Fanatical Islamist girls demonstrating at a protest for Shariah regulation (Image: UCG/Universal Images Group through Getty Images)
Authorities have been accused of failing weak victims as considerations develop over unofficial non secular courts working in Britain. Fresh Government information reveal fewer than three in each 100 reported “honour-based abuse” instances ended with a conviction final yr.
The offences can embrace pressured marriage, feminine genital mutilation and even homicide carried out within the identify of household status. Critics say the figures level to a wider breakdown in enforcement, warning perpetrators consider they’ll act with little worry of punishment. Campaigners additionally raised alarm concerning the rising use of casual sharia councils to settle disputes inside some communities.
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Campaigners argue that offences are sometimes handled outdoors of the prison justice system (Image: AFP through Getty Images)
They argue instances are more and more dealt with privately relatively than reported to authorities, leaving victims outdoors the safety of the prison justice system.
According to activists, this dangers making a shadow justice construction working behind closed doorways and past official oversight, making it tougher for police to intervene earlier than abuse escalates.
Thousands of suspected honour-based offences are being reported to police annually — but solely a tiny fraction are reaching the courts.
Official figures present 2,949 incidents have been logged throughout Britain final yr, however simply 95 suspects have been prosecuted. The sample has repeated lately: 2,755 instances in 2023/24 produced solely 80 prosecutions, whereas 3,008 studies in 2022/23 led to only 68.
Female genital mutilation stays a selected concern. The Metropolitan Police alone has recorded greater than 1,000 studies since 2015, together with 109 final yr and 111 the yr earlier than — almost double the 65 instances reported in 2019/20.
Despite the apply being outlawed in England and Wales virtually 4 many years in the past, Britain has secured solely three convictions, the primary in 2019 involving a three-year-old lady.
Forced marriage reveals an analogous pattern. Police recorded 766 instances between 2020 and 2025, but solely 118 resulted in prosecutions. Annual figures ranged from 141 to 201 studies over the interval, however prosecutions usually numbered just a few dozen annually.
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‘Unintegrated communities enable such violence to proceed unreported,’ it has been claimed (Image: AFP through Getty Images)
Campaigners say the hole between complaints and courtroom motion highlights the problem authorities face in turning allegations into costs — and raises fears offenders are working with little reasonable prospect of punishment.
Nick Timothy MP, the shadow justice secretary, advised the Telegraph: “There can only be one rule of law.
“But the British state has turned a blind eye to sharia courts spreading across our country.
“This is allowing so-called ‘honour’ crimes and abuse to go unpunished.”
Rebecca Paul MP, a Conservative member of the Commons girls and equalities committee, mentioned: “There is nothing at all ‘honourable’ about these crimes – “This is unacceptable in modern Britain.
“Close-knit clannish structures within isolated, unintegrated communities allow such violence to continue unreported and unchallenged.
“More tailored support for Muslim women facing domestic abuse is needed along with a more assertive approach to integration.”
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2173896/authorities-turning-blind-eye-sharia