CPS Unveils Comprehensive New Guidance to Combat Honour-Based and Dowry Abuse
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has published significantly updated guidance for its legal professionals, specifically designed to address the complex and evolving nature of "honour"-based abuse. For the first time, this comprehensive framework explicitly includes spiritual abuse and immigration-related exploitation, reflecting growing concerns about emerging harmful practices that have historically been overlooked in the justice system.
Expanding Definitions to Include New Forms of Abuse
The newly revised guidance, provided to prosecutors evaluating criminal cases, now encompasses several previously under-recognized forms of abuse. These include dowry abuse, immigration-related exploitation, and transnational marriage abandonment. In cases of immigration abuse, perpetrators may manipulate a victim's immigration status to exert control, using tactics such as threats of deportation, withholding crucial documents, controlling financial resources, or restricting access to essential support services.
Transnational marriage abandonment represents another critical area now addressed, where a spouse is deliberately taken abroad and abandoned without the means to return to the United Kingdom. While these practices do not constitute standalone criminal offences, prosecutors are strongly encouraged to utilize existing domestic abuse legislation and coercive control guidelines when pursuing legal action against perpetrators.
Frontline Perspectives and Specialist Consultation
Selma Taha, executive director of Southall Black Sisters, emphasized the importance of this development, stating: "The explicit recognition of dowry-related abuse and immigration-related exploitation is absolutely critical. These patterns appear routinely in our frontline work with Black, minoritised, and migrant women, yet they have consistently been overlooked by authorities."
Taha further noted that the guidance's development through consultation with specialist "by and for" organizations ensures it is grounded in practical frontline expertise. "The real test now lies in implementation," she added. "This must deliver measurable improvements in safeguarding for victim-survivors and ensure genuine accountability for perpetrators through sustained partnership with specialist services and a whole-system commitment to addressing the root causes of violence against women and girls."
Addressing Spiritual Abuse and Banned Practices
The CPS guidance also provides specific direction on spiritual or ritualistic abuse connected to beliefs in witchcraft, spirit possession, or demonic influence. Criminal cases involving spiritual abuse can encompass violent exorcisms, physical beatings, starvation, forced ingestion of harmful substances, scapegoating of children or vulnerable adults for misfortune, and even homicide. These cases may also involve extreme psychological, emotional, financial, or sexual abuse, with victims spanning children, adults, and vulnerable individuals.
Additionally, prosecutors have received updated guidance on virginity testing and hymenoplasty, following the government's ban on both practices under the Health and Care Act 2022. This reflects the CPS's commitment to addressing all forms of abuse that disproportionately affect women and girls.
Government Commitment and Statistical Context
While "honour"-based abuse does not currently exist as a specific criminal offence, the government has announced plans to establish a legal definition. This initiative aims to create a more consistent approach to such cases, foster better understanding of emerging trends, and improve signposting to support services for victims. The CPS defines "so-called honour-based abuse" as incidents or crimes involving violence, threats, intimidation, coercion, or abuse committed to protect or defend the perceived "honour" of an individual, family, or community.
Ellie Reeves, the solicitor general, affirmed the government's dedication to this issue, stating: "This government is on a mission to halve violence against women and girls, and I am determined to make our justice system work for all victims. That's why I'm proud to welcome the CPS's strengthened guidance, which gives prosecutors the tools they need to recognize patterns of abuse and build robust cases to ensure perpetrators are punished and victims are protected from harm."
Baljit Ubhey, director of policy at the CPS, added: "'Honour'-based abuse in all its forms is a serious crime with no place in our society. Victims often endure immense pressure, fear, and coercive control from those closest to them, making it incredibly difficult to seek help. Our updated guidance equips prosecutors to identify emerging patterns of abuse, understand the wider context in which it occurs, and take swift, effective action to safeguard victims while bringing perpetrators to justice."
Strategic Framework and Overlapping Crime Patterns
This guidance update follows the CPS's launch of its five-year Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy in November, which includes specialized training for staff to recognize and respond to evolving forms of abuse while protecting those at greatest risk. Data from the organization reveals a significant overlap in crime types related to violence against women and girls, with 93.5% of charges for "honour" crimes directly linked to domestic abuse cases.
The comprehensive nature of this new guidance represents a substantial step forward in the legal system's ability to address complex, culturally-specific forms of abuse that have long persisted in the shadows. By providing prosecutors with clearer frameworks and definitions, the CPS aims to improve case outcomes, enhance victim protection, and ultimately contribute to the broader societal effort to eliminate violence against women and girls in all its manifestations.
