A recent report by The Guardian has highlighted a concerning surge of over 60% in "honor-based" crimes across the United Kingdom in the past year, coinciding with an increase in the number of immigrants from the Middle East.
"Honor-based crimes" refer to acts of violence or abuse committed against individuals, typically women, in the name of preserving or defending the honor of a family or community. Honor-based offenses can include things such as rape and forced marriage, and the perpetrator is often a family member.
Data compiled from English police forces revealed a stark rise in such incidents, with almost 2,600 cases of honor-based abuse reported in 2022, compared to just under 1,600 in 2020.
Among the reported crimes, there were 56 instances of forced marriages recorded in the last two years. This comes at a time when in 2022, the UK raised the legal marriage age from 16 to 18 in an attempt to address the issue.
The news has sparked deep concern among advocacy groups such as IKWRO (Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organization), with a spokesperson expressing alarm at the troubling statistics.
“The observation that global political and social factors contribute to the polarisation of views and exacerbate ‘honor-based’ abuse is particularly noteworthy. It highlights the intersectionality of this issue with broader societal dynamics and underscores the need for nuanced approaches in addressing it,” the spokesperson said, per the Guardian.
The surge in honor-based crimes coincides with a period of heightened immigration to the UK, particularly from the Middle East, over the past two years. The 2021 census of England and Wales found that a shocking one-sixth of the population was born outside of the United Kingdom, a percentage much higher than the US or almost any large European country, according to the Economist.
