4th December: Harmful Practices
Harmful traditional practices are forms of violence which have been committed primarily against women and girls in certain communities and societies for so long that they are considered, or presented by perpetrators, as part of accepted cultural practice. The most common forms are:
- Female Genital Mutilation is a procedure where the female genitals are deliberately cut, injured or changed, but there's no medical reason for this to be done
- Forced Marriage - A forced marriage is where one or both people do not or cannot consent to the marriage, and pressure or abuse is used to force them into marriage
- So called ‘Honour’ Based Violence is a collection of practices used to control behaviour within families in order to protect perceived cultural and religious beliefs and/or honour. Perpetrators use violence when they perceive that a relative has shamed the family and/or community by breaking their honour code
Less common forms include breast ironing for example. It should be noted that harmful practices can occur across all different communities and is not confined to any single group. For example, we have seen forced marriage through our specialist service for Eastern European women (delivered by Refuge), and the Excel Women’s Centre in Barking sees women from diverse backgrounds who have experienced different types of harmful practices.
You may have seen the recent ITV documentary about Banaz Mahmod. It is horrifying to think that what happened to Banaz could happen again, but we need to be able to name the problem to tackle it. How can we work together to highlight this problem and challenge it in our communities? Please add your thoughts in in the comment box below.
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