SPUR Project

2011 winner (16 of 20)

An examination of support services for female victims of Honour Related Violence (HRV) in one East Midlands city

Supervisors: Ms Terry Gillespie, Mrs Kristan Hopkins Burke (both Criminology, Public Health and Policy Studies)

Student: James Mellett

The United Nations has estimated that as many as 5000 women are being killed every year ‘in the name of honour’ and within England and Wales this is somewhere within the region of 100 women killed annually by their male partners. The number of victims of Honour Related Violence (HRV) and level of support provided by the relevant statutory and voluntary service providers for female Asian victims is under-researched. The main aim of the project was to conduct interviews with key workers from relevant agencies in ‘Midshire’ (pseudonym) that deal with and support victims of domestic violence to gain an understanding of how often they come into contact with victims of HRV, what specific support is offered and the effectiveness of multi-agency working in relation to providing effective support for such victims. Student tasks included assistance with the research design and conducting interviews with key workers. The student also transcribed the interview data and assisted with analysis and reporting.