The United Nations Population Fund estimates that there are globally 5000 women killed each year in the name of honour.
In the UK alone up to 12 people are murdered annually to protect the honour of family or community.
Up to two such murders are believed to occur in London alone.
The vast majority of victims are women.
Honour crimes are acts of violence perpetrated against women for bringing perceived dishonour to their family or community. Women are held responsible for the reputation of the family and according to tribal tradition in mainly South Asian and Middle-Eastern communities, blood cleanses honour.
A young woman can be marked for death for simply falling in love with a wrong person or even for wearing a too casual Western attire.
Honour killings are just the pinnacle of human rights abuses against women. Rape, forced marriage, seclusion are other crimes of which these women are victims.
Figures about these crimes are underestimated as many incidents go unreported or do not get officially recorded as ‘honor crime’.
The threefold increase of suicide rates among young Asian women has been attributed to the threat of honour killings.
Watch this unfortunately not outdated 2008 video by ChrisJMoor.
