Levels of honour-based abuse have soared to record-high levels in England and Wales, new Government data has revealed.
The Home Office figures record a significant rise in rates of forced marriage and female genital mutilation, among other offences, in the year ending in March.
Under the police and Crown Prosecution Service definition, honour-based abuse encompasses violence, threats, intimidation and coercion carried out to defend the perceived honour of an individual, family or community.
Police forces across England and Wales logged a record 3,145 honour-based abuse offences over the past 12 months.
The total marks a seven per cent increase from the 2,949 cases documented in the preceding year.
However, the Home Office warned that the figures were “likely to only represent a fraction” of the true number of offences taking place, as its statistics capture only those crimes reported to and recorded by officers.
Female genital mutilation cases saw a 51 per cent rise, with 166 offences recorded, 57 more than the 109 logged the previous year.
That figure was the highest annual FGM total since the twelve months to March 2021.
Controlling and coercive behaviour was the most common offence category, accounting for 22 per cent of all recorded cases.
Assault occasioning injury made up 14 per cent, while stalking and threats to kill each comprised 8 per cent.
Forced marriage offences edged up slightly to 129, four more than in the prior reporting period.
London’s Metropolitan Police Service recorded the highest number of offences of any force, with 625 cases, a fifth of the national total.
West Midlands Police followed with 395 offences, or 13 per cent, and Greater Manchester Police registered 254, representing eight per cent.
The age profile of the victims of the abuse was also revealed through a freedom of information request.
Over the five calendar years from 2021 to 2025, at least 100 children aged 12 or younger were referred to the government’s forced marriage unit, which accepts referrals from police, social workers, educators, relatives and victims themselves.
Of those, 62 were aged ten or below, and 27 were no older than five.
Officials characterised honour-based abuse as a “hidden crime,” noting that many victims are reluctant to approach police or other agencies.
In February, Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy warned about honour crimes and abuse going “unpunished” as he suggested Sharia courts were contributing to a rise.
Rebecca Paul MP, a Conservative member of the Commons Women and Equalities Committee, said the growth of honour abuse was “unacceptable in modern Britain”.
“Close-knit clannish structures within isolated, unintegrated communities allow such violence to continue unreported and unchallenged,” she said at the time.
The Home Office added that enhanced training and improved awareness among officers may also be contributing to the rising figures.
A Home Office Spokesperson said: “Honour-based abuse leaves victims with lasting trauma. Yet too often it goes unidentified, masking its true scale.
“We are strengthening our response through new multi-agency statutory guidance, supported by a statutory definition of ‘honour’-based abuse.
“This will help police and other agencies better identify and tackle this abuse while helping victims to come forward. We are deploying the full power of the British State to halve violence against women and girls within a decade,” they said.