BBC: Charities sound the alarm on male ‘honour abuse’

Our thanks to Jeff and others for this piece on the BBC. There will be a report in tonight’s Newsnight. An extract from the article:

Charities are sounding the alarm over what they say is the underreported issue of male “honour” abuse victims.

Honour abuse is usually associated with women from Muslim, Sikh or Hindu backgrounds and happens when they are seen to have “shamed” their community.

One charity, Jeena, said that one in five cases it handles involves men.

Another, Karma Nirvana, says calls from men to its helpline are up – and this is “just the tip of the iceberg” as many are afraid to come forward.

“We have seen a rise in male victims coming forward in the last year from none to one-in-five victims. It is extremely important to create safe spaces for men to be heard and to believed,” Jenna (sic) told BBC Newsnight.

From Jeena’s Facebook page:

As one of the most prominent national non-profit organisations in the UK, we aim to empower women, [my emphasis] young people and communities – predominantly those belonging to Black, Asian Minority Ethnic and Refugee (BAMER) societies.

Hardly welcoming towards male victims, is it? Despite this, ‘one in five cases it handles involves men’. Presumably this is doublespeak for one in five victims it deals with are men.

Karma Nirvana appears more welcoming towards male victims. From their helpline page:

It does not matter if you’re 13 or 30, male or female. Whatever your age, sexuality and circumstances, we will listen and help.

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One thought on “BBC: Charities sound the alarm on male ‘honour abuse’

  1. Right from the start Karma Nirvana has talked about male victims and early on had a male worker specifically to respond to males. In a process similar to that experienced by Erin Pizzey The issue of “honour abuse” and forced marriages got taken up by the DV “industry” then rolled into “Violence Against Women and Girls”. I recall seeing the founder of Karma Nirvana speak twice and on both occasions she took pains to point out that boys and young men could be victimised within the culture. This along with “dating abuse” and “elder abuse” are examples of early concerns and charitable organisations raising issues affecting girls and boys or women and men being “colonised” and then re-cast as VAWG . Abuse in teen relationships was originally seen as one of education of young people “aping” adult relationships influenced by celebrity and pop culture. And older people issues related to the stresses of old age ,disability, illness and loss. In each case the colonisation of the issue as VAWG has meant an expansion in the funding to the traditional DV industry (rather than the originating non feminist charities) and a shift to punitive approaches against males rather than a therapeutic holistic approach.

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