Table Of ContentHonour-Based Violence and
Forced Marriages
In the last 20 years, the related phenomena of honour-based violence and forced
marriages have received increasing attention at the international and European
level. Punitive responses towards this type of violence have been adopted, including
ad hoc criminalisation and legislation containing direct references to the concepts
of honour, culture, and tradition. However, criminal law-based responses present
several shortcomings and have often disregarded the specific needs that victims
of such crimes might encounter. This book examines the possibility of using
alternative programmes to address cases of honour-based violence and forced
marriages. After reviewing previous existing literature, it presents new empirical
data. Introducing a case study from the United Kingdom, the book recalls the
debate on Sharia Councils and the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal, but examines
instead other community-based secular programmes. By comparison, a study
from Norway on the work of the National Mediation Agency and the so-called
Cross-Cultural Transformative Mediation model is investigated as part of a larger
multi-agency approach. Ultimately, in an attempt to reconcile pluralism and the
rule of law, the book proposes effective ways to tackle honour crimes based on
cooperation and individualisation of the proceedings, and capable of improving
women’s access to justice and reducing secondary victimisation.
The book will be essential reading for researchers and academics in Law,
Criminology, Sociology, and Anthropology and for policy-makers and
practitioners working with honour-based violence cases.
Clara Rigoni is a Senior Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of
Crime, Security and Law, in Freiburg, Germany.
Law, Crime and Culture
Series editors: Professor Susanne Karstedt, University of Leeds, UK;
Professor Ralf Rogowski, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK;
Professor Dirk Tänzler, University of Konstanz, Germany
The Law, Crime and Culture series explores an increasingly important and
topical area of interdisciplinary research, covering a broad range of themes from
understandings of social and legal order in individual cultures to intersections of
criminological, legal and cultural inquiry. The series promotes cross-disciplinary
and comparative research and the series editors actively welcome submissions
on the many and varied topics related to crime, social control, and legal culture
across the world.
Available titles in this series include:
The Social Construction of Corruption in Europe
Dirk Tänzler, Konstadinos Maras and Angelos Giannakopoulos
The EU Anti-Corruption Report
A Reflexive Governance Approach
Andi Hoxhaj
Honour-Based Violence and Forced Marriages
Community and Restorative Practices in Europe
Clara Rigoni
Honour-Based Violence and
Forced Marriages
Community and Restorative Practices
in Europe
Clara Rigoni
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Clara Rigoni
The right of Clara Rigoni to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978-0-367-50597-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-50598-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-05045-2 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003050452
Typeset in Galliard
by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
To my Grandfather Andrea,
for the love that will always bind us
Contents
Acknowledgements viii
PART I
Theoretical and Conceptual Framework 1
1 Introduction 3
2 Honour-Based Violence and Forced Marriages 17
3 The Accommodation of Normative Plurality within European
Legal Systems 44
4 The Accommodation of Normative Plurality through Extra-
Legal Instruments: Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms
and Restorative Justice 70
PART II
Case Studies 103
5 Methodology 105
6 The United Kingdom 111
7 Norway 161
PART III
Findings and Conclusions 201
8 Comparative Overview of the Findings 203
9 Discussion of Findings and Conclusions 238
Index 267
Acknowledgements
This book is the result of a long journey during which I was accompanied and
supported by several friends and colleagues.
My gratitude goes first and foremost to my supervisors Prof. Dr Dr h.c. mult.
Hans-Jörg Albrecht, Prof. Dr Dr h.c. Marie-Claire Foblets, and Dr Dr h.c. Michael
Kilchling. Without their precious advice, encouragement, and criticism this work
would not have been possible. Warm thanks go also to Prof. Dr Dirk Tänzler for
his valuable help in the reviewing process and to Prof. Dr Tatjana Hörnle for the
support shown since the first time we met. Special thanks also to Ms Kathleen
Straka and Ms Gabi Scherer for the constant assistance provided during these past
years.
My deepest appreciation goes to Bente Krogstad, Dr Latif Tas, and to the
interview partners that generously shared with me their stories, struggles, and
precious expertise. Thank you for the important work you do every day.
I am truly grateful also to Dr Carolin Hillemanns and all other friends and
colleagues within the International Max Planck Research School on Retaliation,
Mediation and Punishment. You were the best travel companions I could have
ever wished for. Thank you also to my old and new colleagues in Freiburg and
Halle and to the numerous friends I made there, for the discussions, feedback,
and support provided.
My deepest gratitude goes to my family. To my mother Letizia, for teaching
me generosity; to my father Matteo, for the way he confronts life and for always
making me laugh; to Grazia, for helping me get to know my family better; and
to my grandparents Rosina and Andrea, for all their love and teachings.
A big thank you also goes to Piero, for being a mentor, a friend, and a brother
to me; to Carlotta, for her daily support and her patience; to Martha, for the
strength and empathy she teaches me every day; to Dorothee Bister, for the diffi-
cult work done together in the past years; to my volleyball team, for all the fun we
have and for having moved my furniture quite a few times; and to all my friends,
in every corner of the world, for making me feel at home wherever I go.
Part I
Theoretical and Conceptual
Framework
