On the subject of honour and sexual abuse, one of the practitioners interviewed said: “They think it’s not going to be just the family they have to deal with but the whole community, and they’ll feel repercussions. A lot of times … the male doesn’t take on any blame or any responsibility for their actions. It’s always the female who is blamed for whatever happens.”
The research recommends that the Government implements a national training programme and adopts strategies for British South Asian populations including
- compulsory education for children (of both genders) on healthy relationships – beginning with age-appropriate learning in primary schools
- the introduction of community workers and peer support – who attach themselves to the venues and groups women are ‘allowed’ to go to – bridging the gap between victims and support agencies
- awareness raising such as community-lead debates
- the introduction of more ‘safe’ venues where several charities and services are housed under one roof
Dr Harrison said: “It is shameful if support services exist but women cannot access them simply because of physical infrastructure. The protection of women and children from all types of abuse should not be a postcode lottery, and we fervently hope that politicians and policymakers will use our research as a first step towards achieving this ambition.”