06/06/2008 Equality and Non-Discrimination
“When it comes to so-called ‘honour crimes’, it is often a whole family or even an entire community which can gang up on a victim, citing tradition, culture or religion,” said Gita Sahgal, a representative of Amnesty International, addressing a parliamentary hearing on the subject today in . Crimes of honour include “honour murders”, forced marriages, confining women against their will or even mutilations, all with the aim of dominating womens’ sexuality, she pointed out.
“Compassion for the victims or studying patriarchal family systems is not enough, we must fight for the human rights of individuals in three ways: prevention, protecting victims - or potential victims - and witnesses, and carrying out prosecutions using the law,” said John Austin (United Kingdom, SOC), who is preparing a report on this topic for PACE’s Equal Opportunities Committee. Courts should never seek to put all rights on the same level by reducing sentences because perpetrators cite tradition or religion as their motivation, he said.
According to the UN, around 5000 women and girls are murdered worldwide by family members, mostly in Muslim countries or in immigrant communities.