Honour Victims Remembered
Manchester joins a National Day of action and remembrance for all those affected by forced marriage and honour based abuse.
Today (14 July 2015) is the first national day of remembrance for victims of honour based abuse.
It is the first national Remembrance Day introduced by the charity Karma Nirvana in conjunction with Cosmopolitan Magazine.
Greater Manchester Police and Whalley Range High School for girls have collaborated to use it to remember victims and launch an awareness campaign encouraging young people to denounce honour based abuse crimes and make a difference for future generations.
The campaign is #dishonourthecrime and Whalley Range has produced a video in conjunction with GMP which has been disseminated to all schools across Greater Manchester. The video will be tweeted during a school event and as a mark of respect pupils at the school will release balloons at midday with the #dishonor the crime message.
There will be guest speakers attending who will support the #dishonourthecrime campaign.
Detective Chief Inspector Nicky Porter from Greater Manchester Police, said: “Choice is a very short word but one that many often take for granted. Each day we make decisions about our life from what we wear, the jobs we have and our friends.
“Unfortunately there are thousands of young women and men throughout the country who don’t have a choice. Being forced into a marriage to simply uphold your family’s ‘honour’ is no way to live a life. You should have the freedom to make decisions for yourself.
“By reporting the crime to police, we will ensure you are safeguarded, listened too and you are protected. Our campaign #dishonourthecrime is clear in its message. It is important that together with our communities we dishonour these crimes.”
The day is particularly poignant as it would have been Shafilea Ahmed’s 29th birthday, and as a tribute to her we remember the thousands of victims of honour-based violence across the world.
Shafilea’s tragic murder after years of violence at the hands of her parents shone a light on the hidden issue of honour-based violence within our communities. Every day young women and men live in fear of those who are meant to love and nurture them, because the perpetrators of these crimes are often close family members , victims are reluctant to report. GMP recognises this and wants to use the opportunity today to raise awareness and encourage people to report incidents of abuse to the police.
Across GMP there have been in access of 120 incidents of honour based abuse reported in the past 12 mths The majority of these incidents have been reported by women between the ages of 15-24yrs .While it is known that there are male victims of honour based abuse, we believe this is an area which is relatively unreported.
Sharon Allen, Senior Child Protection Officer from Whalley Range 11-18 High School, said: “We have been recognised as a beacon of good practice in the area of safeguarding – particularly forced marriage and honour based violence. We have developed our practice over many years ensuring that the wellbeing of young people remain at the very heart of what we do. We are honoured to be the host for the North West’s Annual National Day of Remembrance.”
Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Jim Battle said: “Today would have been Shafilea Ahmed’s 29th birthday and as a tribute to her we remember the thousands of victims of honour-based violence across the world. Shafilea’s tragic murder after years of violence at the hands of her parents rightly shocked the nation and shone a light on the hidden issue of honour-based violence within our communities. Every day young women and men live in fear of those who are meant to love and nurture them. “So it’s important that while we commemorate we must also commit to putting an end to this abuse and today’s event is a step towards that. By talking openly about it, educating our young people and raising awareness in our communities we can challenge it and give victims a lifeline. “I also want to congratulate Karma Nirvana and Cosmopolitan Magazine it’s thanks to their dedicated campaigning that the victims of honour-based violence will never be forgotten.” Cosmopolitan and Karma Nirvana are encouraging people to sign their petition to pledge their support for change. You can sign the pledge by clicking the following link: www.change.org.uk/dishonourthecrime.
For more information on the national campaign go to: www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/britainslostwomen.
If you are a victim or know someone who is you can report to police on 101. Always dial 999 in an emergency.