Honour Based Abuse, Forced Marriage & Female Genital Mutilation Policy

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1. Statement of Policy

‘So-Called’ Honour Based Abuse (HBA) Forced Marriage (FM) and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) are a fundamental abuse of Human Rights which are unacceptable. Dyfed-Powys Police is committed to providing victims with a consistent, professional service and to investigate all crimes perpetrated in the name of so called ‘Honour’.

Dyfed-Powys Police uses the following definition of ‘so-called’ honour-based abuse:

‘an incident or crime involving violence, threats of violence, intimidation coercion or abuse (including psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional abuse) which has or may have been committed to protect or defend the honour of an individual, family and/ or community for alleged or perceived breaches of the family and/or community’s code of behaviour’ - College of Policing APP.

Dyfed-Powys Police will ensure that all staff understand the complex and sensitive nature of these crimes and incidents, and that there is no ‘honour’ that can justify abusing the human rights of others. Some officers will receive enhanced training to become specialists, but all officers will receive training and be aware of the ‘one chance’ rule. They may only have one chance to speak to a potential victim and save a life. Every victim has the fundamental right to be believed.

Female Genital Mutilation can impact on individuals in numerous ways which can result in serious assault or death. Dyfed-Powys Police is committed to developing responses that keep people safe and hold perpetrators to account without stereotyping, stigmatising or making assumptions about any given individual or community.

This policy sits firmly within our strategic priority to ‘Protect Vulnerable People’. We recognise that ‘so-called’ HBA, FM and FGM may also be a form of domestic abuse or sexual violence, so consider our response alongside the Domestic Abuse, Rape and Serious Sexual Assault (RASSO) other associated policies.

Dyfed-Powys Police are committed to seeking a whole system approach to tackling the issues of ‘so-called’ HBA through partnerships with statutory and non-statutory agencies.

We all have a collective responsibility to ensure that incidents of ‘so-called’ HBA, FM and FGM are correctly identified and actioned, and therefore any employee accessing and using force assets must have due regard to this policy. It applies to all categories of Dyfed-Powys Police employees, whether full-time, part-time, permanent, fixed term, temporary (including agency staff, associates and contractors) or seconded staff. Partner agencies can use it to understand our strategic intent when dealing with incidents of ‘so-called’ HBA or FM.

Applies (but not limited) to: All categories of Dyfed-Powys Police employees, whether full-time, part-time, permanent, fixed term, temporary (including agency staff, associates and contractors) or seconded staff. Any employee accessing and using Force assets and property must have due regard to the contents of this policy.

2. Policy Scope

Our strategic intention is to remove the barriers that prevent people from reporting these incidents. Increasing trust and confidence in affected communities, including those who may fear persecution if in contact with law enforcement agencies, is a priority. Engaging with communities and raising awareness may reduce under-reporting and identifying hidden crimes. Leaders will ensure that every time a report is made to us, an effective response will be provided by correctly identifying and responding to the risk and prioritising safeguarding the victims and others from harm.

The safety of the victim, and anyone else identified as being at risk of harm, is paramount. Their safety will be at the heart of our initial response and investigation. It is important that this is the first priority, with a focus on intervention and prevention. Criminal justice outcomes should be considered against perpetrators in every case where grounds exist, with a clear rationale recorded for every decision. A risk assessment must be completed with the victim, considering wider family members or children who may also be at risk. Safety planning is essential.

Working alongside our partner agencies we will seek to:

Improve the quality of service to victims of ‘so-called’ HBA / FM / FGM
Increase the number of reports of ‘so-called’ HBA / FM / FGM made to Dyfed Powys Police
Increase the number of Forced Marriage Protection Orders obtained by Dyfed Powys Police
Develop responses that keep people safe and hold perpetrators to account without stereotyping, stigmatising, or making assumptions about any given individual or community.
Increase the number of offenders brought to justice.
Ensure reporting and recording of ‘so-called’ HBA / FM / FGM is compliant with national home office crime recording rules. (HOCR)
Increase active involvement with partner agencies to ensure victim safety.
Work with partners to identify communities within Dyfed-Powys affected by ‘so-called’ HBA / FM / FGM

This policy will be made available to the public, and to all our staff. It should be considered at the first point of reporting in order to respond quickly and effectively to protect those at risk from harm.

Staff should familiarise themselves with it, and with the operational guidance on our force intranet site where tactical advice for investigating officers is available.

3. Powers and Policy/Legal Requirements

The legal basis for the exercise of powers and duties outlined in this policy are:

The Wales Safeguarding Procedures detail the essential roles and responsibilities for practitioners to ensure that they safeguard children and adults who are at risk of abuse and neglect. They also help practitioners (us) apply the legislation and statutory guidance from the Social Services and Wellbeing Act, 2014 (Wales).

The All Wales Practice Guide, Safeguarding children from harmful practices related to tradition, culture, religion or superstition can be found on the Wales Safeguarding Procedures website.

Practitioners and professionals should adopt A Children's Rights Approach in line with the duty of due regard to the (UNCRC) and follow National Participation Standards.

Dyfed-Powys Police are an organisational partner of the Mid & West Wales Safeguarding Board and assisted in the development of the ‘Information Sharing Protocol for the Safeguarding of Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults’. This document was produced in conjunction with safeguarding service leads including our Detective Superintendent for Public Protection, and provisions of the following have been considered:

This Information Sharing Protocol (ISP) provides staff from all partner organisations with confidence to share relevant information where the purpose is to protect or prevent children, young people and vulnerable adults from experiencing abuse neglect or other kinds of harm, and that the sharing of this information is lawful without consent of the individuals concerned.

Dyfed-Powys Police will work with the CPS to ensure that the investigation and prosecution of FGM is coordinated between agencies. The protocol between Dyfed-Powys and the CPS can be found on the intranet, titled A Protocol between the Police and the Crown Prosecution Service in the investigation of allegations of FGM.

It is frequently referred to as ‘so called’ ‘Honour Based Violence’ but Dyfed-Powys Police recognises that some forms of abuse are not violent (as per the definition of Domestic Abuse) and therefore will refer to it as ‘so-called’ Honour Based Abuse. There is no specific ‘honour based crime’, as it is an umbrella term to encompass an offender’s motivation for committing various offences that are covered by existing legislation.

Forced Marriage

It is a criminal offence to force someone to marry. Forced Marriage is defined as – a marriage conducted without the valid consent of one or both parties, where duress is a factor which includes:

taking someone overseas to force them to marry (whether or not the marriage takes place)
marrying someone who lacks the mental capacity to consent to the marriage (whether they’re pressured or not)

Alongside this criminal offence, a civil remedy of obtaining a Forced Marriage Protection Order exists, which can be applied for through the family courts. This gives victims a choice of how they wish to be assisted:

if they are in a forced marriage OR
if they or someone else is being threatened with a forced marriage.

A breach of any of the prohibitions, restrictions or requirements set out by the Order is a criminal offence that we will investigate and seek to prosecute.

Female Genital Mutilation

According to the World Health Organization (FGM, is regarded as a social custom which is most often performed on girls between infancy and age 15, It can, however, be carried out on women and girls of all ages, including new born babies, and adult women in association with marriage or re-infibulation following childbirth.

FGM stems from concepts of chastity, family honour and the importance of marriage in societies where security and survival depend largely on making a good marriage. In some communities only a woman who has undergone FGM is deemed suitable for marriage as it demonstrates chastity and purity. As a result, parents allow or actively require their daughters to undergo FGM as a way of protecting their future. These concepts are underpinned by beliefs regarding the position of women and girls within those cultures. FGM is not limited by social class or education.

The practice is most prevalent in the western, eastern and north-eastern regions of Africa and in some parts of Asia and the Middle East. Increased migration, means that FGM-practising communities can be found worldwide, including Europe, North and South America and Australasia. Police officers and police staff should not assume that FGM is not happening in the area where they work.

The Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 was enacted in March 2004 and outlawed the practice in this country.

The FGM Act creates three basic offences:

Carrying out FGM (Section 1 of the FGM Act)
Assisting a girl to mutilate her own genitalia (Section 2 of the FGM Act)
Assisting a non-UK person to carry out FGM outside the UK on a girl who is a British National or a habitual resident of the UK (Section 3 of the FGM Act).

Anyone engaging in one of these prohibited acts in the UK, regardless of their nationality or immigration status, is committing an offence.

FGM is the term used to refer to the removal of part or all of the external female genitalia for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. There are four types of FGM practices:

FGM Type 1 – Clitoridectomy: Partial or total removal of the clitoral glans (the external and visible part of the clitoris, which is a sensitive part of the female genitals), and/or the prepuce / clitoral hood (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoral glans).
FGM Type 2 - Excision: Partial or total removal of the clitoral glans and the labia minora (the inner folds of the vulva), with or without removal of the labia majora (the outer folds of skin of the vulva).
FGM Type 3 – Infibulation: This is the narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the labia minora, or labia majora, sometimes through stitching, with or without removal of the clitoral prepuce / clitoral hood and glans. • FGM Type 4 – Other: All other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, e.g., Labia Elongation or pulling, pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterising (burning) the genital area.

FGM has no known health benefits and there may be serious health consequences for the girl or woman upon whom it is carried out. Please refer to the APP FGM for further guidance. Additional guidance can also be found on the FGM Assessment Tool – National FGM Centre.

Virginity Testing

Under the Health and Care Act 2022, it is an offence for a person to carry out, offer or aid and abet virginity testing or hymenoplasty in any part of the UK. It is also illegal for UK nationals and residents to conduct these practices outside of the UK. According to the WHO ‘virginity testing is a violation of the victim’s human rights and is associated with both immediate and long-term consequences that are detrimental to her physical, psychological and social well-being’. The Home Office classification is 68/21 and has a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment. For further information, please refer to Health and Care Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk) and Virginity testing - GOV.UK.

Mandatory Reporting

All regulated health and social care professionals and teachers in England and Wales have a mandatory reporting duty under Section 5B of the FGM Act. They are under a duty to report to the police any known case of FGM on someone who is under 18 at the time of making the report. However, where a professional believes that a person is at risk of FGM, this does not fall under the mandatory reporting duty, but will be dealt with through established Wales Safeguarding Procedures via the Multi – Agency Safeguarding protocols following a Multi-Agency Referral being submitted by the relevant authority to initiate the Strategy Discussion.

This policy should be read in conjunction with the following documents which provide further specific guidance regarding the investigation of ‘so-called’ Honour Based Abuse/Violence, FM / FGM:

4. Options and Contingencies

Tactical Delivery

The Local Policing Area (LPA) Commander and the Detective Chief Inspector are responsible for the following:

The knowledge, implementation and compliance of this policy with their staff.
The identification of suitable officers to undertake training and roles required for the specialist investigation.

The Head of Contact and Incident Management will be responsible for;

The knowledge, implementation and compliance of this policy with the staff within the FCC.
Establishing suitable training that incorporates the needs of those engaged in initial contact with victims.

The Chief Inspector lead for the Vulnerability Hub will have responsibility for;

The knowledge, implementation and compliance of this policy with their staff.
Ensuring effective secondary risk assessments are undertaken.
Ensuring multiagency arrangements are maintained for establishing risk management plans.

All reports and referrals for ‘So-called’ HBA / FM / FGM are recorded on the Force command and control system STORM and our records management system NICHE.

A Public Protection Notice (PPN) should be completed by frontline officers at the earliest opportunity to instigate a multi-agency strategy discussion. Following a Strategy Discussion, the NICHE occurrence record will be updated and allocated to the relevant LPA CID team with the duty supervisor notified.

Initial ownership of any HBA/FM/FGM investigation or concern must be undertaken by the on duty or on call Detective Inspector and an immediate safety plan considered.

It is the responsibility of the Officer in case and their supervisor to progress the case engaging with partner agencies to manage the safeguarding.

To ensure understanding of the HBA/FM/FGM investigation process Police Officers and Police Staff are provided with training.

Investigative Strategies and Initial Actions

If any incident relates to ‘so-called’ HBA, then first responders will follow the guidance provided by College of Policing APP on First Responder Actions to HBA.
Priority is given to planning the safety of the victim and anyone else who may be subject to harm.
Officers must consider where it is safe to meet the victim and/or informant to conduct a risk assessment or investigation, bearing in mind the ‘One Chance Rule’. The victim should be taken to a place of safety that is secure and private (for example, attendance at a police station) where conversation cannot be overheard. Victims must never be sent away.
Always consider removing the victim from the scene even if the suspect is arrested. The victim’s safety must come first. Victims will fear retribution from wider community and/or fear of bringing ‘shame’ or ‘dishonour’ to the family.
Niche occurrences relating to ‘So-called’ HBA/FM should not be routinely restricted. The decision to restrict should be kept under constant review and amended in line with threat, harm and risk posed by the circumstances or the suspect. Officers should use the National Decision Making Model (NDM) in the decision making process.
Consider providing / requesting medical aid and make an assessment of the victim's immediate needs.
Establish the victim's nationality and any relevant family members / perpetrators i.e., what is the victim / perpetrator’s country of origin. Conduct a threat assessment and take immediate steps to make the person safe. Take note of the history of arranged marriage within the family. A pattern of arranged marriage may help with the assessment of risk.
Consider the welfare of other children within the family, especially other female siblings and cousins. If any officer believes that a child is at immediate risk of significant harm, they should consider the use of Police Protection Powers under Section 46 of the Children Act 1989 or Emergency Protection Orders under Section 44 of the Children Act 1989.
Take immediate steps to secure evidence of an offence, including a preparatory offence.
Complete appropriate intelligence checks and risk assessment and ensure a robust risk management plan is in place.
Consider arrest strategy carefully. This is because positive action in removing the primary aggressor may significantly raise the risk to the victim from other suspects in the form of extended family, and increased pressure to conform and/or physical abuse. Ensure intelligence checks are completed prior to any arrest. If a supervisor decides not to affect an arrest, or to delay affecting an arrest, in the interests of protecting the victim’s safety, then such decisions must be documented, with an accompanying rationale, within the investigation.
If police officers or police staff believe someone is at risk of FM a supervisor of the rank Inspector must be made aware.
A child Protection PPN / Adult at risk PPN will need to be submitted along with a DA PPN if Domestic related.
A Karma Nirvana Risk Assessment will then have to be completed with the victim by a trained officer (DAO)
Consider whether this could be a Critical Incident, Crime in Action or a Threat to life and deal with the matter accordingly.
Seek independent advice about specific Religious / Cultural / Faith issues (e.g. Karma Nirvana, IKWRO, HERSANA).
Consider the use of Police National Computer (PNC) Flagging. All victims and suspects of ‘So-called' HBA/FM must also be flagged with the appropriate marker in Niche.
Consider refuge (even if they have no recourse to public funds), but do not rehouse locally unless specifically requested after all risks of harm have been explained to the victim.

For both initial and secondary lines of enquiry, please also refer to the Inestigatigative Guidance on the APP, 'So Called' HBA and FM APP, Link to FGM.

Secondary Investigation and reviews

As with all criminal investigations, children and young people should be interviewed under the relevant procedures / guidelines (e.g., Achieving Best Evidence (ABE)). If the victim is vulnerable or a child, arrange for an appropriate adult to attend who is independent and not from or linked to the family.

The investigation must be allocated to a PIPL2 investigator (or working towards) and supervised by a qualified Detective Sergeant (DS) / PIP2 Supervisor within first 24 hours.

The investigation will be reviewed by a Detective Inspector (DI) on a regular basis who will ensure that a robust risk management plan is in place and being actively monitored.

Professional judgement is also important. Victims of these crimes may minimise the abuse, or not recognise the risk of harm to themselves and others. MARAC referrals can be made by any officer or partner agency should they feel this is the correct course of action based on their own professional judgement. A multi- agency discussion can then take place to safeguard those at risk. Advice can be sought from the Vulnerability Hub.

Should officers have any queries, suggestions for improvement, or recognise any barriers to good practice, they can refer to their managers or liaise directly with the Vulnerability Hub.

5. Take action and review

All reports of ‘so-called’ HBA and FM will be investigated to protect the lives and wellbeing of all those at risk.

This policy will be reviewed every 2 years by the Vulnerability Hub DI, unless any updated national policy or procedure relevant to it is published in the meantime, or there is feedback from the ethics committee, PSD or Legal Services.

The Vulnerability Hub has ultimate responsibility for the policy and will regularly monitor compliance by dip-sampling incidents and investigations, whilst reality testing general understanding and awareness of staff. Any complaints received by the force about our response to ‘so-called’ HBA / FM / FGM will be investigated to identify learning, and any good feedback disseminated to staff.

Any areas of improvement highlighted requiring a review or amendments to this policy will be done to ensure continuous improvement. This will be formally reported to the ‘Head of Protecting Vulnerable Persons’.

CODE OF ETHICS

The Code of Ethics principles apply:

Courage
Respect and Empathy
Public Service

Governance

The lead officer is the Detective Superintendent for Protecting Vulnerable People, who is responsible for the strategic lead for Vulnerability, and the coordination of Policies.
FM/FGM is managed under the Vulnerability portfolio which receives oversight from the Strategic Vulnerability Group chaired by the Assistant Chief Constable.
The Dyfed-Powys Police Vulnerability Portfolio takes strategic direction from the National Vulnerability Action Plan and the National Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.

CODE OF ETHICS CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

This policy has been drafted in accordance with the Code of Ethics and has been reviewed on the basis of its content and the supporting evidence and it is deemed compliant with that Code and the principles underpinning it.

HUMAN RIGHTS ACT CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

This policy has been drafted in accordance with the Human Rights Act and has been reviewed on the basis of its content and the supporting evidence and it is deemed compliant with that Act and the principles underpinning it.

EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT

Section 4 of the Equality Act 2010 sets out the protected characteristics that qualify for protection under the Act as follows: Age; Disability; Gender Reassignment; Marriage and Civil Partnership; Pregnancy and Maternity; Race; Religion or Belief; Sex; Sexual Orientation.

The public sector equality duty places a proactive legal requirement on public bodies to have regard, in the exercise of their functions, to the need to:

eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and any other conduct that is unlawful under the Act;
advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it;
foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

The equality duty applies to all protected characteristics with the exception of Marriage and Civil Partnership, to which only the duty to have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination applies.

Carrying out an equality impact assessment involves systematically assessing the likely or actual effects of policies on people in respect of all the protected characteristics set out above. An equality impact assessment should be carried out on any policy that is relevant to the public sector equality duty.

EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT COMPLETED: June 2024

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