Tag: Harmful Practices

HBA and Harmful Practices Happen Here: A Toolkit for Responding as a Frontline Professional

Savera UK is a leading charity working to end ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA) and harmful practices, such as forced marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM), virginity testing and conversion ‘therapy’, and helping professionals to respond appropriately to these issues is a significant part of our work.

Our toolkit for responding as a frontline professional provides vital information and practical guidance to help us end these practices for good.

It highlights what you should ask a person you believe to be a survivor or at at risk of HBA and harmful practices, outlines key ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ and explains how Savera UK can help you, and the people you work with.

You can downloaded the toolkit below by clicking the link or image.

 

‘Honour’ and Its Upholders: Perpetrator Types in ‘Honour’-Based Abuse

Savera UK has revealed new research in partnership with the University of Liverpool, examining perpetrator types in HBA cases. The research identifies three perpetrator subtypes and associated risks and abuse characteristics, which could improve identification and response to HBA.

‘Honour’ and Its Upholders: Perpetrator Types in ‘Honour’-Based Abuse, was published in August 2024 by Routledge in the Journal of Forensic Psychology Research and Practice. The research investigates if the various HBA characteristics correlated with different types of perpetrator-survivor relationships. Using the same data set from its first descriptive study, Savera UK identified three perpetrator subtypes: Intimate partner only, family only and intimate partner and family.

Read the full paper here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/24732850.2024.2390872

HBA in the LGBTQ+ Community Leaflet

‘Honour’-based abuse (HBA) is a crime or incident that has or may have been committed to protect or defend the ‘honour’ of the family and/or community.

Being LGBTQ+ or questioning your sexuality and/or gender identity when it is not acceptable within your family, faith or community’s beliefs, can be perceived as ‘dishonourable’ or bringing ‘shame’ on the family or community. Perpetrator(s) of HBA feel that the only way to restore family ‘honour’ or remove the ‘shame’ is to threaten to harm or kill, and in some cases even follow through on these threats.

Download our “HBA in the LGBTQ+ community” leaflet to learn about:

  • How HBA affects people in the LGBTQ+ community
  • HBA and conversion ‘therapy’
  • Other harmful practices that affect the LGBTQ+ community
  • How Savera UK helps LGBTQ+ people affected by HBA and harmful practices
  • Further help and resources

Conversion ‘Therapy’ Factsheet

Conversion ‘therapy’ refers to any interventions that seek to change, ‘cure’ or suppress the sexual orientation and/or gender identity of a person.

Conversion ‘therapy’ is not ‘therapy’ but a harmful practice and form of abuse against LGBT+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and all other identities included under the LGBT+ umbrella, including but not limited to intersex, asexual, pansexual, non-binary, queer and questioning) people.

It is considered harmful and unethical by many major health and mental health organisations, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), and is widely discredited.

Click the link or image below to download our factsheet to learn key facts, the law, and how to respond to cases, suspected cases and disclosures of conversion ‘therapy’.

Breast Ironing / Flattening Factsheet

Breast flattening, also called breast ironing, involves the damaging of the breasts of girls approaching or going through puberty over a period of time, to make them disappear or delay their development.

It is not a part of any culture, but instead a harmful practice and a violation of human rights.

Click the link or image below to download our factsheet to learn key facts, the law, indicators, and how to identify risks and how to respond to cases, suspected cases and disclosures of breast ironing / flattening

FGM Educational Illustrations

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a harmful practice that comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. Female genital mutilation is classified into four main types.

Type 1 – Clitoridectomy
Type 2 – Excision
Type 3– Infibulation
Type 4 – Includes all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes (e.g. pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterising the genital area)

Our illustrations show these main types.

If using these illustrations in your own presentations, please credit Savera UK with the inclusion of its website address saverauk.co.uk.

Click the links below to download each image.





HBA & Harmful Practices Media Guidelines

Our press and media guidelines for reporting on HBA and harmful practices and interviewing survivors were created collaboratively by HBA/harmful practice survivors and the frontline professionals working with them.

The guidelines were the outcome of Savera Uk’s Setting the Story Straight project, funded by Lloyds Bank Foundation for England & Wales.

The project examined how HBA and harmful practices, its survivors and affected communities were represented in the media and aimed to provide survivor informed, practical guidance for any journalists, broadcasters and content creators reporting on the topic of HBA and harmful practices.

To explore this resource, click here.

HBA and Harmful Practices Education Pack

Savera UK Youth is dedicated to helping teachers feel comfortable and capable in educating young people about ‘honour’-based abuse and harmful practices. That’s why its members created the Savera UK Youth Education Pack, which guides teachers and educators in delivering a session on ‘honour’-based abuse and harmful practices. The pack includes activities, factsheets and helpful tips for guiding the discussion.

You can register for Savera UK Youth’s Education Pack here

Savera UK also delivers training in professional and education settings at a cost. If this is something you would be interested in, please email info@saverauk.co.uk for more information.

Orange The World Toolkit

Each year, Savera UK and Zonta Club London (a member of Zonta International) join forces to raise awareness of gender-based violence/abuse in the UK and around the world, as part of the global Orange the World campaign.

Its Orange the World Toolkit, which can be downloaded below, is a vital resource for individuals and oragnisations looking for practical ways to speak out against gender-based violence/abuse, rape and harassment, as well as more hidden harmful practices like ‘honour’-based abuse, female genital mutilation and forced marriage.

The Orange the World campaign aligns with the UN’s annual 16 day of activism against gender-based violence, which runs from 25th November to 10th December each year. Our toolkit is packed with themes, activities and ideas for the 16 days of activism, which will inspire you to get involved with the fight against gender-based violence.

Join the campaign and download the toolkit by clicking the link or image below.

When sharing your activities on social media, don’t forget to tag @SaveraUK and @ZontaLondon and use the hashtags #16Days #OrangeTheWorld and #NoExcuseForAbuse.