Honour Network

The Honour Network is a project designed to support victims and survivors of forced marriage and honour based violence. Our objective is to ensure that those who have been told they are shameful or have dishonoured their families start owning that they are not to blame. We want victims to own that they are courageous and the most honourable human beings in taking a stand against honour based abuse.

The Honour Network also seeks to increase the reporting of victims and survivors many of which who have been disowned by their families. One of the key aims of the network is to reduce the isolation of victims and offer a network of support reducing the pressure to return to the family. One key element of the Honour Network is to support agencies in order to raise their awareness which in turn wiil increase their confidence in responding to cases.

The Honour Network Helpline was launched on April 11th 2008, this is a dedicated line for reporting and responding to victims of honour based abuse and forced marriages. The line is unique as those who call have the option to speak to a survivor whose experiences are invaluable in supporting the caller's decision making process. Many of our victims face being disowned which we ask people to imagine as waking up one morning and never seeing a member of your family ever again, living life on the run often in hiding and being made to feel you are to blame.

The help-line is  overseen by the Honour Network Co-ordinator and operated by volunteers who give of their valuable time to support others in need. All call-handlers received a comprehensive training course on the issues and receive on-going support with their development. This training was devised with the support of many agencies designed to give call handlers the listening skills in this field, an understanding of risk assessing and safety planning as well as a sound understanding of sign-posting, for example the role of The Forced Marriage Unit, reluctant sponsors, police involvement and child protection issues.

If you would like to speak to someone on the helpline for guidance or support, please call us on 0800 5999 247.

View our Honour Network leaflet here
View our Honour Network Poster here

How many calls has the helpline received?

The Help-line has been publicised nationally through the media and a host of agencies through its launch on the April 11th 2008. Between 11th April 2008 and the 31st March 2010 the helpline received over 9000 calls.

In the first 4 months we recieved over 1069 calls for support.  months. 11% of these callers were under the age of 16, 65% of callers were victims and forced marriage/honour based abuse.

Who calls the helpline?

The Honour Network receives calls from victims, survivors, concerned friends and proffessionals. We do not require the caller to give a name and take time to reassure them of confidentiality. The helpline is about obtaining trust from the caller but also informing the caller that each call is handled in the strictest of confidence.  

We never talk to families, mediation can put our victims at risk our priority is the victims safety

Some of our agencies who call:

•     Police officers

•     Education Professionals - teachers

•     Social Workers

•     Health Professionals

•     Housing Officers

•     Independent Domestic Violence Advocates

•     Doctors

•     Connextions

•     Refuges

•     Legal advocates

•     Government agencies

Many professionals call us in relation to specific enquiries for individuals. We recognise that many proffessionals need their awareness raised and can fear cultural sensitivities even the fear of being called a racist. We understand all these issues and want to hear the ignorances in order to support proffessionals with the right and safest response. For us there is no such thing as a stupid question what we can guarantee is that you will recieve the best response from us.

How can I support the helpline?

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for the Honour Network, please click on the following link and complete the 'Honour Network Volunteer Form'.

Please note that due to limited funding, Karma Nirvana cannot offer Honour Network training to each application that it gets. If you are not selected for a primary interview to volunteer on the Honour Network, Karma Nirvana shall endeavour to outline the reasons for this and will consider alternative voluntary work that you may be able to support us with.

If you would like to support the Honour Network through making a donation see the detail on the right; donations via the PayPal are coming soon.

For further information on volunteering, please visit the volunteering section on this website.