Following years of campaigning, Honour Based Abuse is now defined and recognised in the law.
Established in 1993, Karma Nirvana is the UK’s first specialist charity dedicated to supporting those impacted by Honour Based Abuse and Forced Marriage. Through their Home Office-commissioned helpline, casework and expert training for frontline professionals, the organisation works to end of Honour Based Abuse in the UK. It received £7,000 of Voices from the Frontline funding in round five (2021 to 22) to support their Push for Change campaign: a call for a statutory definition of Honour Based Abuse.
Why a definition matters
After more than thirty years of work by Karma Nirvana along with a range of other organisations, there is finally a definition of Honour Based Abuse in law. But why is a definition important? “It makes it really difficult to resolve a problem that people don’t have a shared, universal understanding of,” says Executive Director Natasha Rattu.
Without consistent data, because people use different terms or only think of Honour Based Abuse in its most extreme form, it has been very hard to make the case for resources and change. In family courts, judges have made decisions without truly understanding the dynamics at play.
The scale of the challenge is visible in Karma Nirvana’s own helpline data. In 2024/25 the organisation supported 3,079 individual cases, the highest number in their history. The rise in people reaching out tells its own story: need is increasing faster than action. Meanwhile, the Home Office’s 2025 figures show that 37% of professionals were not aware of the forced marriage statutory guidance when questioned, highlighting the urgent need for better training and consistent national standards.
“These figures highlight that Honour Based Abuse remains one of the most hidden and complex forms of violence in our society. Every week, our helpline supports victims whose experiences are not reflected in official statistics. It is critical that silence is not mistaken for safety.”
Natasha Rattu, Executive Director, Karma Nirvana
The Push for Change campaign began in collaboration with University of Nottingham through a survivor-led drafting process: months of work reaching consensus on wording that reflected something deeply individual and unique to each person’s experience. Voices funding then enabled Karma Nirvana to convene and energise a survivor ambassador panel, providing resource to shape the campaign from the inside.
“For survivors of Honour Based Abuse, who are often disowned and ostracised from their communities, being able to bring them together through the funding has given them a renewed sense of community and shared purpose.”
Survivors at the heart
The panel currently has around 30 active members. Survivors do not have to share their story if they do not want to. “Their trauma should not be their only currency for having a seat at the table,” Natasha says. The funding has also supported the production of high-quality films of survivors, material that will be used in training and to celebrate the campaign’s eventual success long after the definition is through.
Fawziyah Javed, a young woman killed as a victim of Honour Based Abuse, had been failed by professionals who missed the honour context entirely. Her mother Yasmin reached out to Karma Nirvana and was willing for the organisation to use Fawziyah’s story to elevate the campaign. “We keep going back to our survivors at every stage to make sure nothing is lost as the definition evolves,” Natasha says.
Progress and the long game
The Crime and Policing Act 2026 introduced a statutory definition of Honour Based Abuse and recognised honour as an aggravating factor in sentencing.
As with forced marriage, legal change can only be part of the solution. The legislation will be followed by statutory guidance setting out clear duties for police, social workers and teachers, directly addressing what Natasha describes as “low professional confidence including race anxiety” among professionals: a reluctance to engage with safeguarding issues affecting particular communities that is, in itself, a form of racism.
Training, education and support will continue to be vital. Alongside the Push for Change campaign, Rosa also funded the rollout of Karma Nirvana’s Honour Based Abuse identification tool to more police forces, equipping frontline officers with a practical resource to identify and respond to Honour Based Abuse. Karma Nirvana now trains 5,000 professionals annually. The identification tool has had 1,179 professional submissions since it was launched.
“Funding that supports campaigning and influencing can create systemic change, not just helping someone today but changing the landscape so that fewer people face the same situation in the future. That is where the longevity of real change happens.”
Natasha Rattu, Executive Director, Karma Nirvana
Find out more about the impact of Rosa’s Voices from the Frontline fund.
Photo at top of page: Women’s sector representatives met Peers at a House of Lords drop-in event in 2025 to discuss Honour Based Abuse amendments tabled to the Crime and Policing Bill.