Violence in the Name of Honour: Theoretical and Political Challenges

This book contains the contributions of participants at a seminar, organised by the Consulate General of Sweden in Istanbul, and titled ‘International Seminar on Violence in the Name of Honour’ (4-6 December 2003). The first section of the book – ‘Theoretical Explorations of Honour Killings’ – methodologically and theoretically examines honour violence, including considering prevention, short and long term intervention, post-colonial contexts and the need for contextualisation. The second section exams the ‘Community Struggle Against Honour Killing focusing on activities in Turkey and Sweden. The third section – ‘State Responses to Honour Killing’ – begins by focusing on the relevant norms of international human rights and implementing and enforcing these at national levels to address honour violence, and includes a keynote address by Yakin Erturk (former UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women). Other papers in the section focus on the initiatives of the Swedish government and police and how Swedish courts have tried cases and their media treatment. The final section of the book is an appendix containing a short list of recommended resources on women and violence, and the original programme for the seminar.