint Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Forced Marriage Unit’s (FMU) delivers training sessions for police officers, social workers and others. In 2022 it delivered training and awareness-raising activity to 1,537 police officers, social workers and other professionals. The FMU has also developed a bespoke training package for registrars, in collaboration with the General Registry Office and this is being delivered nationally every quarter.