”Promoting the equal rights of women and girls to freedom from violence -understanding and combating violence in the name of honour.”

Violence in the name of honour - Save the Children Sweden's experiences from preventing and responding to violence.

These are the voices of some girls living in Sweden;

 

“According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”

Honour-related violence is a fundamental breach of both human rights and children’s rights.
It should never be justified in the name of culture, tradition or religion.

Violence in the name of honour is a very specific manifestation of the universal problem of violence against girls and women. Honour-related violence exists all over the world.

Honour-related violence mainly affects girls and women, but - it is important to remember that also boys are affected, usually in their role as caring brother/relative who are forced to control or even kill their own sisters – or as the one who take a stand in favour of the girl accused of disgracing the family honour.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youths are also seen as a severe threat to family honour. Honour-related violence takes many forms: verbal threats, physical and psychological abuse, forced marriages and - or even - murder or forced suicide.

Save the Children Sweden is a non-governmental organisation fighting for the rights of the child (established in 1919). We have a domestic as well as an international program with Regional Offices in 8 different regions of the world. One of our priority areas is to promote children’s right to protection from all forms of violence.

Save the Children Sweden’s Domestic Program
In Sweden, due to immigration, many girls live under pressure to conform to multi-cultural expectations. Although they live in Sweden they are expected to live up to very traditional expectations. The girls are expected to take care of their family members and/or siblings. They are also often expected to get married to the man selected by their family and not mixing with the opposite sex after puberty. These expectations are contrasted by the situation of their native Swedish female friends who have more freedom to make individual choices. Still, it is very important to remember that this does not mean that the Swedish society is free from gender discrimination or gender stereotypes.

The severity of honour-killings came to the surface in the Swedish society in January 2002, when Fadime Sahindal, a young girl from an immigrant background, was murdered by her father because she had a Swedish boyfriend.  As far as we know, she was the third girl being murdered as a result of honour-related violence. This became a wake-up call to the Swedish society, and a debate around honour-related violence was initiated. A number of actions were taken by the government and by members of the civil society.

Within two days after the murder, Save the Children Sweden opened a clinic for girls - and later also for boys - affected by honour-related violence. Three strategies were developed to support girls and boys affected by this kind of violence:

• Professional support and treatment is offered at the clinic, girls and boys are able to get psychotherapy to heal the traumas they have experienced from honour-related violence and other causes.
• A telephone help-line was set up, where girls and boys could call anonymously and receive advice and support.
• An opportunity to get treatment through e-mail communication was established. Over the past 4 years, 500 children and young people, a majority of them girls, have received treatment through regular contacts with psychologists via e-mail.

These strategies have also been important for prevention. Risk situations have been detected and addressed at an early stage.

Information about support is offered through various youth websites, our own site and through information in the schools.

For the psychotherapists who are to treat and support the child, it is important to understand each girl’s individual situation, her psychological condition and her family background, the risks attached, as well as the girl’s own views and opinion - and to react with to the girl’s best interest in mind.

Through the e-mail dialogue various solutions are discussed with the girl. The e-mail therapy may continue for several months or even years, depending on how long time the girl wants to continue. If the girl so chooses, her parents are invited to the clinic.   

The girl is often encouraged to contact a school nurse, a teacher or a relative she trusts. The teacher may contact the parents to establish a dialogue. There are many examples of girls, whose freedom of movement has increased as a result of the dialogue. If the situation is severe, with violence or serious threats of violence, the social services will be contacted.

According to Swedish law, professionals working with children who suspect that a child is at risk, has a duty to report this to the social services. The social services may start an investigation. They will only contact the family (parents or care givers), if they believe that this will not place the girl or the boy in a further risk situation. In a risk situation, the social services may decide to remove the girl before contacting the parents or initiating a police investigation.

There are also some examples of how girls who have left their families are able to establish a positive relation with their relatives afterwards.

However, a decision to leave or stay in the family, is never easy to make.

The knowledge that Save the Children Sweden has accumulated through our clinic and e-mail contacts with a number of girls and some boys, have helped us to better understand the situation and the perspective of girls and boys living under threat of honour-related violence. This knowledge has been used for advocating the decision-makers in Sweden to take actions to prevent and support these girls and their families. For example, to allocate sufficient resources, building the capacity of professionals on multi-culture competence, etc.

At an early stage, it became obvious that the police, the social services, the teachers and the medical personnel did not have sufficient knowledge on how to deal with these difficult situations. Save the Children Sweden’s theory and methodology, developed over the years has resulted in a book. There is now a process to integrate this knowledge into the university courses for psychologists, medical doctors and nurses, etc. Conferences are also held in Sweden and abroad in order to spread this knowledge and to learn from other countries’ experiences. It is essential that the various professionals does not work in isolation but cooperate and discuss each girl’s specific situation, so that appropriate actions can be taken.

Save the Children Sweden is also active in several networks, at local, national and international levels, in order to gain greater coverage and more impact. The members of the networks include staff of youth clinics, midwifes, social welfare officers, staff of immigrant associations, women’s organisations, etc. Through this international network, we are better prepared for the contact with the extended family and for preventing, for example, situations of forced marriages.

It is also essential that this kind of support services do not become isolated projects for one or two non-governmental organisations. The competence and the resources need to be integrated into existing support services and structures dealing with all forms of violence against children and women. State officials, such as the social services, the judiciary and the police need a holistic view when they address violence and discrimination. All girls and boys have the same right to be protected from violence.

Save the Children believes that in order to change patriarchal structures and gender discrimination, it is important to involve boys and men in our preventive work, since boys and men are both perpetrators and victims of a patriarchal society. There are many examples of boys taking action against honour-related violence. Sharaf Heroes, one of our networking partners in Sweden, is a group of young men fighting violence in the name of honour. They are all prepared to fight patriarchal attitudes and are given education in human rights and gender equality issues, through a program funded by the Swedish government. The young men serve as role models and mentors for others wanting to change the honour culture. The project is based on a dialogue where each individual starts thinking about what is right and what is wrong.

Save the Children Sweden’s International Program
Save the Children Sweden’s International Program does not have a specific program or component addressing honour-related violence; it is part of the overall work to address violence. An essential component of our anti-violence program is to involve boys and men to address discrimination and violence against girls and other boys. Methods used in various parts of the world include;

• Discussion groups with boys and men – led by boys and men - with opportunities to discussion issues of gender discrimination, traditional values, male vulnerabilities, fatherhood, ending violence against children, etc.

 

• Awareness raising and campaigning where boys and men – often in partnership with girls and women - create public awareness of the consequences of male violence, including violence in the home.

• Capacity building of professionals working with children, including the police, on how to detect and respond to gender discrimination and violence.

 

• Advocacy towards governments and other decision-makers, including the alternative report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in order to make the governments fulfil their commitments to end all forms of violence, including honour-related violence. The media and the private sector are also approached. The media tends to victimise the girls and simplify the discussions related to honour violence.

Save the Children Sweden’s work has a child rights based approach, which implies that the principle of accountability, non-discrimination and child participation is central. In various consultations with girls and boys in different parts of the world, violence in the home is an area that they would like adults to act – and they also emphasise the importance of listening to girls and boys and involving them when designing programmes and interventions to address all forms of violence.

Recommendations to end honour-related violence;

• States Parties are the key duty bearers for addressing honour-related violence based on international human rights standards. International cooperation is essential since the problem is global. State Parties need to work in cooperation with the media and civil society organisations - including youth, child rights, women’s rights and faith based organisations.

 

• It is important that honour-related crimes are not treated isolated from other forms of violence against girls and women, - male dominance and gender discrimination being a common root course. At the same time, it is important to see the particularities of honour-related violence and to ensure that professionals have multi-cultural competence in order to understand and appropriately prevent and respond to this form of violence.

• It is important to collect reliable statistic data on honour-related crimes, including suicide and accidental death.

 

• It is important to identify and support boys and men who take action against gender discrimination and honour-related violence. These boys and men will become important role models for mobilising others. Education and empowerment of girls is also essential for breaking the cycle of oppression.

• A segregated society nourishes traditional values. Cross-cultural and inter-generational meetings are essential for promoting cultural diversity and gender sensitivity.

 

• Information on human rights and the promotion of parenting skills (fathering and mothering) are essential components in a rights based approach.

 

References

• “Expert meeting on violence in the name of honour”. Regeringskansliet,  Justitiedepartmentet, 2003
• “Report from the international conference: Combating Patriarchal Violence Against Women – Focusing on Violence in the Name of Honour”. Swedish Ministry of Justice and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs
• ”Förtryck i hederns namn, Rapport från ett seminarium”. Save the Children Sweden, 2003
• ”Det handlar om olydnad. Rapport från seminarium med kvinnoorganisationerna KA-MER från Turkiet och Rädda Barnens Centrum för barn och ungdomar i kris”. Save the Children Sweden, 2004
• ”Ungdomar och hedersrelaterat våld”. Sevil Bremer, Monica Brendler-Lindqvist and Björn Wrangsjö, Save the Children Sweden, 2006
• Interview with Sevil Bremer and Monica Brendler, psychotherapists at Save the Children Sweden’s Centre for children and youth in crises.