Abstract
Is honour-related violence,1 including so-called ‘honour killing’, a type — that is to say, a ‘subspecies’ of gender-based violence? Or is it a ‘species’ of its own; a ‘cultural tradition’, which is separate from gender-based violence, primarily by virtue of the presence of allegedly ‘cultural’ factors within such violence?2 This chapter will discuss the relevance of this debate within the multicultural context of Britain, and specifically the English legal system. In recent decades there has been a greatly increased focus on honour-related violence within academic, policy and media circles in Britain. This increased attention to some extent initially arose due to high-profile cases and increased campaigning by a range of domestic and international activist organisations (Siddiqui, 2008). The concurrent establishment of governmental initiatives, such as the Forced Marriage Unit, and a range of consultations and reports on issues of honour-related violence, have also raised the profile of issues around ‘honour’ in the context of multicultural agendas.
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© 2014 Rupa Reddy
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Reddy, R. (2014). Domestic Violence or Cultural Tradition? Approaches to ‘Honour Killing’ as Species and Subspecies in English Legal Practice. In: Gill, A.K., Strange, C., Roberts, K. (eds) ‘Honour’ Killing and Violence. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137289568_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137289568_2
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-28955-1
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