Aisha K. Gill

Honor Killings and the Quest for Justice in Black and Minority Ethnic Communities in the United Kingdom

Crimes of honor are characterized by violence against women (VAW) and are consequently not gender neutral. This article not only examines the relationship between gender and violence in communities where honor crimes are committed, focusing on the status of women in South Asian communities, but also considers other contexts in which these crimes are practiced. Criminal justice responses to the issue over the last 10 years are then examined, leading to an analysis of a round-table discussion intended to consider approaches to the issue. The viability of criminalization is called into question because the official response to these crimes is often insensitive to women’s cultural circumstances. Recommendations are made to help reduce the numbers of these crimes.

Interrogating cultural narratives about ‘honour’-based violence

On 3 August 2012, Shafilea Ahmed’s parents were convicted of her murder, nine years after the brutal ‘honour’ killing. The case offers important insights into how ‘honour’-based violence might be tackled without constructing non-Western cultures as inherently uncivilised. Critiquing the framing devices that structure British debates about ‘honour’-based violence demonstrates the prevalence of Orientalist tropes, revealing the need for new ways of thinking about culture that do not reify it or treat it as a singular entity that can only be tackled in its entirety; instead, it is important to recognise that cultures consist of multiple, intersecting signifying practices that are continually ‘creolising’. Thus, rather than talking purely about culture, debates on ‘honour’-based violence should explore the intersection of culture with gender and other axes of differentiation and inequality.

The illusion of protection? An analysis of forced marriage legislation and policy in the UK

This article examines the background, provisions and implications of the 2007 Forced Marriage Civil Bill, with specific regard to the UK governments present efforts to address the problem of forced marriage. It maps the tensions inherent in the creation of civil and criminal legislation to tackle forced marriage in the UK. The debates on the origins, design and workings of the 2007 Forced Marriage Civil Protection Act are considered, as are its implications for victims, prosecutors and criminal law in general. By exploring how the dominant discourses on forced marriage have shaped recent legislation, and the states response to this problem (focused myopically on the legal system), this article evaluates how effective forced marriage legislation is for protecting vulnerable black and minority ethnic (BME) women in the UK, while also offering reflections on the current challenges confronting attempts to implement legal measures.

Explaining Daughter Devaluation and the Issue of Missing Women in South Asia and the UK

Women in South Asia have a biologically abnormal chance of mortality from conception until their mid-thirties. This phenomenon (known as ‘missing women’) is related to son preference and daughter devaluation, which manifests itself in sex-selective abortions and gender-biased allocations of healthcare and nutrition. This article examines putative underlying determinants of the missing women phenomenon in South Asia (primarily India, but touching upon Pakistan and Bangladesh) and determines which of them are operative. It is found that these underlying determinants persist in migrant communities in the UK, though there is evidence that they find expression in different ways. The article presents an agenda for researching the phenomenon of missing women in the UK and suggests ways in which it might be eliminated.

A Moral Panic? The Problematization of Forced Marriage in British Newspapers

This article examines the British media’s construction of forced marriage (FM) as an urgent social problem in a context where other forms of violence against women are not similarly problematized. A detailed analysis of four British newspapers over a 10-year period demonstrates that media reporting of FM constitutes a moral panic in that it is constructed as a cultural problem that threatens Britain’s social order rather than as a specific form of violence against women. Thus, the current problematization of FM restricts discursive spaces for policy debates and hinders attempts to respond to this problem as part of broader efforts to tackle violence against women.

Speaking about sexual abuse in British South Asian communities: offenders, victims and the challenges of shame and reintegration

Abstract Cultural dynamics have a significant impact on how sexual matters, including sexual abuse, are discussed in British South Asian communities. The ways in which these communities talk about sexual violence often reinforce patriarchal norms and values, especially those concerned with honour and shame. As a result, victims are either silenced or the blame for the sexual violence they have suffered is laid at their own feet. Addressing the fact that these problems are rooted in patriarchal norms and values is key to understanding how to tackle sexual offending effectively in such communities. Both retributive and restorative justice are necessary in responding to sex crimes; retributive approaches help to recognise victims’ suffering, while restorative approaches offer promising avenues for encouraging victims and offenders alike to speak about their experiences. Both approaches are essential components to reintegrating victims and offenders into their communities.

‘Honour’-based violence and Kurdish communities: Moving towards action and change in Iraqi Kurdistan and the UK

This paper discusses ‘honour’-based violence (HBV) and ‘honour’ killings in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (in the north of Iraq) and the UK. HBV consists of violence committed, most commonly, against (young) women by male relatives and is usually carried out in order to preserve or restore the ‘honour’ of families, communities, or individuals. The paper discusses HBV in the context of the first-ever transnational study of such violence in Iraqi Kurdish communities. The study is a major part of the contribution of Iraqi Kurdistan to the current global effort to begin to combat this type of violence against women. Using an understanding of HBV as gender-based violence, the paper reports on the findings, actions, and recommendations which emerged from the study for both Iraqi Kurdistan and the UK. These recommendations are grounded in a gendered perspective and are currently leading to social action and change for women in Iraqi Kurdistan, together with some further impacts in the UK.

Expert Opinions on Improving Femicide Data Collection across Europe: A Concept Mapping Study.

Femicide, defined as the killings of females by males because they are females, is becoming recognized worldwide as an important ongoing manifestation of gender inequality. Despite its high prevalence or widespread prevalence, only a few countries have specific registries about this issue. This study aims to assemble expert opinion regarding the strategies which might feasibly be employed to promote, develop and implement an integrated and differentiated femicide data collection system in Europe at both the national and international levels. Concept mapping methodology was followed, involving 28 experts from 16 countries in generating strategies, sorting and rating them with respect to relevance and feasibility. The experts involved were all members of the EU-Cost-Action on femicide, which is a scientific network of experts on femicide and violence against women across Europe. As a result, a conceptual map emerged, consisting of 69 strategies organized in 10 clusters, which fit into two domains: “Political action” and “Technical steps”. There was consensus among participants regarding the high relevance of strategies to institutionalize national databases and raise public awareness through different stakeholders, while strategies to promote media involvement were identified as the most feasible. Differences in perceived priorities according to the level of human development index of the experts’ countries were also observed.

Criminalization or ‘multiculturalism without culture’? Comparing British and French approaches to tackling forced marriage

In seeking to tackle forced marriage, Britain and France have begun to shift away from strategies that prioritize the protection of the states interests and values over the rights of women and individuals: politics have, to a degree, given way to human rights concerns, but neither have been reconciled with the challenges presented by multiculturalism. This paper compares not only the legislation adopted by the two countries, but the politics concerning religious and cultural differences that have driven their approaches. Britains Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007, a law designed specifically to aid victims, represents a step in the right direction in terms of protection and prevention. However, recent plans to criminalize forced marriage may undo much of this good work, driving the practice underground. Meanwhile, France has opted for criminalizing some socio-cultural practices (including the niqab and burqa) but not others (including forced marriage), seeking instead to strengthen existing civil and criminal laws that can also be used to tackle forced marriage. Both approaches have their pros and cons, but ultimately Britain and France – like the rest of the world – must find a way to reconcile multiculturalism with human rights: the law is key for mediating and negotiating between these competing values, but specifically criminalizing certain practices associated with minority communities is counter-productive. ‘Multiculturalism without culture’ offers the most promising way forward, ensuring that the state works with civil society and non-governmental organizations to embrace cultural and religious differences while upholding international law on human rights, including the right to freely consent to marriage.

‘A specialist refuge space of my own’: black, minority ethnic and refugee women, housing and domestic violence

This paper argues that there is a need for an independent specialist womens refuge sector to address the housing needs of BMER (Black, minority ethnic and refugee) women. It will consider barriers to equal access that BMER women have and how these could be resolved by providing specialist services tailored to their specific needs. Specifically, the paper shows how such services, attuned to concerns of race, class, and gender, could positively help resolve additional barriers confronting BMER women due to housing inequality. The primary research, based on an analysis of questionnaire responses and a focus group with service users, offers a snapshot of the impact that the lack of access to housing provision has for BMER women including increasing their social exclusion and vulnerability if need remains unmet. A case is made for a strengthened independent specialist sector to deal with the housing needs of women fleeing domestic violence. Key recommendations are identified on how housing policies, practices and service provision can be strengthened through the implementation of a specialist sector.