Focus on Honour : An Exploration of Honour-Related Cases for Police Officers and Other Professionals [1 ed.] 9789462748378, 9789462368361

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Focus on Honour Janine Janssen

An exploration of cases of honour-related violence for police officers and other professionals

There are few issues that involve as many complex emotions as honour-related violence. These are emotions that are culturally determined; at the same time they deeply affect personal lives. A type of violence that evokes strong emotions in society. This book gives police officers and other professionals the means to tackle these matters effectively and justly.

Ahmed Aboutaleb, mayor of Rotterdam

Unfortunately, violence in the name of honour regularly occurs in our society. Each year, in approximately three thousand cases, the Dutch National Police Force takes into consideration that an affront to honour can be a motive for violence or the threat of violence. It is not always easy to recognise honour-related cases, given that the violation and restoration of honour comes in many manifestations, ranging from verbal threats to murder. What is more, this kind of violence can affect people during different stages of their lives. In the process, men and women turn up not only as victims but also as suspects.

This book is intended as an introduction to the complex world of honour and violence, and it is intended for police officers and other professionals who have to deal with these matters during the course of their work. It gives professionals insight into the following issues: Why is honour so important? How can the warning signs that a conflict is threatening to escalate into violence be recognised? What can professionals do about it? Janine Janssen is head of research at the National Expertise Centre for Honour-Related Violence (LEC EGG) at the Dutch National Police Force. She is also Professor of Violence in Dependency Relationships at Avans University of Applied Sciences.

ISBN 978-94-6236-836-1

9 789462 368361

Focus on Honour

FOCUS ON HONOUR An exploration cases of honour-related violence for police officers and other professionals JANINE JANSSEN

Published, sold and distributed by Eleven International Publishing P.O. Box 85576 2508 CG The Hague The Netherlands Tel.: +31 70 33 070 33 Fax: +31 70 33 070 30 e-mail: [email protected] www.elevenpub.com Sold and distributed in USA and Canada International Specialized Book Services 920 NE 58th Avenue, Suite 300 Portland, OR 97213-3786, USA Tel: 1-800-944-6190 (toll-free) Fax: +1-503-280-8832 [email protected] www.isbs.com Eleven International Publishing is an imprint of Boom uitgevers Den Haag. ISBN 978-94-6236-836-1 ISBN 9789462748378 (e-book) Cover design and layout: Textcetera, Den Haag Translation: Barbara Reed © 2018 J.H.L.J. Janssen | Eleven International Publishing This book is a translation of Focus op eer (2017), by J.H.L.J. Janssen This publication is protected by international copyright law. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Printed in The Netherlands

FOREWORD

Our diverse society often finds itself shocked by serious violence such as capital offences. It is not always immediately clear what the background to these offences actually is. Some of these violent crimes are caused by what some individuals would consider a violation of their honour. The underlying causes are complex, and their origins are rooted in cultural elements that are not always clear to the police. These cases call for special expertise. Expertise that can be found or exists at an operational level. Expertise that has to be learnt on the job, but sometimes it also requires deeper digging into the case at hand. This is particularly relevant if we would like to prevent violent capital crimes based on the knowledge attained. The highly valued National Expertise Centre for HonourRelated Violence [Landelijke Expertise Centrum Eer Gerelateerd Geweld (LEC EGG)] has been dealing with these issues for many years. It not only provides operational support in police practices, but it also investigates the issues in greater depth. The LEC EGG also delves deeper, looking for insights and an understanding of the underlying issues. This publication provides us with crucial and useful knowledge for police practices: good practical insights, coupled with sound analysis. It is not intended to be left to gather dust on the shelf, but to be used by information analysts, criminal investigators and officers on the beat. The book aims to support investigations and its main focus is to prevent violence before it starts. With Focus on Honour, the LEC EGG has demonstrated once more that close collaboration with its partners provides a valuable contribution to police operations. Thus, looking out for the safety of the public whilst investigating cases involving serious violence. Erik Akerboom, First Chief Constable of the Dutch National Police Force

CONTENTS

Introduction: from looking to seeing

12

Close-up: Honest photographs

17

1

The police approach to violent honour-related cases in The Netherlands

18

1.1 1.1.1 1.1.2 1.2 1.2.1 1.2.2 1.2.3 1.2.4 1.3 1.3.1 1.3.2

Police operations in a multi-ethnic society Society in flux Police duties Police focus regarding violent honour-related cases The origins of the police approach to these type of cases The concept of ‘honour-related violence’ Violence in dependency relationships Domestic and honour-related violence compared Collaboration with other partners The police cannot do it alone Aspects to be considered when collaborating with others

18 18 23 24 24 33 39 45 48 48 53

Close-up: Honour on the streets

57

2

Familiar perspectives on honour and violence

58

2.1 2.1.1 2.1.2 2.2 2.2.1 2.2.2

The benefits of theory An important tool Differing perspectives The historical-sociological approach The civilisation theory Honour, internalising coercion and condemning vigilante justice

58 58 59 65 65 70

2.3 2.3.1 2.3.2 2.4 2.4.1 2.4.2

The anthropological perspective Anthropologists in the Mediterranean area Honour through the eyes of anthropologists Elaboration Gender and honour Religion and honour

74 74 76 82 82 88

Close-up: Fencing with honour

95

3

96

Another perspective on honour and violence

3.1 3.1.1 3.1.2 3.2 3.2.1 3.2.2 3.3 3.3.1

The life-course perspective Starting points Key concepts First steps Families during the life-course A first schematic attempt Towards an integrated perspective A new life-course schedule for violence and honour in a family context 3.3.2 The life-course under the microscope 3.4 Various perspectives on honour and violence compared 3.4.1 Different levels 3.4.2 Different answers to different questions

96 96 100 103 103 106 116

Close-up: The blacksmith’s secret

123

4

Recognising honour-related issues

124

4.1 4.1.1 4.1.2 4.2 4.2.1 4.2.2

Complications Snapshots Doubtful honour Working with red flags Thoughts behind the red flags Types of red flags

124 124 125 127 127 128

Close-up: Willing and able

116 118 119 119 120

135

5

Gathering information about honour-related cases

136

5.1 5.1.1 5.1.2 5.1.3 5.1.4 5.1.5 5.2 5.2.1 5.2.2

The checklist A few thoughts behind the checklist Accepting a case Identifying the problem In-depth analysis Approach Data Processing data Disclosing information

136 136 144 147 151 161 169 169 171

Close-up: Cut with honour

175

6

Working with experts

176

6.1 6.1.1 6.1.2 6.2 6.2.1 6.2.2 6.2.3 6.3 6.3.1 6.3.2

The role of experts in criminal proceedings Criminal proceedings The aim of involving experts Engaging an expert Approaching an expert Types of expertise Differences in opinions between experts Requirements What is required of an expert? What is required of the police?

176 176 178 180 180 182 183 187 187 189

Close-up: Two types of honour

193

7

194

Counting honour-related cases

7.1 7.1.1 7.1.2 7.2 7.2.1 7.2.2

Visibility The police’s perspective The perspective of those concerned The objective of the statistics A constructivist vision Insight into the police approach and the cases that the police deal with 7.3 A few figures on honour-related cases 7.3.1 Honour-related cases in the Netherlands 7.3.2 Comparing international statistics

194 194 195 196 196 197 199 199 204

Close-up: The pain of losing honour

207

8

Honour in the future: an interaction of light and shadow

208

8.1 8.1.1 8.1.2 8.1.3 8.2 8.2.1 8.2.2

Focus on the negative aspects of honour The persistence of violence perpetrated in the name of honour Condemning violence perpetrated in the name of honour Ridiculing codes of honour Focus on the positive aspects of honour Smiling about honour? An interaction of light and shadow

208 208 209 210 213 213 213

Acknowledgements

217

References

219

Introduction: from looking to seeing

The aim of this book A picture paints a thousand words, or at least this well-known saying would have us believe. However, a photograph is merely a snapshot, an image frozen in time. Those who look at a photograph should never assume that what they are looking at is an objective reflection of that one moment in time, because a photograph is anything but a neutral reflection of reality. Consider, for instance, the choice of subject, the focus and the camera position, the framing of the image, the exposure, the choice of the film material and use of filters. Never mind the tricks and tweaks the photographer can apply in the dark room or on the computer. When it comes to judging images, we have to progress from looking to seeing. Looking and seeing are not synonymous. Those who look, see images; those who see, know what they are looking at and how the images have transpired. The central theme and thus the focus of this book is to learn to see violence committed in the name of honour in all its complexity. Although violence presents itself in many forms, our particular focus will be on violence within the family circle. Family honour often involves issues such as choosing a partner, condemning extra-marital sex, pregnancies, and problems that arise when relationships break up. Many people would undoubtedly consider issues as choosing or leaving a partner to be matters involving only two individuals at most. In our society, however, there are also groups who believe that such steps in an individual’s life concern the whole family, and that the family is well within its rights to use violence to punish this kind of ‘deviant’ behaviour. Focus on Honour is the third book that the National Police Force’s National Expertise Centre for Honour-Related Violence (LEC EGG) has published through Eleven International Publishing. Previous publications were Weaving Social Networks (Dutch title Schering en Inslag), which provided police officers and other professionals with guidance on maintaining networks in a multi-ethnic society (Janssen, 2012). The other publication is entitled The Colours of the Chameleon (Dutch title De Kleuren van de Kameleon); a book about the personal involvement of police officers in honour-related conflicts (Janssen, 2015d). Together with Eleven International Publishing, we have developed a recognisable design for LEC EGG publications. The aim of these publications is to disseminate

knowledge gleaned from police practices and academic research to police officers and other professionals in the safety and security sector.

The structure of this book To make the book attractive to ‘hands-on people’, once again footnotes have not been used in this publication. Clearly recognisable coloured sections of text with references to literature that I found worthwhile have also been included. An additional feature to this book in comparison to the previous two books, is that these text blocks have been used to put a spotlight on what I consider to be interesting novels or films that I myself thoroughly enjoyed These spotlights also bring certain aspects of honour-related problems into the open, in a clear or original way. There may well be readers who are frowning and wondering how fiction contributes to a strategy intended for tackling honour-related cases. For these readers, I would like to take this opportunity to draw your attention to a one-liner attributed to Albert Einstein: ‘Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere’. This book also includes grey text blocks in each chapter that describe case histories and experiences from the LEC EGG. In between each of the chapters, there are close-ups whereby respondents describe what honour means to them. Two common misconceptions are that one, honour is only significant in a family context and that Westerners do not concern themselves with honour. In the close-ups, a photographer, a homeless person, an athlete, a shoe smith, a professor, a hairdresser, and a soldier show that the opposite is true. The series of photos closes with narrative described by a director of a medium-sized company who was dishonourably discharged. Incidentally, this is the only contribution for which we do not mention the respondent’s name: the loss of honour was simply too painful. These close-ups enable the observer to not only see the details that cannot be seen from afar, but also to realise that closeness also engenders a sense of involvement. This is the second reason why these interviews were included. I hope they encourage readers to think about what a sense of honour in everyday life means to them. However, close-ups can not help us to see what honour is in general terms. For this reason, the chapters are written from a more distant perspective. Sticking with imagery from photography: the chapters are panoramas. My aim has been to provide as broad a picture as possible of the subjects dealt within in each chapter. Having said that, I am not pretending that the picture is complete: the chapters are not panoramic images that span the entire 360° field of vision. For that, my knowledge is too modest and the subject is too complex.

13

Focus on honour

14

Chapter 1 focuses on the police approach to violent honour-related cases in the Netherlands. How has this approach to these cases evolved over time, and how does the handling of these cases relate to police duties? Another important issue discussed in this chapter concerns the partners in the field of safety and security that the police collaborate with when handling cases like these. Chapters 2 and 3 are theoretical in nature. The second chapter focuses on well-known theoretical perspectives that can shed light on the origins and the continued existence of honour codes that tolerate violence. Hereby, historicalsociological and anthropological perspectives are outlined. The differences between honour codes in the West compared to other parts of the world are especially compared, as are the differences between individual and collective honours. Finally, the relationship between honour, gender and religion is discussed. In Chapter 3, a new perspective is introduced, namely the life-course perspective. Do codes of honour have the same implications for children as they do for young people and adults? In other words, what is the significance of honour codes during the course of a lifetime? Chapters 4, 5 and 6 are more practical in nature. In these three chapters, the Dutch national standard for the police approach to honour-related cases, i.e. the LEC EGG method, is described in detail. Chapter 4 explains how to recognise honour-related cases that may involve violence. Chapter 5 goes on to discuss the process of gathering information using a checklist and building a dossier; Chapter 6 focuses on working with experts. Chapter 7 deals with the difficulties of quantifying violence committed in the name of honour. What statistics do we have? Who is collecting these figures and which problems do we face when interpreting the data involved? Chapter 8 looks to the future. Our studies of honour-related violence have mainly taught us about the dark sides of honour codes. However, this does not necessarily mean that having a sense of honour is bad by definition. There are also positive honour-related beliefs that strive to put an end to violence perpetrated in the name of honour. The question is how, in the context of safety and security, can we reinforce honour-related beliefs that renounce violence and undermine those mind-sets that encourage vigilante justice among citizens. The book finishes with brief concluding remarks about this interplay between light and shadow.

How to use this book As the author of this book, I will not be offended if readers do not read this book from cover to cover. I have tried to give a clear history of the police approach to honour-related violence, to provide insight into the theoretical explanations for the emergence and persistence of violent codes of honour, and to provide refer-

Introduction

ence points for addressing honour-related cases in police practices. Those who are interested in specific aspects of honour-related problems and how they can be tackled can confine themselves to the chapters that focus on these aspects. When educating police staff and others, teachers and lecturers can use the various chapters as they see fit. They may wish to use the interviews between the chapters – the close-ups – to get their students to debate the negative as well as positive aspects of honour. This kind of book is like a photo album of holidays that you have not actually been on yourself: a well-chosen selection of close-ups and chapters will awaken interest in the holiday destination and the experiences of fellow travellers. It may also be the case that having to wade through hundreds of photos and dwelling on the details for hours on end, may well snuff out any spark of interest you may have had in this topic once and for all.

The translation This book was first published in Dutch. However, since tackling violence committed in the name of honour is not confined to the Netherlands, this book has also been published in French and English. The detailed description of the Dutch context will give readers from other language areas an understanding of police operations in the Netherlands; it will also provide an opportunity to use the experiences in the Netherlands as fuel for discussions in the reader’s own professional environment. This book is based extensively on Dutch literature. Summaries of relevant passages have been translated, and wherever possible reference is made to publications written in English. The original text has been abridged in a few cases. For instance, the Dutch Police Data Act is discussed in detail in the Dutch version. This translation only gives the essence of these passages; many of the details have been left out.

15

CLOSE-UP

Honest photographs Caroline Koning is a freelance photographer who reports for various clients. The word ‘honour’ in combination with her work brings to mind the following associations as far as she is concerned: ‘A good photograph tries to capture life, but does not always succeed. Everything has to go your way, the right way to get that one great photograph. First and foremost, you have to restrain your own ego, doubts, uncertainties and tensions so that you are truly open to the surroundings and to the people whose image you want to capture. If your heart and your head are not in it, you will not accomplish your goal. You have to work towards a situation in which your body and soul become an extension of the camera. Only then will you be able to take a freeze frame of life. This is when you take good photos, precisely at those rare moments. All of this is not to say that I never take good photographs. That is nonsense because I know I have a solid technical foundation and that the basic quality of my work is always good. Having said that, when I take a critical look at my work, there are photos that I am still excited about many years later. Those are really brilliant photos that have that extra spark. Yet strangely it is precisely those photos in which other people fail to recognise how perfect the moment was and how brilliantly these images turned out. So, it means that I do not only derive my professional honour from what other people think of my work. Obviously, their thoughts are important to me and I find it flattering if my clients are excited about my work. Nonetheless, t for me it is also essential that I achieve my own professional and aesthetic standards which evokes a deeper and more personal sense of honour: strict individual and inner judgement. Thinking about this, it may mean to me, honour in its purest form. The dual nature of honour – what other people think about my work and how I judge it myself – is reflected strongly in the portraits I take. I have been taking photographs for many years and I have developed a certain taste for this over time. I sometimes jokingly call it ‘blue cheese taste’. When you taste it for the first time, it’ is really disgusting, but as time goes by you acquire a taste for it. Photography is the same. I like wrinkles, imperfections and faces with character. To me they are beautiful, and so I want to emphasise them in my photos. Though people being portrayed often have other ideas: they want a polished picture in which all the blemishes, bumps and other imperfections have been removed. I then have to do a lot of talking to convince the model that beauty is to be found in the imperfections. With these imperfections, you can capture the uniqueness and catch a glimpse of someone’s personality. The smoothed out and touched up faces are ten a penny. As a photographer, there’s no glory to be had from those photographs.’

1

The police approach to violent honour-related cases in The Netherlands

This chapter focuses on the National Police Force’s approach to tackling violence committed in the name of honour. The first section focuses on police operations in a multi-ethnic society. What do changes to demographics mean for police work? In the second section, the spotlight is on the police approach to violence in the name of honour. How did this approach evolve? What is meant by the term ‘honour-related violence’? Furthermore, how does this term relate to the collective term ‘violence in dependency relationships’ that is commonly used in Dutch policy? The partners with who the police work with are discussed in the third and last section of this chapter. The police are not alone in the field of safety and security, they often work together with others when it comes to violence committed in the name of honour. However, what are the important issues when it comes to ensuring that this collaboration is successful?

1.1

1.1.1

Police operations in a multi-ethnic society

Society in flux

Nothing is forever... The way people live together is anything but static. The fact is, the way life is today is different to the way it was a century ago, and in one hundred years’ time our society will undoubtedly look different to the way it does today. Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher who lived from 540 BC to 480 BC, put it succinctly all those years ago: ‘Nothing is permanent, except change.’ Change comes to us in many forms. Statistics Netherlands’ (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, CBS) figures teach us that in the 1900s there were around five million inhabitants the Netherlands, and that this figure had reached almost seventeen million by 2014. Moreover, the stream of people moving to the cities to live and work grew during the twentieth century. The population has since then aged, and far-reaching changes have taken place in family life, too. In the early twentieth century, marriage was popular, families were big and divorce was rare. A century later, marriage is less popular, families are smaller and divorce is by no means unusual.

Migration and change In addition to changes in terms of urbanisation, the ageing population and family composition, quite a few things have changed in the Netherlands as far as the population’s ethnic backgrounds are concerned. There is not a population on the planet that consists entirely of indigenous people. There is always an influx and an outflux (Hoving, Dibbits & Schrover, 2009). If we focus on the influx, then we can see that various different groups have long descended on the North Sea coast. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, migrants found their way to the Low Countries because of their economic prosperity and freedom of religion. Between 1800 and 1900, the Netherlands lost its leading economic position and migration turned to countries like England, Belgium and Germany, countries which were the cradle of the Industrial Revolution. Another major wave of migration was set in motion during the first half of the twentieth century. The First and Second World Wars as well as the Russian Revolution resulted, among other things, in a dramatic flood of refugees. The second half of the twentieth century also saw major migration movements that affected the Netherlands. As was the case years earlier when many Germans came to the Netherlands. A country which once again had managed to develop a strong economy after the Second World War. However, other migrant groups also appeared. These so called ‘guest workers’, i.e. migrant workers often from beyond Europe’s borders, started to head to the Netherlands in the sixties. Also, the independence of the former Dutch colonies in Asia and the Caribbean – Suriname, the Antilles and Aruba – brought migrants to the Netherlands. Finally, political conflicts abroad led to an intake of refugees and resulted in the development and expansion of the European Union. As a consequence, inhabitants of other Member States also settled in the Netherlands (Blom & Lambert, 2014; Janssen, 2015a).

19

20

Focus on honour

Migrants, ethnic minorities and the native population An emigrant is a person who moves to

indigenous? Further investigation into the

another country, similar to the Dutch

backgrounds of the native Dutch popula-

people who left for Canada and Australia

tion will undoubtedly reveal that many of

in the twentieth century. An immigrant is

the native population have German, Bel-

a person who comes into a country, much

gian and other blood flowing through their

like the guest workers who made their way

veins. The www.vijfeeuwenmigratie.nl

to the Netherlands from North Africa and

website goes as far as to claim that an esti-

southern Europe in the late sixties and dur-

mated 98% of the Dutch population have

ing the seventies. In other words, a migrant

foreign ancestors. Statistics Netherlands

is an emigrant. Descendants from emi-

uses the following definition of the term

grants who are born in the host country are

‘immigrants’: persons of whom at least one

in fact no longer migrants. After all, they

of the parents was born in a foreign coun-

were born in the new home country. The

try. First-generation immigrants are those

leading sociologist, Hilde Verwey-Jonker,

who were born abroad and who have at

noted in the early seventies that words like

least one parent who was also born in a for-

‘immigrant’, ‘foreigner’ and ‘guest worker’

eign country. When Statistics Netherlands

had become loaded terms. She looked

refers to second-generation immigrants, it

for a more neutral alternative meaning:

means people who were born in the Neth-

‘allochtoon’, meaning allochthon (Verwey-

erlands but of whom at least one parent

Jonker, 1971). It is a geological term that

was born abroad. Statistics Netherlands

means buried or found in a place remote

also differentiates between Western immi-

of the side of formation. In the Netherlands

grants (from Europe excluding Turkey, or

it was understood as ‘non-indigenous’

from North America, Oceania, Indonesia or

or ‘non-native’. The question, however,

Japan) and non-Western immigrants (from

is when do people become native, i.e.

Turkey, Africa, Latin America or Asia).

All these relocations, (that is what migration actually is), have led to a colourful society. Table 1.1 shows that on 1 January 2015 approximately 80% of the population was indigenous, 11% was of non-Western descent and 9% had Western roots but that they were from outside the Netherlands.

1 The police approach to violent honour-related cases in The Netherlands

Table 1.1

Dutch population according to ethnic background in 2015 Number of people

Ethnic minorities Westerners Non-westerners – Moroccan – Antillean/Aruban – Surinamese – Turkish – Other non-Westerners Native population Total population

Proportion of the population

3,665,321 1,626,812 2,038,509 380,755 148,926 348,662 396,555 763,611 13,235,405 16,900,726

22% 10% 12% 2% 1% 2% 2% 5% 78% 100%

Source: Statistics Netherlands, 2016.

According to Statistics Netherlands’ population forecast (Garssen & Van Duin, 2009), by 2050, around five million immigrants will be living in the Netherlands, of which three million will be second-generation, non-Western immigrants. With these facts, it can be said that the ethnic minority group will constitute 28.7% of the Dutch population in 2050. Super-diversity The anthropologist Vertovec studied the

beliefs, among other things. The newcom-

composition of British society in great

ers also reflected a diversity in the way they

detail because he was interested in migra-

migrated to the UK and their legal status in

tion. He concludes that a person’s ethnic

the host country. These migrants arrived

background is not an especially suitable

on work visas; some to study, whilst others

indicator to determine their ability to inte-

travelled to the UK to join their partners

grate and participate in society. Vertovec

or relatives, and then there were the asy-

attributes this to the rise of super-diversity.

lum seekers and refugees. Some of these

With this term, Vertovec typified a situa-

asylum seekers /refugees arrived in the

tion that arose in the early nineties in the

country legally, but stayed longer than was

United Kingdom. Not only did migrants

permitted, and others were in the country

then enter the country on a larger scale,

illegally from the word go. Furthermore,

but they also came from regions other

there were more fortunate ones who have

than the familiar usual ones, i.e. the former

since become fully-fledged citizens of the

colonies and Commonwealth countries.

British society. Thus, an extremely colour-

These new migrants brought with them

ful society has arisen as a consequence of

a wide variety of languages and religious

these varied migration flows. An important

21

Focus on honour

22

feature of this super-diversity is that this

person who is born in the Netherlands,

colourfulness is not only characteristic of

and has undergone intensive socialisa-

the community as a whole. On the con-

tion through their education or through

trary, there is also evidence of significant

having participated in other ways within

socio-economic diversity within the eth-

the society, is still classified as an ‘non-

nic groups themselves (Vertovec, 2007a;

indigeneous’ only because their parents

2007b). In the Netherlands, it seems as

or ancestors were not from the Nether-

though Vertovec’s observations and

lands (Council for Social Development,

ideas have also had an impact. A focus on

2012). Thus creating a somewhat ‘stigma-

ethnic categorising once contributed to

tising’ term: the Dutch word 'allochtoon'.

the inclusion and integration of certain

For this reason, Statistics Netherlands and

ethnic groups. Specially designed poli-

the Scientific Council for Government

cies were put in place to reduce social

Policy [Wetenschappelijke Raad voor het

disadvantages. However, the Dutch

Regeringsbeleid] – an important inde-

Council for Social Development [Raad

pendent advisory body for government

voor Maatschappelijke Ontwikkeling],

policy – decided to stop using the term

(which used to advise government and

‘allochtoon’ in 2016 (Bovens, Bokhorst,

parliament about social relations in the

Jennissen & Engebersen, 2016). Even

Netherlands and has since been incor-

though the Council for Social Develop-

porated in the Council for Public Health

ment’s line of reasoning is endorsed, in

and Society [Raad voor Volksgezondheid

this book information is given in the case

en Samenleving]) concluded that it was

histories about the ethnic backgrounds

too late for these policies because the

of the individuals in question. The deci-

differences within the ethnic groups had

sion to do so was taken because, gener-

already became too great. Therefore,

ally speaking, a link is made between

ethnic categorising is no longer used.

migration and cultural backgrounds

Furthermore, policies to address social

when explaining violence perpetrated

disadvantage are no longer based on

in the name of honour. Despite the fact

ethnicity; instead they are based on the

that codes of honour are practised all

prospects for the future, rather than a

over the world, the figures presented in

more retrospective view of ethnicity and

Chapter 7 will make it clear that, based on

origin. Thus, in 2012, the Council for Social

case histories, the impression held by the

Development advised against the use of

police is that these cases tend to originate

the terms described above. Terms such as;

in certain ethnic groups. The reasons for

‘non-Western immigrant’, ‘Western immi-

this will be explained in Section 1.2. The

grant’ and ‘indigenous’ or ‘native popula-

underlying reason for mentioning ethnic

tion’. In addition to this internal diversity,

background is so that this link will not be

another argument was proposed. There

overlooked when forming an impression

is something amiss about the idea that a

about these cases.

1 The police approach to violent honour-related cases in The Netherlands

1.1.2

Police duties

Many things change... The changes to the Dutch population noted above have had implications for issues in the field of crime, safety and security. These changes can refer to urbanisation, ageing of the population, changes to family life as well as to fluctuations in ethnic demographics. It goes without saying that, to a larger extent, ethnic minorities feel that they are confronted by the same kinds of crime perpetration and victimisation as the native population (Bervoets & Stol, 2002; Korf & Bovenkerk, 2007). Immigrants are also burgled, and the pushing of boundaries during puberty is not confined to young people from ethnic minorities. Native Dutch adolescents are just as susceptible to this kind of behaviour. Besides this, there are also certain kinds or displays of criminal activities in which the cultural background of ethnic minorities can be an important influencing factor. For instance, this is the case when voodoo is used to put people under pressure, or people seek justice through violent honour-related disputes to get revenge if they feel their sense of honour has been offended. In addition to this, migrants and their descendants sometimes have to deal with intolerance and discrimination, both in an active and passive sense (Bovenkerk, Gras & Ramsoedh, 1995). It is too simple to argue that the issues of crime, safety and security have increased with the influx of new groups in society. These already complicated phenomena have, however, become more complex (Bovenkerk & Yeşilgöz, 2003; Janssen, 2007, 2011).

However, police work does not change Changes in society that involve processes like urbanisation, population ageing, changing opinions on family life and migration unfold over long periods of time. Even though the Dutch police force has undergone major changes in recent years, an example being the formation of the National Police Force, police operations have, in principle, not changed. Section 3 of the Dutch Police Act [Politiewet] summarises concisely the range of duties of the Dutch police: ‘The police are tasked with ensuring the effective enforcement of law and order and providing assistance to those who need it. This is always carried out in subordination to the competent authority and in accordance with the applicable rules of law.’ The police perform their duties on behalf of all those who live or stay in the Netherlands, regardless of their origin or background.

23

Focus on honour

24

The National Police Force Up until 1 January 2013, the Dutch police

the basic teams includes combatting day-

system comprised regional police forces

to-day crime. In addition to this, there is the

and the Netherlands Police Agency [Korps

Police Service Centre [Politiedienstencen-

Landelijke Politie Diensten]. On 1 January

trum] that is involved in support functions.

2013, the National Police was formed and

In the development plan for the National

now there is only one national police

Police Force (2012), the mission of the

force. The National Police Force consists

police is described as being ‘to protect and

of a Central Division, which tackles serious

serve’ the values of the State. Depending

organised crime, and ten regional divi-

on the circumstances, the police carry out

sions each headed up by a police chief. The

this mission by protecting citizens or prop-

local divisions are divided into frontline

erty, by curbing unlawful conduct that may

teams that operate in one municipality or

or may not be accompanied by violence,

several smaller municipalities. Larger cities

and by affirming conduct deemed proper

have several frontline teams. The task of

and desirable.

1.2

1.2.1

Police focus regarding violent honour-related cases

The origins of the police approach to these type of cases

The Tank case On the evening of Saturday 28 February 1976, the following people were in a living room in Leiden, a Dutch city, at 10.45 p.m.: four members of the Turkish family B., three other people of Turkish origin and two Dutch mechanics who had been tinkering with the cars belonging to the head of the household and to other persons present. Soon after, two other youths (aged 19 and 15) with a Turkish background dropped by. They were looking to get money from their father who happened to be one of the visitors at the B. family. After a short discussion, the boys were given some money. When they were about to leave, the oldest of the two youths drew a pistol which he used to shoot Memis Tank three times. Tank was one of the other visitors. The mechanics recounted later that the shooter came across as cold-blooded. He was totally unmoved, even when he shot the victim in the head at close range. The rumours soon started to fly, rumours that had actually being doing the rounds for some time among people of Turkish descent in Leiden, also among those who were known to the police. The victim had apparently raped the perpetrator’s sister. Shortly before, this woman had travelled to Turkey, as had her husband. The victim had also tried to murder this man twice before. Apparently, Tank had also had a relationship

1 The police approach to violent honour-related cases in The Netherlands

with Mrs B., the occupant of the premises where Tank had so violently met his end. Van Dijken and Nauta, who published an article on this case in 1978 in the erstwhile police magazine, Algemeen Politieblad, found that, ‘Despite the fact that the evidence, both technical [traces at the crime scene] and tactical [looking for punishable offences and suspects] did not constitute particular problems for the crime itself, there was much confusion about the motives that led to the crime’ (Van Dijk & Nauta, 1978: p. 228). As far as regular police operations were concerned, it was not a difficult case to solve. Even though the witnesses of Turkish descent contradicted one another a few times, the mechanics had a front row view of the events and were able to give a clear report about what had actually unfolded on that fateful Saturday evening. That said, explaining the motive proved to be difficult for the cops.

The black box of the motive Criminologist De Haan, in particular, points

argument with a reference to the work

out how complex the concept of ‘motive’

of Mills, a sociologist, who tends to view

actually is when he states, ‘It is generally

motives as explanations that actors put

accepted that motives are what drive

forward retrospectively about their con-

people to do what they do. However, as

duct, whereby they rely on the ‘vocabulary

to what exactly those motives comprise

of motives’, i.e. ‘... reasons are bound to

of, their powers of clarification and the

specific situations and must be seen in that

extent to which they can explain violence,

(moral) justification context. The ongoing

philosophers, psychologists and sociolo-

discussions and fundamental differences

gists tend to differ considerably in opinion.

of opinion about the concept of motivation

For instance, some consider behavioural

have led to the motive being considered

motives to be subconscious wishes and

as a problematic notion whereby most

hidden desires that actors are unaware of,

sociologists and psychologists prefer not

whilst others see the motives as reasons

to burn their fingers. Moreover, in criminol-

that the actors themselves consciously

ogy the motives of the offenders are more

raise as an explanation for their behaviour’

assumed than empirically investigated.

(De Haan, 2005: 43; see also: Beke, De Haan

The perpetrator’s motive is a “black box”

& Terlouw, 2001). De Haan continues his

…’ (De Haan, 2005: p. 44).

25

Focus on honour

26

The contradictory explanations given by those involved in the case mentioned were not the only underlying issue. It proved difficult to get grasp on the motives of the people involved because the police in the Netherlands had hardly any experience with this kind of affair. With many of those involved being related to one another or having other intimate relationships with one another, beliefs about honour and family, sexuality and the use of violence playing a part in all these was an unknown phenomenon for the Dutch police. How, for instance, were all these stories from the Turkish community meant to be interpreted? In the description of the case in the Algemeen Politieblad, the term ‘honour killings’, which refers to restoring family honour that had been violated as a motive for the violence is used. This motive was considered to be a novelty introduced by migrant workers (Van Dijken & Nauta, 1978). It would remain that way for a long time to come. Spadework Early on, the police in Utrecht (a city in cen-

nic minorities, his interest mainly focused

tral Netherlands) spent time gaining knowl-

on honour-related cases. His interest was

edge about ethnic minority cultures. For

aroused early on in his career within the

instance, the Department for Muslim Com-

police force when he was confronted with

munities [Bureau Islamitische Gemeenschap-

violent cases as a young police officer in the

pen] was set up in the early 1990s. Later the

late seventies and early eighties. Initially,

work of this bureau was expanded and was

he was mystified by the motives for the

known as the Expertise Department for the

violence perpetrated. His interest persisted,

Police and Ethnic Minorities [Expertisebu-

however, (Timmer, 2003a, 2003b), and it

reau Politie en Allochtonen]. From the word

eventually led to the establishment of the

go, police officer Willem Timmer played

National Expertise Centre for Honour-

an important role in the establishment of

Related Violence (LEC EGG) under his lead-

these departments. Although he had a

ership. This centre is discussed in greater

broad interest in the backgrounds of eth-

detail further on in this section.

Zarife, Gül and Kezban A more structural focus on violence perpetrated in the name of honour emerged around 2000. During the celebrations of the fortieth anniversary of Turkish migration to the Netherlands in 2004, the former minister for Immigration and Integration stated the following ‘In recent times, honour killings in the Netherlands have been given names: Zarife, Gül and, in the past, Kezban Vural. They represent an as yet unknown number of nameless women that live under duress, are forced to flee, or are victims of violence.’

1 The police approach to violent honour-related cases in The Netherlands

‘Man kills daughter (18) in honour killing in Turkey’ ‘An 18-year-old girl from Almelo (a Dutch

January, she took refuge in a women’s shel-

city) was shot dead by her father in Turkey

ter, but went to Turkey on holiday with her

on August 12. The motive is an honour kill-

family anyway. This is where things came to

ing: restoring the violated family honour

a head in a fatal altercation.’

using violence. The girl, Zarife, had been clashing with her father for quite some time

Article from a Dutch newspaper, NRC,

about her orthodox Muslim upbringing. In

29 September 2003

‘Woman in hiding falls victim to honour killing’ ‘For the third time in a year, the Dutch

husband managed to find out where she

women’s shelter has been confronted

was staying. Friday proved to be fatal for

with a murder for which the motive is

this Turkish woman, Gül. The man turned

likely to be honour-related revenge. Last

himself in to the police immediately after

Friday afternoon, a 32-year-old woman

the shooting. Last year, two women were

was shot dead by her husband close to a

murdered; one lived in Den Bosch and one

women’s shelter in Koog aan de Zaan (a

in Venlo (two Dutch cities).’

Dutch city). The woman, together with her three children, had already swapped

Article from a Dutch newspaper, Trouw,

her accommodation four times within

16 March 2004

a short space of time. Each time, her

‘Turks reflect on honour killings’ Nine gunshots killed Kezban Vural (29)

According to Kezban’s friends, she left Erol

on the street in front of her two children.

because he abused and stalked her, and

Her husband did it because he was angry

made her life a misery. Kezban moved,

about visitation rights, and he wanted

Erol tracked her down. He was given a

his wife to get back together with him.

restraining order, but he ignored it. Kezban

Another motive was also immediately

reported this to the police ten times, but

mentioned: honour killing. Errol’s honour

the police failed to take action.

had apparently been violated because his wife had left him a few years previously.

27

NRC, 15 December 1999

Focus on honour

28

The sad fate of these and many other women receives much attention in the media and, thanks to outrage about the severity of the violence and the nature of the motive, it also draws the attention of politicians and policymakers (see also Witschge, 2008). These cases prompt questions and discussions in the Lower House [Tweede Kamer]. For instance, as a consequence of Gül’s murder, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, then Member of Parliament, advocated strongly for making honour killings punishable as a separate offence in the Dutch Criminal Code. This separate penalisation failed to materialise, however, because, according to former Minister Verdonk, Dutch Criminal Law offers sufficient means to investigate and prosecute honour-killing cases. Some believe that the Gül case marked a turning of the tide in the Dutch perception about honour and violence, this was thanks to the reactions that followed in the wake of the murder (Van der Zee, 2006).

Honour killings or murder because of masculine pride? Even though the words ‘honour killing’ are used in these headlines, some experts wondered whether this was justified in all these cases. Van Eck (2001, 2005), for instance, argued that the Kezban killing had nothing to do with honour killings; instead it was about masculine pride, because for instance, Kezban had not violated any honour by having a relationship with another person. She had behaved properly; she had left the marital home because she could not stand living there anymore. For surviving relatives, this is a crucial distinction: calling it an honour killing is like kicking the victim when she is down by criticising their moral conduct and pinning it on this as a reason for the violence suffered. As the attention paid to these kinds of issues increased, more and more questions were raised about defining and demarcating violence in the name of honour, and eventually the umbrella term of ‘honour-related violence’ became fashionable. This will be discussed in greater detail in the next section.

A pilot project among the police Serious cases like these often raise questions in the political arena. They prompt a need for a better understanding of this kind of violence. A pilot project in the police regions of Haaglanden and South Holland was launched on the orders of the former minister of Immigration and Integration, Rita Verdonk. The project started in 2004 and ended in 2006 (see also the ‘National Police Force’ textbox in the previous subsection). The general objective of the pilot project was twofold: on the one hand, efforts were made to ensure the best possible prevention of honour-related violence and protection of potential victim.

1 The police approach to violent honour-related cases in The Netherlands

‘But is this really police work?’ In the previous section, we explained that

She then voluntarily goes on to marry the

the Dutch police carry out their duties on

father of her child, which in the eyes of her

behalf of all people in the Netherlands,

family ‘erases’ the shame. The law in force

regardless of their background or origin.

in the Netherlands has not been compro-

Yet, when the pilot project had just started,

mised. There is no task for the police in the

the police regularly asked themselves the

offing. As far as the police are concerned,

question: ‘Is this really police work?’ The

there is work to be done as soon as an

question was posed because violence

affront to honour or restoring honour is

perpetrated in the name of honour was

contrary to Dutch law. For instance, rape

perceived to be something exotic. Often,

may be considered an affront to honour

the underlying rationale was that it was

that is contrary to the law. However,

an imported problem, and what did it

codes of honour are mainly brought to

have to do with the Dutch police? What’s

the police’s attention when citizens take

more, these were domestic issues. Why

it upon themselves to use violence to

would you interfere in family disputes?

restore the violated honour. Under the

The answer is really simple: as soon as

rule of law, this kind of vigilante justice is

Dutch law is compromised, it becomes a

unacceptable given that the state has the

task for the police. That said, violating and

monopoly on the use of force (see also Sec-

restoring honour may not necessarily be

tion 2.2). The police controls an important

contrary to the law in force in the Nether-

part of this monopoly and so it acts when

lands. Suppose an unmarried woman falls

citizens take it upon themselves to mete

in love, enters into a relationship and falls

out justice (or threaten to do so) using force

pregnant. Her family is outraged by this.

(Janssen, 2009a).

On the other hand, attempts were made to provide insight into the backgrounds and the nature of the honour-related cases confronting the police in practice. At the start of the pilot project, the general objectives were translated into the following more concrete instructions: • describe the way the police handle honour-related violence; • come up with a proposal for an adequate recording of honour-related violence; • analyse the information in the records; • expand knowledge among police officers on the subject and develop a transferable approach; • improve the detection of honour-related violence.

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Focus on honour

30

Based on the results of this project, a method regarding the recognition of, the approach to honour-related violence (see also Chapters 4, 5 and 6) and the recording these incidents (see Chapter 7) was created. These have become standard practice for the Dutch police (Janssen et al., 2005a; Janssen et al., 2005b; Janssen, 2008a, 2009a).

An interdepartmental programme Partly inspired by the findings of the pilot project conducted amongst the police force in 2005, the Lower House asked the cabinet to take appropriate measures, with the aim of widely disseminating the approach to honour-related violence. Subsequently, a five-year interdepartmental policy programme was launched in 2006; the former minister of Immigration and Integration coordinated this. It later became the responsibility of the minister of Justice. The policy programme encompassed four subjects: social prevention; protection and shelter; the criminal prosecution approach; and the local administrative approach. Three subprojects were based on these four themes: social prevention, protection and a criminal prosecution strategy. In these three areas, the aim was to secure the following: improving resilience among victims and risk communities; for care workers: better options for recognising honour-related violence and threats of this kind of violence, and more options for effectively helping and improving mutual cooperation; more contact between relevant institutions and communities in which these problems occur; adequate shelter for victims; adequate investigation and prosecution by the police and judicial authorities; insight into honour-related violence based on sound and factual research; a system for clearly defined registration of honour-related cases; and integrated collaboration between the police, the Public Prosecution Service and other relevant bodies and government institutions (Janssen, 2009a; Loef & Van Aalst, 2012). The achievements of this programme have since been integrated into the working methods used by the organisations in question. Here we have in mind the establishment of specialised shelters and the laying down of protocols for collaboration between the partners concerned (see also the ‘Model protocol’ textbox in Section 5.2.2).

1 The police approach to violent honour-related cases in The Netherlands

Specialised shelters In 2007, the Ministry of Health, Welfare

at Kompaan and De Bocht (recently

and Sport commissioned the develop-

renamed ‘Sterk Huis’) in the south of

ment of two national pilot projects in

the country, and Zahir, which is part of

the Netherlands for girls and young

Fier in the north of the Netherlands.

women who find themselves con-

Both centres provide specialised shel-

fronted with honour-related violence.

ters and assistance across the country

As a result of these pilot projects, two

(Van Dijk & Terpstra, 2010; Brekelmans &

national expertise and treatment cen-

De Groot, 2014).

tres were set up: EVA, which is housed

The National Expertise Centre for Honour-Related Violence The police played a leading role in the criminal law process in the interdepartmental programme described above. Once the pilot project among the police had been completed, a start was made to set up the National Expertise Centre for Honour-Related Violence (LEC EGG). The centre was officially founded in 2008. The LEC EGG focuses on five tasks: • Operational advice and support based on the ‘LEC EGG method’ Complex cases involving honour violations as motives for violence or threats of violence can be submitted to the LEC EGG by designated contact persons working in regional divisions of the national police. The Immigration and Naturalisation Service [Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst (IND)] and specialised institutions for women’s shelters can also call on the LEC EGG. Appealing to the LEC EGG does not mean that the centre will ‘take over’ the case in question. The LEC EGG restricts itself to giving advice and support in the process. The regional divisions or institutions dealing with the case remain responsible for the further handling of the case. A precondition for calling on the LEC EGG’s assistance is that the case must be handled based on the national method for dealing with such cases. This method, which has become standard practice based on experience gained during the pilot project outlined above, is called the ‘LEC EGG method’. The cases that are submitted to the LEC EGG generally involve large families with a migrant background. That does not mean, however, that native Dutch beliefs concerning honour and violence do not play a part. However, given the gravity and frequency of violent acts committed in the name of honour, from the outset the emphasis in police policy has been on the tackling violence in ethnic minority communities.

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Focus on honour

32

The ‘LEC EGG method’ in brief The ‘LEC EGG method’ has become the

involves completing a checklist. In other

Dutch police force’s standard approach to

words, a list of open questions is used to

violent honour-related cases. The method

gather information about the social back-

consists of three steps: first recognising

grounds of those involved. Based on the

cases that may involve honour issues using

information collected, the LEC EGG may

‘red flags’. Some flags are about conflict

engage an external expert, for instance,

triggers (provocation, threats, and so on),

a (cultural) anthropologist or Arabic

others refer to (presumed) consequences

expert, who may be able to shine a light on

of restoring honour (for instance, murder,

the motives for the aggression or threat of

homicide, suicide, but also missing per-

aggression. The third step involves draft-

sons), and finally there are red flags that

ing a plan of action. The local divisions are

refer to social backgrounds and cultural

responsible for the first two steps – early

codes which can be used to deduce the

recognition and gathering information

extent to which individuals are dependent

using the checklist. Contact persons for

on their community. These red flags are

honour-related violence in local divisions

put through an electronic search, which

can then ask the LEC EGG to support them

is used to search the police information

when analysing the information, draw-

systems in the various divisions of the

ing up a plan of action and engaging the

National Police Force on a daily basis. This

experts. The same applies to the IND and

electronic dragnet brings to the surface

specialised shelters. All of these aspects

cases in which honour is a suspected

of the ‘LEC EGG method’ are described in

motive. The second step in the process

greater detail in Chapters 4, 5 and 6.

• Academic research The academic research carried out at the LEC EGG focuses on improving methods and techniques for detecting and tackling honour-related violence. It goes without saying that knowledge about the backgrounds and dynamics of honour-related cases is crucial for developing a sound set of instruments. For this reason, exploratory and in-depth research is undertaken regarding the particular characteristics of the case histories. • Supporting government policies Various government institutions, mainly at national level, regularly submit questions to the LEC EGG. These generally focus on getting answers to questions that members of the government have put to the Lower House, or regarding questions raised when policies are being developed for honour-related cases and related subjects.

1 The police approach to violent honour-related cases in The Netherlands

• Education and information The LEC EGG develops educational material – such as this book – that includes knowledge obtained through academia as well as insights from operational police work. This material is used in the educational programme provided by the Police Academy, as well as by educational institutions set up by partners in the safety and security sector. The LEC EGG regularly holds information meetings with the contact people in the regional divisions to discuss current trends and developments. It is possible if they wish to do, for partners or staff from the regional divisions to participate in an internship at the expertise centre. For disseminating information, the LEC EGG maintains an intranet site, which only police staff can access. This provides them with relevant background information and any current developments. In addition, the LEC EGG has works about honour-related violence on the National Police website; the broader public can access these works. • Building and maintaining networks Networking is one of the LEC EGG’ special tasks. Operational police work, academic research, developing policies, providing education and information can only be done if the LEC EGG has insight and access to the national and international networks and communities who face problems related to violence in the name of honour. Moreover, they may have some other kind of social and intellectual capital that can contribute to tackling this type of violence. More specifically, LEC EGG is committed to maintaining a national and international network of relevant people and groups who can play a part in addressing violent cases involving honour (Janssen, 2012).

1.2.2

The concept of ‘honour-related violence’

Honour killings: the embedding of an obscure concept We have already mentioned a few examples of violence perpetrated in the name of honour. Honour killing is a purification or cleansing ritual that entails removing a stain in a formalised and dramatic way. To this day, the opinions are still divided about how exactly it should be defined. Some experts argue that this ritual must meet several clearly defined attributes. For instance, there must always be a physical violation of honour – loss of virginity would be an example. That physical stain must be publicly known, the person guilty of losing honour must be killed, the killer must be a relative or acting on behalf of the family, and the revenge must be planned (Nauta & Werdmölder, 2002). Other experts

33

Focus on honour

34

claim that these criterions are not always met. Sometimes a girl may still be a virgin, but the gossiping about her is so extreme that the family still feels that its honour has been violated. There are also examples of violence committed in the name of honour even though the whole community is not aware of the violation, but one family member becomes aware that their honour has been compromised and feels that action must be taken. There are also cases in which a victim survives the murder attack and it goes no further than an attempt at an honour killing. Often the perpetrator is not a relative. For instance, the girl’s boyfriend may become the victim of lethal violence due to the actions of her family. There are also cases in which a husband kills his wife on being caught in flagrante delicto without the act of killing being premeditated and planned (Van Eck, 2001, 2003a, 2003b). Another aspect that we have not yet examined is how lethal violence in the name of honour and what it entails exactly is debated among academics and the communities concerned in other countries and language areas. (See, for example, Caffaro et al., 2014 for a comparison between Italian and Turkish opinions on lethal honour-related violence.) Despite the fact that experts find it difficult to define the phenomenon, the term ‘honour killing’ has become increasingly embedded over time. It is worth noting that the Dutch equivalent for the words ‘honour killing’ (i.e. ‘eerwraak’) have not been part of the Dutch language for very long. In fact, Nauta, a Turkologist, introduced the term as recently as 1978 (Van Dijken & Nauta, 1978). Another Turkologist, Van Eck, once recounted that, when she was working on her thesis about honour killings among Turks (in the late nineties), those interested in her work often thought she was writing about ‘burglary’. [Ed.: the word for ‘burglary’ in Dutch (inbraak) sounds similar to the word for ‘honour killing’ (eerwraak).] The term ‘honour killings’ was obscure and most people were completely unfamiliar with it (Janssen, 2009a). In fact, for many the term ‘honour’ is archaic and is hardly thought of as modern (Berger et al., 1973). ‘Honour killings’ has since become a familiar term among the general public, one that is often associated with deadly forms of violence committed in the name of honour in a Turkish context.

1 The police approach to violent honour-related cases in The Netherlands

Categorising and defining violence The literature shows that violence can be

though this kind of classification helps

categorised in various ways. The focus may

to shed some light on the complexity of

be on physical or psychological manifesta-

violence, according to sociologist Schin-

tions; on the social context (for instance,

kel (2005) violence cannot be defined in

in traffic, in nightlife settings, at work, in

concrete terms at all. Like Schinkel, the

the neighbourhood or at school); on the

criminologist De Haan (2008) lists numer-

relationships and interaction between the

ous definitions for violence and concludes

perpetrator and victim (between partners

that each definition is disputable. Those

and ex-partners, or between parents/

definitions range from narrow to broad.

caregivers and children); and the motive

Even though the Dutch Criminal Code does

(Nieuwbeerta & Leistra, 2007; Janssen,

not include a definition of violence per se, it

2008d). These are not mutually exclu-

can be argued that criminal law is based on

sive categories. For instance, based on a

a narrow definition of violence. In practice,

comparative analysis of the murder of the

the following definition is used: ‘any exer-

deputy head at Terra College in The Hague

cise of physical strength that is not minor in

in 2004, and the shooting at Columbine

intensity against a person or property’. The

High School in the States in 1999, Schinkel

advantage of such a concept of violence

(2005) it can be said that this shows that in

is that it is very specific – after all, it deals

one and the same kind of space – in this

with physical violence. Thus. making it rela-

case a school building – various kinds of

tively easy to count and compare violent

violence can take place. According to the

incidents. Though, are we mainly talking

author, revenge and honour played an

about murders? Or is abuse more common?

important part in the case in The Hague

The disadvantage of this narrow definition

(The offender in The Hague explained that

is that other aspects of violence are not

he felt offended by the deputy principal.

taken into consideration. In this regard, we

That was the motive for shooting him in the

have in mind the psychological aspects.

head.) whilst at the American school the

In particular, the living in a constant state

motive for the violence was more difficult

of fear of physical abuse or possibly even

to describe, except for the pleasure that the

fatal violence. If the concept of violence

perpetrators apparently derived from their

is construed more broadly, there is more

actions. So, it is quite possible for honour-

scope for taking into consideration other

related violence to occur in schools. Besides

than physical aspects, such as poverty or

the shooting at the Terra College, another

oppression. For instance, the anthropolo-

honour-related case occurred at a school

gist Jackson (2002) goes so far as to claim

in the Netherlands: in 1999 a 17-year-old

that violence is at play whenever a person’s

youth shot four fellow pupils and a teacher

subject is reduced to a mere object against

out of revenge for harassing his sister. Even

his or her will. Here Jackson is referring to

35

Focus on honour

36

situations in which a person is marginalised

overlooked. An entire range of behaviour

and no longer plays an active role in social

and experiences can then be grouped

relationships with other people. According

under the term ‘violence’. This advantage is

to this anthropologist, it actually does not

actually a disadvantage, because how can

matter if that person is physically abused

violence be quantified based on this broad

or gets sympathy from the social environ-

interpretation? How can the findings of the

ment: all of these then constitute forms of

various studies into violence be compared

violence. In this broad formulation of the

with one another based on such a broad

concept of violence, virtually nothing is

definition?

From honour killings to honour-related violence When the pilot project was launched within the police force, it came to light that the term ‘honour killing’ also had its limitations. A violated sense of honour did not always have to end in lethal violence, did it? Which is why the broader term – ‘honour-related violence’ – was chosen (Janssen, 2006; Janssen et al., 2005a, 2005b). When the pilot project began the government asked for a working definition, for policy purposes. For this, the term ‘honour-related violence’ and not ‘honour killings’ was used as the basic premise: 'Honour-related violence is any form of mental or physical violence that is committed on the basis of a collective mentality and in response to (the threat of) damage to honour of a man or a woman, and thereby to that of his or her family, of which the outside world is aware or threatens to become aware' (Ferwerda & Van Leiden, 2005). This definition played an important part in demarcating government policy related to violence in the name of honour. The authorities and the police focused mainly on honour-related issues within a family context and in the field of public morals. Incidentally, that is not to say that violence in the name of honour does not occur in other social fields. Consider, for instance, the army, the worlds of sports and organised crime. (On the subject of organised and other types of crime, see also Katz, 1988; Blok, 1995, 2001; Werdmölder, 2005; De Jong, 2007; Irwin & Adler, 2012; Janssen, 2013a, 2014, 2015c; Janssen & Van San, 2014).

1 The police approach to violent honour-related cases in The Netherlands

Bridge on the River Kwai In Bridge on the River Kwai, the 1957 English

as little as they possibly can and sabotage

feature film based loosely on reality, there is

the work whenever the opportunity arises.

a conflict between different codes of hon-

However, Saito has a deadline to meet. If

our, namely, between military honour and

the bridge is not finished in time, he will be

the honour of the craftsman. The story is

expected to take his own life to save face.

based in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in

When Nicholson has a closer look at the

Burma during the Second World War. In the

bridge under construction, he is shocked

camp, a group of Brits under the command

by the appalling standard of work. Despite

of a Japanese colonel, Saito, are ordered to

the objections of the British officers, he

build a bridge over the River Kwai. Officers

orders his men to design a new bridge and

as well as troops are set to work. Initially,

to build it at a more suitable location. It is

the British Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson

as though Nicholson at that point does not

refuses to cooperate and he also forbids

realise how important a good bridge will be

his other officers from helping to build the

to the Japanese war effort. This only dawns

bridge. After all, according to international

on him at the last minute. Prior to this, the

conventions, ordering officers to carry out

lieutenant colonel is determined to show

this kind of work is forbidden. While Nichol-

the enemy the level of craftsmanship that

son is not prepared to compromise in any

the British army has at its disposal. So, he

way – his honour as an officer is being com-

finds it very hard to swallow the notion that

promised – the work on the bridge hardly

the British commandos in the meantime

progresses at all. The prisoners of war do

are trying to blow up the bridge.

Zinédine Zidane and the head-butt In the 110th minute of the 2006 World Cup

likely that Materazzi managed to provoke

Final, Zinédine Zidane head-butted the

Zidane with this quote; ‘Since the death

Italian Marco Materazzi, an incident that

of Foucault, French philosophy is enough

has since become legendary. For days

to make you weep’. The author donated

on end, the media speculated over what

the proceeds of this book to Unicef. When

the defender must have said to Zidane to

Canal+ Television asked Zidane whether

provoke such a reaction. Materazzi literally

he had received a copy of the book and

blew the whistle on the affair. His 249 pos-

whether he was planning to read it, the

sible statements were included in What I

vexed professional curtly answered ‘No’.

really said to Zidane. However, it is not very

So, what, after all, did Materazzi actually

37

38

Focus on honour

say? After various lip readers from several

to Materazzi after the match. Not to be out-

countries were engaged to throw light on

done by such a smart-aleck quip, Materazzi

the matter, Massimo Moratti, the owner

responded by saying he would prefer

of Inter Milan, the club where Materazzi

Zidane to bring his sister to the dressing

played at the time, provided the answer

room. According to Moratti, he added ‘a

everyone had been waiting for. During

few opinions on the moral characteristics

the match, Materazzi had constantly been

of Zidane’s sister’. How the affair ended

pulling Zidane’s shirt. Apparently, Zidane

is history (see also Ermers, 2007; Davis &

said to him that he could deliver the shirt

De Haan, 2010; Janssen, 2014).

Liquidations in the name of honour The cultural anthropologist, Matthijs van

abduction’ (Van de Port, 2001: pp. 75-76).

de Port (2001), criticised the notion that

The deception came to light, however,

violence is a necessary evil to keep opera-

and the assassins themselves became the

tions running in the world of organised

targets of assassination attempts. Thea

crime. After all, criminals can hardly knock

Moear, a senior figure in Bruinsma’s group,

on the door of the regular judicial institu-

explained this as follows, ‘... it was as clear

tions to resolve their conflicts. According

as day that he [Bruinsma] would not take

to Van de Port, this perspective is far too

it lying down. If you decide to put up with

restricted. Suspicion, blind panic, the

something like that, it would be a big

desire for revenge and honour also play an

mistake. You would become the laughing

important role when criminals settle their

stock of the whole city, and, with his pride

differences. Van de Port gives a brilliant

and sense of honour, he was not about

example of this: ‘The assassins Aleksandar

to let that happen. It was one hundred

Marjanovic and André Brilleman deceived

per cent certain that those boys would

their client, Klaas Bruinsma [a famous

get killed, and it was logical too.’ (Van de

Dutch criminal], by not killing the desig-

Port, 2001: p. 95). It is worth noting that

nated victim, but instead staging a fake

Bruinsma himself was shot dead in 1991 by

liquidation in collaboration with the said

a former police officer. It is not completely

victim (complete with photos of a body

clear whether it was a liquidation crime or

spattered with tomato sauce). Together,

because of an altercation that got out of

they then went on to plot Bruinsma’s

hand.

1 The police approach to violent honour-related cases in The Netherlands

1.2.3

Violence in dependency relationships

A new umbrella Honour-related violence is not a self-contained concept. Instead it is a concept that has since become part of a larger collection of violent phenomena that the government groups under the umbrella term ‘violence in dependency relationships’. In around 2007, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport introduced the term ‘violence in dependency relationships’ (Parliamentary Papers II 2007/08, 28345 and 22894, 51). Violence in dependency relationships comes in many guises. Since the policy on violence in dependency relationships was developed, ‘progress reports’ have periodically appeared that have been submitted to the Lower House. Those who have been leafing through these reports from the beginning until now will have noticed that initially the focus was mainly on domestic violence and child abuse. However, more and more subjects have since entered the scene, such as elderly abuse and incidents of online aggression in dependency relationships, for instance cyber bullying, and the relationship between animal mistreatment and domestic violence (Janssen, 2016). Also, several specific themes linked to migration movements, multicultural society and protecting the family’s honour have come into the spotlight. Examples of these subjects are female genital mutilation (circumcision) (Kool et al., 2005) and child abduction. Child abduction When a long-term relationship is on the

tural standards. He manages to take both

rocks, a conflict arises between the former

his ex-wife and his child with him. Later,

spouses: both of them want to have cus-

his wife declares that she was forced to

tody of the child. The father would like to

accompany him on the journey. After their

take the child to the country in the Middle

arrival, the mother and child are separated.

East where his family originally comes from.

Eventually, the mother returns to the Neth-

The husband believes that a child belongs

erlands on her own and files a child abduc-

with its father, which is in line with his cul-

tion charge.

39

Focus on honour

40

International child abduction International child abduction is when a

party to the 1980 Hague Child Abduction

child is moved to another country illegally

Convention and the European Child

or is being held there by a parent with-

Abduction Convention. The basic prem-

out authority. ‘Without authority’ in this

ise of both of these conventions is that

context means contrary to the rights of

the abducted juvenile must be returned

custody in the country where the child

to the country of its usual residence as

normally resides. If the parents have joint

soon as possible and to the parent with

parental authority, it also constitutes

whom it lived. Departures from this basic

international child abduction if one parent

principle only occur if there is some other

takes the child abroad without the consent

serious danger threatening the juvenile

of the other parent. The Netherlands is

(Janssen, 2013).

Broadly speaking – and there may be overlap – we encounter the phenomena that is referred to these days as violence in dependency relationships in three domains (Janssen, 2016). Codes of honour may play a role in all those domains: • Violence in the nuclear family or in the extended family The nuclear family comprises of a father, a mother and the children. Violence in this context includes child abuse, elderly abuse, violence between partners or ex-partners, in other words: domestic violence. It is worth noting that aggression on the part of housemates, acquaintances and even neighbours is included in many of the definitions of domestic violence. The extended family consists of the nuclear family plus grandparents, aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces, and first and second cousins. Within this extended family, various phenomena are often associated with migration and multicultural society, and opinions on family honour often play an important role. Forced marriage is a religious or legal marriage in which the (preparatory) marital acts are conducted against the free will of at least one of the prospective spouses, and which has been agreed under some kind of coercion (Van der Leun & Leupen, 2013; Cornelissens et al., 2009; see also Sabbe et al., 2014).

It is worth noting that religious marriages are not legally valid in the Netherlands. A religious ceremony must always take place after the completion of a legally valid civil marriage ceremony (Rutten et al., 2016). Marital captivity is when a husband or a wife wishes to end a marriage but the spouse refuses to give the required cooperation. These are infor-

1 The police approach to violent honour-related cases in The Netherlands

Changes to the law counteract forced marriage In accordance with Book 1, Section 31(1) of

to marry even if there was no pregnancy.

the Dutch Civil Code, one has to be an adult

The section did not go on to clarify which

to enter into a marriage in the Netherlands.

reasons would be considered sufficiently

Book 1, Section 30(1) of the Dutch Civil Code

‘compelling’ in order to give permission to

also stipulates that people of different or

get married. With the new bill on combat-

the same sex may get married. Initially,

ing forced marriage, paragraphs 2 and 3 of

there were two exceptions to the rule that

Article 1, Section 31 of the Dutch Civil Code

only those who had reached the age of

were repealed (Bruning et al., 2014). It is,

majority could get married: if a pregnancy

however, still possible for a minor to get

was involved (Book 1, Section 31(2) of the

married if the court declares this person to

Dutch Civil Code) or compelling reasons

be an adult due to parenthood, or impend-

were brought to light (Book 1, Section 31(3)

ing parenthood. In addition to this, it is

of the Dutch Civil Code). If a woman gave

more difficult to wed blood relatives in the

the civil registrar a statement from a doc-

third or fourth degree. This means that it

tor indicating that she was pregnant, she

is more difficult for cousins to get married.

was entitled to marry her partner provided

For forced marriages, the Public Prosecu-

that both spouses were at least 16 years

tion Service has the option of stopping the

old. For ‘compelling reasons’, the wishes

intended marriage from going ahead, and

of the prospective parents were also

there is also the option of annulling a mar-

taken into consideration so that the child

riage that was entered into under duress.

could be born in wedlock. There was also

Furthermore, recognition of marriages car-

dispensation to allow 16- or 17-year-olds

ried out abroad is restricted.

mal or religious marriages that are legally valid in the country of origin of either of the partners (Braun, 2012; Smits van Waesberghe et al., 2014). Abandonment is when women, with or without their children, but also young people (boys as well as girls) are left behind by their spouse, father or both parents in the case of young people, in the land of origin against their will and without identity or residence documents. Abandonment in a foreign country with the spouse’s family may go hand in hand with forced marriage or marital captivity, but this is not necessarily so (Parliamentary Papers II 2014/15, 32175, 53; Advisory Committee on Migration Affairs, 2005; De Koning & Bartels, 2005; Bouman, 2008; Cornelissens et al., 2009; Ratia & Walter, 2009). Besides this, there is also the issue of ‘hidden women’. It is a concept that is difficult to demarcate, but it concerns women who are forced to live in isolation by their partners and/or family. Abandonment in a foreign country or entering into forced marriage may

41

Focus on honour

42

also be associated with honour-related violence (Drost et al., 2012, 2015; Musa et al., 2013). • Violence perpetrated by professionals and in institutional settings Professionals can also be guilty of committing violence in dependency relationships. After all, dependency relationships also exist between teachers and pupils, healthcare professionals, nursing staff and patients, and prison personnel and prisoners. A factor that plays a role in abuse by professionals in dependency relationships is that the professional has special powers or access to information by virtue of his or her job. To illustrate, here is a real-life example: a police officer has marital problems and abuses his wife. She has always looked up to him because he has a good job with the police. However, that job not only evokes admiration in her, it also evokes fear. She thinks that he can pull all kinds of strings within the police force because of his job (Janssen, 2015d). Violence in dependency relationships can also occur in institutions. For instance, schools, institutions for youths, the elderly and the handicapped, prisons, refugee centres and hospitals. Abuse in religious communities is also considered to be a kind of violence in dependency relationships (Deetman Committee of Inquiry, 2011a, 2011b; Van den Berg-Seiffert, 2015). • Violence in human trafficking In this context, the focus is on problems related to special victims’ cases and prostitution. Financial exploitation and other kinds of exploitation are often involved in this kind of violence in dependency relationships (Werson, 2012). Section 5.2.1 presents an example involving family honour and prostitution. It clearly shows how honour-related beliefs can also be a factor in human trafficking. The National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence against Children [Nationaal rapporteur mensenhandel en seksueel geweld tegen kinderen] also sees links between family life and human trafficking. There are known cases of children being exploited by their families, for instance, through being forced to steal or to work hard. It has also been observed that there is a relationship between forced marriage and exploitation. For instance, brides are forced to earn back the bride price that their in-laws paid to their parents. (See the ‘Bride price and dowry’ textbox in Section 5.1.4 for an explanation (Dettmeijer et al., 2016).)

1 The police approach to violent honour-related cases in The Netherlands

Dependency relationships and violence Dependency relationships are not by

movement, and who want to get away from

definition bad. Consider, for instance, the

the control within families where honour

relationship between parents and chil-

codes play an important role. The family

dren. Human beings are dependent from

may respond with violence to that indi-

birth. They cannot do without the care of

vidually felt need. Dependency relation-

their parents or carers whose task it is to

ships also offer motivated perpetrators an

bring up their offspring so that they can

opportunity of structure: potential victims

defend themselves in life, and so that they

are within reach and probably also in

in turn can start healthy relationships,

physical proximity thanks to those depend-

including dependency relationships, and

ency relationships. An example would be

not succumb to delinquent lifestyles. It

a professional who works with children

goes without saying that a good bond

but who is also attracted to children; work

between parents and children is a differ-

gives this person the opportunity to come

ent kind of co dependant relationship than

into contact with children. The govern-

that between a lover boy and a gullible

ment puts the emphasis on making a

girl. There are various kinds of depend-

moral judgement of this kind of violence:

ency, just as there are various kinds of links

‘Violence is bad, but violence inflicted on

between dependency and violence. Some

someone who is smaller, less powerful

kinds of dependency offer safety; oth-

and vulnerable, and therefore dependent,

ers are so stifling that people want to get

is twice as bad’ (Parliamentary Papers II

out of them, using force if necessary. The

2011/12, 28345, 117). This is compounded

pursuit of individual independence can

by the fact that ‘the victim (...) does not

lead to aggressive reactions from a com-

have the opportunity to break out of this

munity that is not prepared to loosen the

unequal power relationship’ (Parliamentary

reins. Examples of this are young people

Papers II 2007/08, 28345 and 22894, 51;

and women who wish for more freedom of

Janssen, 2016).

Manifestations of violence: not only physical violence Aggression categorised as violence in dependency relationships can take various shapes: it can range from threats and abuse, and can even escalate to murder and homicide. Namely, there is more to violence than only the physical component. Psychological aspects, such as putting a victim under mental pressure, may also be viewed as a kind of aggression. As far as that goes, it is interesting to note that coercion is punishable in the Netherlands under Section 284 of the Dutch Criminal Code. Any threat of violence may fall under this section: the threat of any act of violence has been included so that mental aggression can also be punishable. In 2013, the legislature tightened up this compulsory

43

44

Focus on honour

clause so that forced marriage could be tackled more effectively. For instance, the maximum punishment for coercion was extended from nine months to two years. In addition, being witness to violence without being the person suffering the blows is also detrimental. It is even damaging to the development of children to be the witness of violence between their parents (Dutton, 2000; Dijkstra, 2001). Aggression affects people, not only directly but indirectly too. Gender neutral The term ‘violence in dependency relation-

women in Europe against violence, i.e. it

ships’ reveals little about gender. ‘Gender’

sets the parameters for preventing, stop-

in this context does not refer to biological

ping and prosecuting violence. Yet, in

sex; instead it refers to the social interpre-

the Netherlands, the government has a

tation of what is seen as masculine and

national approach to violence in depend-

feminine behaviour. Violence in depend-

ency relationships, that not only focuses on

ency relationships says nothing about this:

women, but on men and children too. The

in principle, men and women can both be

advantage of a gender-neutral umbrella

the victim or perpetrator of violence in

term like ‘violence in dependency relation-

dependency relationships. This gender-

ships’ is that it encompasses various kinds

neutral term puts the Dutch government in

of aggression. It will be relatively easy to

a special position internationally. Interna-

categorise other phenomena under this

tional organisations like the United Nations

kind of more general umbrella term in the

often use the term ‘violence against

future. A disadvantage of using the term

women’ (see also Taeymans et al., 2010). In

‘violence in dependency relationships’ is,

this context, the Convention of Istanbul

however, that it still does not expose the

came into effect on 1 August 2014. This is

unequal position of men and women when

a Council of Europe convention that aims

it concerns encountering violence. As far

at preventing and combatting domestic

as that goes, a term like ‘violence against

violence and violence against women. This

women’ leaves little to be desired in terms

convention creates provisions to protect

of clarity.

1 The police approach to violent honour-related cases in The Netherlands

1.2.4

Domestic and honour-related violence compared

Similarities The term ‘violence in dependency relationships’ is not used as an umbrella term in foreign countries; outside the Netherlands. Honour-related violence is often viewed as a special kind of domestic violence (Kromhout et al., 2007). There is also a tendency in the Netherlands to view honour-related violence as a manifestation of domestic violence. The question is to what extent can that be justified (Janssen, 2010). From a distance, the phenomena are similar in some respects: both concern violence that often occurs in a family context, and often involves complex issues that may span over long periods of time. What’s more, domestic and honour-related violence is mainly associated with male perpetrators and the victimisation of women. In both discourses, relatively less attention has been paid to female perpetrators and the victimisation of men.

Differences There are, however, significant differences between domestic and honourrelated violence. The cause for domestic violence does not always necessarily lie in a violation of honour. Numerous causes are conceivable: financial problems, excessive drug and/or alcohol consumption, the perpetrator’s exposure to violence as a young person, relationship issues or not being able to cope with the bringing up of children. It would not be difficult to add to this list of possible causes for domestic violence. The point here is that the term ‘domestic violence’ does not necessarily say anything about the reason for the conflict; rather, it says something about the social environment in which the violence occurs. The opposite is true for honour-related violence. The term ‘honour-related violence’ says something about the motive for a conflict. Violence perpetrated in the name of honour can occur in all kinds of social domains. Dutch policies that have been developed to tackle honour-related violence mainly focus on violence in the name of honour in the context of family and morals (Ferwerda & Van Leiden, 2005; Janssen 2009a; Brenninkmeijer et al., 2009). Causes for conflicts in family circles may concern, among other things, the choice of partner, having extramarital relationships, having illegitimate children, filing for divorce and opposition to prevailing family rules (Van Eck 2001; Gezik 2003; Ermers 2007; Janssen 2009a). Critical readers may think that such issues may well result in domestic disputes. Nevertheless, what gives honour-related issues another dimension is that those involved feel that the family honour is being compromised, and they feel obliged to save or restore that honour through threats or violence. Another notable aspect is that such conflicts go beyond the nuclear

45

Focus on honour

46

family and involve wider family ties, such as the extended family where group pressure is a major factor (De Jong & Van Gemert, 2010). Although it is often said of domestic violence that it occurs in all parts of society, and thus also among people with a migrant background (Van Dijk & Oppenhuis, 2002; Liem et al., 2008; Van der Livestock & Bogaerts, 2010), honour-related violence is thought of as an ‘imported’ problem. The implication here is that violence committed in the name of honour does not play a significant role among the native population, and that it is a phenomenon that occurs only among ethnic minorities and their descendants the Netherlands. In Dutch policy it has in theory never been ruled out that honour-related cases may also occur among native Dutch people. However, due to several dramatic cases that drew a great deal of media attention, the assumption when tackling honour-related violence has been that investments must mainly be made in ethnic minority groups where it is well known that honour-related problems exist. At the same time, care must be taken to ensure that not all violence among ethnic minority families is put down to honour-related violence by assuming that domestic violence occurs only among the indigenous Dutch population. As previously noted, domestic violence occurs among ethnic minorities too (Janssen, 2007, 2009a). Finally, there is a difference in the frequency with which domestic and honourrelated violence occur. In the Netherlands, around 200,000 people fall victim to domestic violence each year (Van der Veen & Bogaerts, 2010). Compared to this, around 3,000 cases in which violations of honour are taken into account as possible motives for the violence or threats of violence are reported each year to the police. Approximately 500 of these cases are so complicated that the National Expertise Centre for Honour-Related Violence (LEC EGG) at the National Police Force assists in these cases. Each year, between one and three per cent of these serious cases have lethal outcomes (murder, homicide or suicide). The majority of these complicated cases involve threats (LEC EGG, 2017). These figures are discussed at greater length in Chapter 7.

Why the distinction is important If the police and other partners within the safety and security sector are not able to get a good understanding of the difference between domestic violence and honour-related violence, there is a risk that honour-related cases may be put down as domestic violence. The danger here is that the police are expected to take vigorous action in cases involving domestic violence. If the perpetrator

1 The police approach to violent honour-related cases in The Netherlands

is caught in the act or if there is a reasonable suspicion of guilt, the perpetrator is immediately apprehended. The Temporary Domestic Exclusion Order Act [Wet tijdelijk huisverbod] came into effect in 2008 (Beke & Dijksman, 2009). This means that, in situations that constitute an acute threat of domestic violence against the victim, the mayor may impose a ten-day domestic exclusion order. The police can then order the perpetrator of the violence to leave the home immediately and to hand in the keys to the house. During this period, the perpetrator is not permitted to enter or be in the vicinity of the house, or to have any contact with the family. The intention of this measure is to have a cooling down period so that escalation can be avoided. Assistance for the perpetrator and the family is initiated during this ten-day period. Domestic exclusion orders can also be imposed in cases involving child abuse or if child abuse is suspected. Although the police do not shy away from taking a repressive approach to honour-related cases, particularly if it is necessary to ensure the safety and security of those concerned, this kind of firm attitude can also lead to problems. Once again, this is not to say that the police will sit back and take a passive stance if there is a suspicion that they are dealing with an honour-related case. On the contrary, action must be taken, but many factors have to be taken into account in the process. For instance, experience has taught the police that confidentiality is highly valued in honour-related cases. Those concerned are often wary because they are afraid that embarrassing stories about the family may get out. The trip to the police station in full view of the neighbourhood can also be viewed as a stain on their honour. This aspect is also taken into account in the reporting code (see also the textbox in paragraph 1.3.1). There is also the question of whether domestic exclusion orders are helpful in situations where the threat emanates from a group. Removing a potential perpetrator from the home is by no means a guarantee that the threat will be eliminated, as it more often than not involves a group conflict. Thus, probably meaning that there are other motivated perpetrators. From this perspective, applying a temporary domestic exclusion order will not be very effective. What it boils down to is that the police have to have an understanding of the situation first. This applies to both domestic and honour-related violence whereby an appropriate approach has to be selected. At the same time, we must bear in mind that family groups are often involved in honour-related cases and the strategy used must not contribute to a further escalation of the violence. If that happens, the victims will have jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.

47

Focus on honour

1.3

1.3.1

48

Collaboration with other partners

The police cannot do it alone

Why working together in the field of safety and security is essential The police are not alone in facing challenges in the field of safety and security. When performing their duties, they depend on citizens and other organisations. In the National Police Force Development Plan (2012), the term ‘bekrachtigen’ (endorsement) is used in the context of collaboration. This term refers, on the one hand, to support for desirable behaviour and, on the other hand, to creating structural collaborative alliances with citizens, the government, institutions and the corporate sector. The objective of this collaboration is to promote safety and security. The fact is that the police cannot deal with safety and security issues on their own because these issues are often complex in nature. This certainly applies to the approach regarding honour-related violence. In the first place, police are dependent on others to alert them to cases where violence in the name of honour threatens to be a factor or is already an issue. Secondly, the police rely on others to help them develop a good approach to these kinds of cases. The strength of collaboration is that the participants can focus on the various tasks and assignments, and can apply their own particular expertise when tackling the various aspects of the problem. For instance, the police have an important and central role in safeguarding the immediate physical safety of the people being threatened, but in the long run, they also need the help of other organisations, such as social welfare if they are to stop violence and preferably avoid it.

The government-wide approach to violence in dependency relationships Working together is important when tackling violence in dependency relationships. The starting point underlying the policies is, to protect victims of violence in dependency relationships and to increase their resilience (Parliamentary Papers II 2007/08, 28345 and 22894, 51). A government-wide approach has been chosen whereby the various phenomena are linked. The objective is to prevent, detect, stop and/or assist and limit the damage, and/or provide proper aftercare. This is known as a chain approach. The policies also focus on targeted investigating of and dealing with the perpetrator of violence in dependency relationships. The rationale is that, by combining a focus on the victims with the targeting of the perpetrators, a contribution can be made to preventing these issues from being passed from one generation to the next. After all, children who grow up in a violent environment are at a greater, risk of ending up

1 The police approach to violent honour-related cases in The Netherlands

in violent relationships or of going down the wrong track as adults. This circle has to be broken. The approach has to be where possible, specific wherever necessary (Parliamentary Papers II 2012/13, 33400-XVI, 4). Achieving the objectives outlined above is not a task for the government alone. Citizens, professionals and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are also expected to contribute. NGOs often play an important part in providing information, prevention and making difficult topics the subject for discussion, for instance, violence committed in the name of honour, among those they support (Zweers et al., 2011). As far as government interference is concerned, major changes have been taking place in the Netherlands. Municipalities have been assigned more and more responsibility. At a municipal level, steps must be taken to ensure that vulnerable citizens can take care of themselves. Various reasons can be put forward for this change: the welfare state’s social system has become too expensive. It is no longer in line with the current era in which people have other lifestyles and desires, as opposed to the period in which the welfare state arose. In addition, the existing help and care offered is too fragmented to be effective. The assumptions underlying the transfer of responsibilities to the municipalities are to encourage and promote the strength of citizens and their social environment. This means that an assessment must first be made investigating what people and their environment can solve on their own (Teeuwen et al., 2014). Therefore, citizens have to be part of the efforts. The same applies to violence in dependency relationships. The assumption is that family, friends and neighbours can contribute to raising awareness. They can be on the lookout for signs and where necessary support the victim or, if it concerns children, hold the parents accountable. The social environment can also encourage those concerned to seek help. When help is forthcoming, then the focus is not on the assistance; instead it is on the needs of the individual. The intention here is to provide a customised approach. In the process, the aim is to have an integrated approach whereby preferably one individual or one family has to deal with one plan or one care worker. The assistance must be provided close to the home, and offer professional support supplements that the person and his or her own network can do themselves. To sum up, the emphasis is firmly on prevention. The first step towards civil society was taken in 2007 with the implementation of the Dutch Social Support Act [Wet maatschappelijke ondersteuning]. If an individual still does not manage to participate in society with the help of his or her social network, then he or she can be given social support. This would include counselling, facilities, support to family caregivers and vol-

49

Focus on honour

50

Reporting code The Dutch Domestic Violence and Child

and the client, but rather that there will

Abuse Act [Wet verplichte meldcode

have been regular contact between them.

huiselijk geweld en kindermishandeling]

If it is suspected that a serious offence may

(better known as the Reporting Code Act)

have taken place, the model also recom-

came into effect on 1 July 2013. A reporting

mends coordinating activities alongside

code is an overview of steps that profes-

police interventions. The basic model

sionals must follow if there are signs of

also points out that for specific types of

domestic violence or child abuse. The

violence, such as female genital mutila-

plan covers the procedure from the time

tion, forced marriage, sexual violence

that signs of violence are detected until

and honour-related violence, the steps

the time the decision is taken to make

will have to be examined in greater detail

a report. What is confusing is that the

because another approach may well be

term ‘violence in dependency relation-

necessary. Under the law, organisations

ships’ is not used. In the ‘basic model for

and self-employed professionals are

the domestic violence and child abuse

obliged to have a reporting code. This

reporting code’, domestic violence and

obligation applies to the following sec-

child abuse also include the following

tors: healthcare including youth health-

phenomena: sexual violence, female geni-

care; youth care; education, from primary

tal mutilation, honour-related violence,

school to tertiary education, including

elderly abuse and forced marriage. On the

compulsory education; childcare; social

one hand, a reporting code is designed to

support; and the judicial authorities,

clarify what is expected of professionals.

including the Central Agency for the

On the other hand, an assessment is made

Reception of Asylum Seekers [Centraal

to check whether professionals have dis-

Orgaan Opvang Asielzoekers]. Additionally,

charged their duties correctly according

legislation that regulates independent

to the phased plan in the reporting code.

professionals in private practice, such as

Therefore, it is also an assessment instru-

doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, phar-

ment. The law stipulates that the phased

macists, psychologists, psychotherapists,

plan should include at least five steps.

physiotherapists, dieticians and speech

The following five steps are given as an

therapists, also applies. This legislation

example in the basic model: (1) identify-

falls under the Dutch Individual Health-

ing and listing signs; (2) consulting col-

care Professions Act [Wet op de beroepen

leagues; (3) consultations with the client;

in de individuele gezondheidszorg]. Even

(4) weighing up the aggression, i.e. esti-

though the police play an important role

mating the risks and the nature and grav-

in tackling violence in dependency rela-

ity of the violence if it has already taken

tionships, the police are not subject to

place; and finally (5) making a decision,

this law. The rationale for this was that the

i.e. arranging help or filing a report. The

police have sufficient means at their dis-

assumption is that it will not be a case of a

posal to be able to detect and report this

one-off contact between the professional

kind of violence.

1 The police approach to violent honour-related cases in The Netherlands

unteers, and shelter for women. Public mental healthcare is also part of this. This aspect of safety and security has also been added to the concept of social support. As a result, municipalities have been given an explicit role in preventing and tackling manifestations of violence in dependency relationships. People are not entitled to care in these situations, but they are eligible for appropriate support if necessary. The Dutch Youth Act [Jeugdwet], which was implemented in 2015, works along the same lines. The Youth Act offers support to children, young people and families facing problems in terms of upbringing and growing up (De Haas, 2013; Teeuwen et al., 2014).

Important partners The subject of safety and security preoccupies the whole of society and, in that respect, one could say that society as a whole should also be involved in safety and security (Boutellier & Van Steden, 2008). Broadly speaking, the following organisations are part of the safety and security sector that concerns itself with violence in dependency relationships in general and in honour-related violence in particular: • Professional organisations and their staff in the judicial chain The judicial chain is the system of organisations that are responsible for the criminal justice proceedings and thus for the investigation and prosecution of honour-related violence. This chain includes the Public Prosecution Service, judges, lawyers, the prison service and probation services.

Safe at Home Since 1 January 2015, municipalities in the

involve issues related to child abuse, elderly

Netherlands have been responsible for var-

abuse, domestic violence and also honour-

ious kinds of care. People who have prob-

related violence. Veilig Thuis is a regional

lems themselves, or are concerned about

organisation and can be reached on 0800-

someone else in their circle, can turn to the

2000, a toll-free phone number. Obviously

‘Veilig Thuis’, i.e. a Safe at Home, hotline

122, the police alarm number, should be

and advisory service. These problems could

dialled if there is an immediate danger.

51

52

Focus on honour

• Professional organisations and their staff outside the judicial chain It is the municipalities in particular that actively participate in the safety and security sector these days. This part of the judicial chain also includes institutions and professionals who offer care and refuge to victims and assist the perpetrators, such as the Municipal Health Service [Gemeentelijke Gezondheidsdienst] and shelters. Examples would be educational institutions (Kuppens et al., 2008) or the medical sector (Alizadeh et al., 2009; Can & Edirne, 2011). Professionals in this kind of organisation have an important part to play in revealing honour-related violence. • Non-governmental organisations A wide variety of organisations fall into this category. For instance, there are NGOs that work to help refugees and other migrants, and there are those that support the interests of ethnic minorities or religious groups. • Individual citizens Earlier we mentioned the role of citizens in the development of a civil society. As far as the police are concerned, citizens have an extremely important role to play. It is crucial that citizens trust the police so that they will turn to the police if they are in trouble or might get into trouble, or if they know about problems that other people are facing that ought to be brought to their attention. ‘My tribe syndrome’ and honour in organisations In anthropology, ‘my tribe syndrome’ is

‘our organisation syndrome’ raises its

a familiar concept. What it boils down to

head when organisations are no longer

is that researchers who have worked in

interested in the methods, opportunities,

a certain field, or with a certain group of

powers and objectives of partner organisa-

people or a tribe, tend to view that field

tions, while at the same time thinking that

as their own. They claim exclusive rights

their own style of working is systematically

to it and guard it like a mother hen. It is

better, and taking action to defend their

in fact a question of honour: if someone

own honour and glory. This honour in

else gets involved with that field down the

the lives of organisations is nothing new

line, then this is perceived as an intrusion

(See for examples from the business com-

and an attack on their own achievements.

munity; d’Iribarne, 1998, Pels, 2007, and

People are quick to take offence. Day-to-

Van Erp, 2009.) Those in the Netherlands

day reality also shows that organisations

who are affiliated as professionals with a

also suffer from a similar syndrome. The

safety and security organisation not only

1 The police approach to violent honour-related cases in The Netherlands

1.3.2

have to deal with their own organisation.

of working. Those who are not sensitive

After all, many organisations work together

to this may unintentionally cross bounda-

in the safety and security sector. A police

ries, thus compromising the honour of

officer who regularly deals with domestic

partners. Characteristically remarks would

violence cases will no doubt have to deal

include ‘Why are they interfering!’ Or ‘They

with institutions for women’s shelters or

don’t know what they’re talking about!’

perpetrator assistance. In order to work

As soon as these kinds of comments are

together effectively, it is important to

made, you are looking at a full-blown case

acknowledge that partner organisations

of ‘our organisation syndrome’ (Janssen,

have other objectives, tasks and methods

2008b, 2011).

Aspects to be considered when collaborating with others

Collaboration is not always easy As previously noted, many organisations work together in the safety and security sector. This certainly applies to the approach regarding the issue of honour-related violence. It is not always easy because these professionals often have different disciplinary backgrounds and ideas about the problem to be addressed. (See, for instance, details of perceptions of honour-related violence that prospective nurses have as outlined in Can & Edirne, 2011.) However, once it is clear what the partners can reasonably expect from each other and the need for cooperation is recognised, the likelihood of disappointment and the subsequent feelings of incomprehension, offence and even violations of honour are significantly reduced. When tackling honour-related violence, it is important to always bear in mind the following questions as soon as a case presents itself: • What is the problem? What is the case about? How did a specific problem arise? Who caused it? Who is affected? Where are the opportunities for solutions? Try to understand the problem as a whole, and do not simplify matters straight away by adjusting it to suit the possibilities and limitations of your own organisation. Once these have been answered, only then is it possible for an organisation to develop a customized approach. • What do the people we work for expect from us? Citizens, clients, patients – it makes no difference what we call the people who the organisations work for – all have expectations of the services to

53

Focus on honour

54

be provided for the problem to be addressed. Being sensitive to the interests and expectations of the other people involved is necessary in order to find tailor-made solutions. • What is our part in tackling the problem in question? Is the approach to this problem in line with the tasks and responsibilities of our organisation? If so, to what extent do we then have the mandate to take action in this area? It is quite possible that within your own organisation there are various perceptions of the problem and ideas about a possible approach. Sometimes the problems to be addressed are so difficult that they are ‘simplified’, as it were, so that they become manageable chunks that can fit into an organisation’s template. Alternatively, those concerned may not be fully aware of the complexity of certain observations. • Insight into the part that partners play in addressing the problem in question Which parts of an approach are the partners’ responsibility? What do those partners need in order to be able to carry out their task properly? Figure 1.2 shows how insight into this can throw light on the interfaces and overlaps between the organisations’ areas of expertise.

1 The police approach to violent honour-related cases in The Netherlands

Figure 1.2

Responsibilities that organisations have in relation to the social problem to be addressed

C A

B

Society Social field in which there is a problem Part of the social field in which Organisation A is active Part of the social field in which Organisation B is active Part of the social field in which Organisation C is active

55

CLOSE-UP

Honour on the streets Willem Jansen and Jan Uittenboogaard lived on the streets for twenty years and six years respectively. Both are firmly convinced that they had a sense of honour during that period in their lives. ‘Look,’ Willem begins, ‘you shouldn’t think that there is such a thing as a code of honour among homeless people. That feeling of group solidarity, that’s really something from the past. In this day and age, there is a lot of competition on the street because homeless people have to compete for scarce places in the shelters. What’s more, nowadays you can’t simply pack up your stuff and leave for another city. As a homeless person in the Netherlands, you are tied to a specific region. Then include the influx of homeless people from abroad, for example from Eastern Europe, with who we have little contact because of language problems, and you realise it’s not a close-knit community.’ Jan adds, ‘That sense of honour, that’s something personal to us, we confer that sense of honour on ourselves. If you have made it through a day on the streets, if you have survived again in the sense that you have a full stomach and you’ve arranged somewhere to sleep, then that is good for your sense of honour. You also have to be resourceful to make it. You make sure you look neat and tidy and go and have a meal in a restaurant. After you’ve had your meal, you order another beer. That way you give the staff the impression that you intend to stay a while. That is when you make your escape without paying. Of course, you shouldn’t do it and it cannot be condoned, and you can’t go back to that establishment. Yet you still have the satisfaction of knowing that you’ve outsmarted those people and I see that as a kind of honour.’ But it is an art to maintain that sense of self-esteem and personal honour on the streets. ‘You mustn’t give up on yourself when other people do. Because often people don’t even see you. They look straight through you,’ Willem reckons. ‘That is not just the case with passers-by on the street,’ Jan goes on. ‘You also get the same treatment at institutions. You’ll always be that homeless person. For example, you’re in a park in the sun and then a cop walks past and talks to you like, “Crikey, are you pissed again?!” and then he sends you on your way or fines you. It drives you wild.’ Willem recognises these kinds of emotions, ‘But you cannot let it get to you, you can’t afford to do that as a homeless person, otherwise you won’t survive living rough. You only allow yourself to feel emotions once you have left the streets. I’ve been living independently for a while now, and when you get a permanent address, that’s when you get insight into your finances, debts, outstanding fines, you name it.’ Jan, who has also found his own accommodation, goes on to add, ‘At this point in time, you take stock of your social life, the contact you have with your children and other family members. That is when you’re faced with your drinking problem. Even though you’re happy to have a roof over your head again, I can tell you that it’s not an easy phase. Unfortunately, taking a good, honest look at yourself is not automatically good for your own sense of honour, you still see things that you’re not happy about.’ Willem and Jan use their life experience these days as volunteers at the GOUD Foundation in Utrecht, an organisation dedicated to helping addicts, the homeless and people in similar situations. ‘I couldn’t make it without that work,’ Willem claims. ‘Exactly the same thing applies to me,’ Jan agrees. ‘This way we’re doing something useful with our experience.’ ‘Well,’ Willem sums it up, ‘if that’s not honour...’

2

Familiar perspectives on honour and violence

Two theoretical perspectives on violence perpetrated in the name of honour are the central theme of this chapter. Before we describe those perspectives, the first section examines the issue as to why theories are important. Theories are not necessarily ‘true’, so what are they good for? After this Section 2.2 considers the historical-sociological perspective of violence in the name of honour, followed by an anthropological take of this kind of violence in Section 2.3. In the final section of this chapter, we study several themes in greater detail, namely the relationship honour has with religion, and the relationship between gender and honour.

2.1

2.1.1

The benefits of theory

An important tool

Theory as a lens The word ‘theory’ often evokes negative associations that seriously overshadow its practical importance. For instance, you often hear that theory has nothing to do with practice, or that a theory is not true. The word ‘difficult’ is often brought up in connection with theory formulations. Nonetheless, theories are not superfluous or impractical and complex. A theory is a tool that structures thought processes and gives them direction. It is a system of statements that make it possible to describe, predict and explain reality. This book – Focus on Honour – uses metaphors that draw on photography. A theory is actually like a lens to a photographer: some lenses refract light rays in such a way that objects in the distance seem closer, while others can create sharper images of objects close at hand. In short, using a theory as a lens gives a specific focus on the phenomenon being researched, such as violence perpetrated in the name of honour.

Focusing and perspective Focusing is the process of using a camera lens to home in on a specific object, and making that object the focus of the image. By doing so, the other items in the picture that are around the object will be less sharp. Theories work in the same way. One single theory never describes, predicts or explains everything. Instead it focuses on specific phenomena or components. For instance, the emergence or the approach to violence committed in the name of honour. How the items are captured is then also determined by the perspective that the photographer takes. The photographer may decide to take the photograph from eye level, which will give the image a natural look. Alternatively, taking the picture from a bird’s eye perspective will provide a good overview, but all the items in the photograph will look much smaller. The frogeye perspective, perspective from below, on the other hand, will make the object of the focus seem larger and more imposing, whilst everything else will more or less disappear into the background. The point of view chosen, i.e. the perspective, also determines the interrelationships between the items that are in the photograph.

2.1.2

Differing perspectives

The observer and the participant The concept of perspective is an important factor, not only in photography but also in social sciences. Having said that, social scientists are unlikely to talk in terms of normal, frogeye or bird’s eye perspective. The notion of perspective can be found in social sciences in other ways. For instance, references may be made to the point of view of a specific discipline. For instance, in Section 2.2 of this chapter we will be discussing the historical-sociological perspective of honour-related violence, and then in Section 2.3 we will move on to an anthropologist’s perspective. In addition, a distinction is often made between the perspective of the observer; that is viewing the phenomenon from a distance, and that of the participant who is actively studying the phenomenon. In other words, it is about differentiating between the view from the outside and the view from the inside. To explain this difference properly, a brief explanation of two key pairs of concepts from social sciences follows, namely, explaining and understanding and emic and etic.

Explaining and understanding Explaining and understanding are a pair of concepts that have mainly been developed in the German language field – Erklären and Verstehen – by major philosophers such as Max Weber (1981) and Wilhelm Dilthey (1927) among others.

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Focus on honour

60

What is happening, is key to the concept of explaining, whereas why it is happening is key to the concept of understanding. Explaining is done from the perspective of the observer; the participant’s point of view is key to understanding (Schuyt, 1986). When explaining honour-related violence, the question of what people do in the name of honour is the focus and, for understanding, the aim is to understand why people commit violence in the name of honour. For the sake of clarity: in this context, understanding does not imply that the violent behaviour is condoned or approved of. Understanding in this context entails the search for people’s motives. Cultural relativism In the first half of the twentieth century,

only be appreciated from the perspec-

the work that cultural anthropologists

tive of those within that culture. A logical

had done up until that point was viewed

consequence of this is that observers can-

critically. Until that time, their work was

not be completely familiar with a culture

very Eurocentric in nature. In addition,

other than their own, and therefore it is

people looked back with embarrassment

not possible for outsiders to judge other

on the dark chapters of European his-

cultures. Cultural relativism automatically

tory, marred as it was by colonialism and

leads to ethical relativism and tolerance.

slavery. This became a breeding ground

An important criticism of relativism has

for cultural relativism. The basic idea was

to do with this aspect: if it is not possible

that there is a multitude of cultures and

to judge practices in other cultures, then

that all those cultures are equal. It is impos-

cruelty, oppression or other reprehensi-

sible to make universal statements that

ble behaviour can never be denounced

apply to all cultures, because cultures can

(Siesling, 2006).

In this book, we are advocating that understanding honour-related violence should not be construed as synonymous with legitimising violence. On the contrary, what it is about is understanding in the sense of searching for the reasons that people put forward for their behaviour, and searching for the social meanings that they assign to events that can provide important insights which may be valuable to the police and other professionals when it comes to addressing honour-related cases in the field of safety and security. Chapters 4, 5 and 6 will return to this practical aspect.

2 Fa m i l i a r p e r s p e c t i ve s o n h o n o u r a n d v i o l e n c e

Shogun James Clavell spent the last three and a

tion (Smith, 1980), yet the amazing journey

half years of the Second World War in the

of discovery that Blackthorne undertook,

Japanese prisoner of war camp Changi in

into what, for him, was a completely

Singapore. The hardships he had to endure

unknown culture remains interesting. It

during that period were not only the stuff

was a culture in which codes of honour

of nightmares; they also provided material

played a major role at all kinds of levels.

for his first novel, King Rat (1962). Evidently,

He had to gain insight in international

writing this novel had a cathartic effect on

political intrigues and was often puzzled

Clavell because his next book on Japan

by daily life as well. For instance, issues

was all about understanding, Verstehen,

like the correct way to eat and bathe, and

Japanese culture. Initially, he wanted to

what were deemed to be proper (sexual)

write about contemporary Japan. But

relations between men and women, were

after he came across a remark in his daugh-

matters about which the Japanese have

ter’s textbook from an Englishman – Wil-

other ideas than the English. Blackthorne

liam Adams (1564-1620) who went to Japan

literally and figuratively had to learn a

and managed to join the ranks of the sam-

new language so that he could learn to

urai warriors – he was inspired to write his

understand, and even to appreciate,

tome, Shōgun, which was published in 1975.

what were initially incomprehensible

The story is about the experiences of John

codes to him. Conversely, the Japanese

Blackthorne, an English helmsman on a

also faced difficulties with Blackthorne:

Dutch vessel that was shipwrecked on the

they hardly handed him the privileged

Japanese coast around 1600. The book was

and honourable position of samurai on

a resounding success and it is still worth

a plate. But, whatever you do, read how

reading. It goes without saying that we

Blackthorne ultimately manages to work

have to be careful about treating this kind

his way up from a spectator to a participant

of fiction as an accurate historical descrip-

in Japan!

Emic and etic The pair of concepts emic and etic have been used in social sciences since the 1950s (Pike, 1954). The emic perspective is about the vision from within. In other words, it is about providing insight into the ways in which people experience and describe events in their lives in their own words.

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62

Stories about strength Personal documents like letters, journals

towards their family. In many books, the

and autobiographies offer interesting

men were clearly typified as the aggres-

insights into the way in which people

sor, but female relatives were regularly

experience certain events or phases in

presented as the people responsible for

their lives. There have also been a stream

the suffering inflicted on the protagonists.

of publications in which mainly women

Most of the authors ultimately manage

but sometimes also men give a personal

to surmount the problems in their lives.

account of what they have experienced

This is not always a clear-cut happy ending

in terms of honour codes in family rela-

because their independence has taken its

tionships. The persons concerned, and

toll. This kind of book can be viewed as a

in some cases ghost writers, recorded

story about strength because every one of

the stories. The books are available to a

these personal stories presents victims who

wide audience and play a role in putting

are strong personalities, who do not take

themes like honour codes and forced mar-

things lying down, but instead actively look

riage on the political and policy agendas

for a way out, and who want to encourage

(Carbin, 2014). These books are extremely

and support other people with their works.

interesting when it comes to forming an

This genre can play an important part in

image from an emic perspective of what

opening up the debate on taboo subjects

people experience if there is an honour-

in society. Several of the authors that Jans-

related conflict in the family. Janssen and

sen and Sanberg discuss are also in touch

Sanberg (2010c, 2014) analysed this kind of

with politicians or human rights organisa-

literature originally published in Dutch as

tions who are committed to their cause.

well as the translated works. Even though

Unfortunately, stories about strength also

the authors all present themselves as

come out of the woodwork in a negative

the victim, they did not see themselves

sense. Occasionally a ‘true story’ turns out

as passive or spineless. Some authors

to be fabricated. When it comes to light, it

emphasise their own enterprising attitude

is anything but honourable for the author

and their perseverance. Sometimes this

and main character in the fictitious story,

active attitude only surfaced after a long

and it will no doubt be met with a great

struggle with loyalties and feelings of guilt

deal of public indignation.

On the other hand, the viewpoint from the outside is pivotal to an etic perspective, and it is all about how the researcher ranks and analyses the events.

2 Fa m i l i a r p e r s p e c t i ve s o n h o n o u r a n d v i o l e n c e

Hofstede’s six cultural dimensions A clear example of an etic approach can

attributes that are traditionally construed

be found in Geert Hofstede’s work (2001).

to be masculine values, like being com-

Hofstede has become internationally

petitive and aggressive, are rated highly in

renowned through his comparative study

Japan, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

into cultures. Using questionnaires in

Values attributed to women, like modesty

combination with various other data about

and solidarity, do well in the Netherlands

the countries concerned, for instance, the

and Scandinavia. Uncertainty avoidance

gross domestic income or the use of force

concerns the extent to which people feel

in domestic politics, he defines six cul-

threatened by unknown or uncertain situ-

tural dimensions on the basis of which he

ations, as a result of which the need for

describes the relative differences between

predictability is great. High ratings for this

the cultures. These dimensions are power

can be found in Latin America, the Medi-

distance, individualism versus collectivism,

terranean region and Eastern Europe, and

masculinity versus femininity, uncertainty

are lower in most of Asia and also in the

avoidance, time orientation, and hedonism

Netherlands. As far as time orientation is

versus sobriety. A dimension combines

concerned, in the Far East, a long-term per-

several phenomena in a society, phenom-

spective is valued most highly, while short-

ena that occur in combination with each

term thinking prevails in English language

other. For instance, power distance is

and Islamic parts of the world, in Latin

about attitudes towards and acceptance of

America and Africa. Hedonism, i.e. the pur-

inequality and hierarchy in a society. Latin

suit of pleasure and enjoying life, can count

America, Asia and Africa score high for this

on a great deal of support in Latin America,

attribute, while the Netherlands and Scan-

some parts of Africa, the English language

dinavia score low. Individualism is gener-

world and in Northern Europe. Sobriety is

ally highly appreciated in the Western

viewed as a virtue in the Far East, Eastern

world, while collectivism is more readily

Europe and the Muslim world.

accepted in the Far and Middle East. Those

At first glance, these perspectives seem to be in conflict with one another, but practice shows that they complement one another well. The emic and etic perspectives each have their own merits. The strength of the emic perspective stems from its appreciation of the uniqueness and specific characteristics of a group of people, cultures or other societies, which can shed light on new ideas. The strength of the etic perspective is that it makes it possible to compare the different groups and cultures, because the theories, and concepts derived from these theories, are applied in different contexts (Headland et al., 1990; Morris et al., 1999).

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Focus on honour

64

Finally, is it possible for observers to understand participants? In the social sciences, there is a debate about the extent to which it is possible to actually understand – in the Weberian sense of the word – people and actions in a culture other than one’s own. In other words, can observers actually get an emic perspective of participants? The anthropologist Geert, for instance, claims that anthropologists can never directly observe all the details of the cultures that they study. As anthropologists do not belong to the culture, they can never feel exactly how people in that culture experience things. Anthropologists create a certain reality, and thus their work is similar to that of a reviewer who judges a literary text (Olson, 1991). As opposed to this, Lévi-Strauss, another well-known anthropologist, claims that it is primarily down to skills, accuracy, a strong interest and objectivity. The sociologist Merton refers to this statement in his work from the 1970s on the perspectives of insiders and outsiders in the sociology of knowledge. At that time, African American social scientists and historians spoke out in the United States, with some claiming that they alone would be able to interpret and explain the life and history of African Americans. Merton feared what he called a ‘balkanisation’ of the social sciences if insiders actually had the monopoly on knowledge. As then only women would be able to understand women, men only men and so on (Merton, 1972).

Diversity policy in the police force If we extend this to the world of the police

which they would not be seen as all round

force and that of other professionals in the

professionals. At the same time, experience

field of safety and security, then it would

shows that citizens may also be hesitant to

mean that the members of public would

share sensitive family secrets with profes-

have to rely on professionals with the same

sionals from their own ethnic group. The

ethnic background. For a long time the

fear of having embarrassing stories leaked is

thinking was that recruiting ethnic minor-

often significant (Janssen, 2012). If one also

ity colleagues would be beneficial for the

takes into account that the scope of cultural

service given to ethnic minorities. The

explanations is limited and that ethnic

police would become more recognisable

groups are not homogeneous, but instead

for citizens of immigrant origin, and col-

are criss-crossed by socio-economic lines

leagues of immigrant origin would provide

(see also the ‘Super-diversity’ textbox Sec-

better service on the basis of their cultural

tion 1.1.1), then the limited nature of the roles

knowledge. Nonetheless, despite their best

is even more obvious. Should we therefore

intentions, roles like this could also restrict

abandon the diversity policy altogether

ethnic minority colleagues, as a result of

when it comes to ethnic background?

2 Fa m i l i a r p e r s p e c t i ve s o n h o n o u r a n d v i o l e n c e

No, absolutely not. Nevertheless, policy-

coloured. The historical outline and the

makers would be well advised to take a

brief analysis of future trends in the jobs

more nuanced approach to deploying

market have shown that recruitment and

ethnic minority police officers as cultural

retention of ethnic minorities is not easy. It

specialists based on the arguments pre-

would be advisable to thoroughly investi-

sented above. What we need first and fore-

gate the reasons why ethnic minorities fail

most is a police force that is representative

to see a career with the police as an option

of everyone. That is necessary if the police

these days or – if they do join the force –

wants to have a basis of legitimacy to oper-

they often leave the ranks quite quickly

ate from. After all, Dutch society is colourful

again. Insights gained from this kind of

and if the whole of the Dutch population

research would be indispensable for a

wants to be able to recognise itself in the

sound diversity policy (Janssen, 2015a).

police, then blue will also have to be multi-

2.2

2.2.1

The historical-sociological approach

The civilisation theory

A sociologist with historical interest Shortly before the beginning of the Second World War, the German sociologist, Norbert Elias (1897-1990), published his work entitled Über den Prozeß der Zivilisation: soziogenetische und psychogenetische Untersuchungen (i.e. The civilising process: Sociogenic and psychogenetic investigations) in 1939. The book consists of two parts and addresses the question of whether specific developments can be recognised in behavioural norms in Western Europe. He is not only interested in the psychological and emotional aspects of behaviour, but also in the question of how social changes affect that behaviour. A feature of Elias’s work is his great interest in history. His work on the theory of civilisation also has a strong historical impact and covers a period of almost 1,000 years, from around 800 to 1900 AD in Western Europe. In the first part, Elias deals extensively with historical changes in eating habits – eating meat, using a knife and fork – and changes in attitude to natural bodily needs, for instance, blowing the nose, spitting, sleeping and sexuality.

65

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66

Late bloomer These days Elias’s civilisation theory has a

man reprint and an English version were

prominent place in sociology textbooks.

published in 1969. By that time, Elias had

This was not the case from the outset.

been retired for a long time. Shortly after

When the work was published, most peo-

his retirement, he worked in Ghana for a

ple did not foresee that the book would

while. After that, the sociology department

become a textbook standard. Elias was of

of the University of Amsterdam invited him

Jewish descent and he realised in 1933 –

to come to the Netherlands in 1969. In 1970,

when Hitler seized power – that grim times

the history department of the University

were looming. So, he left for Paris and

of Amsterdam invited him, and, in 1971, the

later for Great Britain. In the meantime, he

Institute for Social Studies in The Hague did

plodded on with his book on civilisation

the same. In particular, it was Goudsblom,

theory for three years, but it was particu-

a sociologist, who played a major part in

larly difficult in that period to find a Ger-

spreading Elias’s ideas and work in the

man publisher who would be prepared to

Netherlands (De Jong, 2007). The criminolo-

publish a work by a Jewish writer. However,

gist, Spierenburg, also did a great deal to

his father managed to find a publisher

disseminate the Elias’s ideas in the field of

in Switzerland in 1939. Yet, despite good

historical criminology (Spierenburg, 2001;

reviews, it was not a huge success. A Ger-

Schwerhoff, 2002).

Different kinds of coercion In his analysis of changing behaviour, Elias concludes that a transition from Fremdzwang to Selbstzwang takes place. Fremdzwang is coercion exerted externally, in other words social control. Selbstzwang is self-constraint. Elias observed that the process of internalising norms takes place over time. At the beginning of the civilisation process, it was the social fear of losing face and thus honour vis-à-vis others that kept people in line. With the progression of civilisation, self-restraint starts to play an increasingly larger role in controlling emotions and tempers. In fact, learnt civilised behaviour becomes part of the personality. It is a difficult learning process and people who have only just learnt certain kinds of behaviour are afraid of not making the grade. If the learning process is successful, civilised behaviour becomes second nature and as such is part of the personality. It has been internalised and there is a degree of self-constraint or self-restraint that is no longer conscious, it is an automatic reflex as it were. Uncivilised behaviour then elicits shame, embarrassment and disgust. The same applies to coarse and aggressive conduct. Table manners are a prime

2 Fa m i l i a r p e r s p e c t i ve s o n h o n o u r a n d v i o l e n c e

example of this: knives were no longer meant to bring to mind daggers, and forks were introduced so that people no longer had to touch their food with their fingers. Separate plates were introduced so that those around the table no longer had to eat out of the same bowl. Displays of coarse or rude behaviour gradually disappeared from the social scene. Separate domains were introduced where specially appointed people did dirty or repulsive work, such as slaughtering and butchering of animals, dressing foul-smelling injuries or taking care of dead bodies, shielded from the eyes of others.

Division of labour and dependency Members of a society never all do the same work: while there may be many farmers in a small farming community, there is also a blacksmith and a teacher. In the course of history, the process of division of labour, i.e. dividing work into different tasks, has increased: more and more professions and specialisms have been created. This has meant that people are becoming increasingly dependent on one another. People in a simple farming community may be able to provide for themselves to a large extent but, as society becomes more complex, it becomes more difficult to be self-sufficient. Take life in a big city as an example: the inhabitants practise a wide range of professions, but a bank director or a bus driver are not self-sufficient. They have to rely on others each and every day: the baker, the greengrocer, the GP and so on. To be able to live in a big city, all these individuals, each with their own profession, need one another. What it boils down to is that the ongoing division of labour makes people increasingly dependent on one another. If people need one another, then it is in their interest to cultivate mutual relations and to maintain these relations. Selfconstraint, Elias argues, is an important means of ensuring that these valuable relationships are not lost. Only once people are able to resist giving in to impulsive behaviour and spontaneous attacks, they learn to look forward and think about the consequences of their behaviour in the longer term, and to empathise with others. People are not born with that rational view of their own behaviour and the ability to empathise with others; rather they are the result of the civilisation process. That process is not premeditated or planned; instead it is the unplanned result of social processes such as division of labour. Elias described this process for Western Europe from the Late Middle Ages onwards. In a nutshell, this history is as follows: during the period that Elias describes, trade started to play a bigger role, and a range of professions emerged that made people increasingly dependent on each other. In that

67

Focus on honour

68

period, the elite was mainly made up of knights. Even though they had control over their territory, their glory was waning. Thanks to the growth of trade, the monetary economy became increasingly important. However, revenue from rental pursuits were often no longer sufficient for the knights to keep their heads above water. They sought respite from the king, who after all was managing to make ends meet with tax revenues. The king was prepared to oblige them on the condition that they would settle in his vicinity and conduct themselves according to the rules applicable at court. The knights laid down their arms and were incorporated in the court nobility. This gave the court a central role, and with that an important step was taken in the process of state formation.

Royal etiquette To ensure that attendance at the court was

able silence descended, because... he had

a success, it was important that not only

mistaken the silver finger bowl for a cup!

members of the royal household but also

The esteemed guests at the dinner did

guests were aware of the applicable codes

not hide their deep shock at this offence

of conduct. Those who were unfamiliar

against etiquette. The footmen gave one

with royal etiquette could find themselves

another meaningful looks and sniggering

in hot water. Magda Berman, an author

could be clearly heard among the courti-

who has several books on etiquette to her

ers. It did not escape Wilhelmina. With a

name, gives the following example in one

royal gesture, she temporarily repealed the

of her publications (2003: pp. 21-22): ‘Dur-

infringed etiquette rule, and rescued her

ing his visit to the Netherlands in around

elderly guest from his embarrassment: she

1900, the former Queen Wilhelmina held

lifted her own finger bowl and toasted Kru-

a gala dinner for Paul Kruger, the elderly

ger with it. The silence was deafening... and

President of the Transvaal Republic. The

all the other guests were obliged to follow

simple farmer-president broke out in a

suit.’ Based on this example, Berman drew

sweat when he saw the table richly laid out

the following conclusion: ‘manners – in

with shiny cutlery, crystal glasses and por-

this case table manners – virtually always

celain crockery. He needed a sip of water

serve a purpose. Nevertheless, they are

and luckily, he spotted a bowl of water on

never intended to trip someone up.’ Queen

the table. He grabbed the bowl, put it to his

Wilhelmina had an excellent grasp of this

lips and quaffed it down. An uncomfort-

aspect of honour.

2 Fa m i l i a r p e r s p e c t i ve s o n h o n o u r a n d v i o l e n c e

State formation and the monopoly on the use of force As the process of state formation progressed, the king’s court became the beating heart of the nation-state. Increasingly, the right to use force was reserved for the state, until ultimately the state had a monopoly on the use of force. What this means is that citizens were not allowed to settle conflicts using violence because only the central government bodies had the right to use force. Those central bodies still are the national army and the national police force. Although several of the states in the Europe that Elias wrote about were no longer monarchies, monopoly on the use of force remained in the hands of the state when elected governments and parliaments replaced the monarchy. Murder and homicide One way to find out whether we really

gathering this historical data (see also

have started to behave in a more civilised

Spierenburg, 2001; Schwerhoff, 2002, 2008;

manner is to study historical trends in the

Pinker, 2011), he generally believes that this

number of murder and homicide victims.

downward curve confirms the civilisation

Manuel Eisner (2003) has shown that the

theory. Though, as is the case with all

number of murder and homicide victims

theories, the theory of civilisation drew

in Europe has fallen in the course of the

criticism. In the ‘Late bloomer’ textbox, we

centuries. During the thirteenth and four-

saw how Norbert Elias had to flee the Nazis.

teenth centuries, the number of victims

How can the Holocaust be reconciled

per 100,000 inhabitants was 32; during the

with an ongoing process of civilisation?

fifteenth century, the number of victims

Not only was it murder on a grand scale,

increased to 41 per 100,000 to finally fall

it was also state-perpetrated violence

to 1.4 victims per 100,000 inhabitants in

(Bauman, 1986; Baberowski, 2016). If we are

the twentieth century. Even though Eisner

to take the victims of state violence into

indicates that there are quite a few meth-

account, then the curve that Eisner draws

odological issues to contend with when

disappears.

69

Focus on honour

2.2.2

70

Honour, internalising coercion and condemning vigilante justice

Spiritualised honour Two important aspects of Elias’s work have been mentioned: first, there is the change in personality because of the shift from external to internal coercion, and secondly there is the process of state formation, in which there is no place for vigilante justice. However, how does this relate to honour as a motive for violence? Nothing has been said on the subject in relation to Elias’s work. That is indeed correct, because Elias hardly raises the issue of honour in the works discussed here. On the subject of the development from external to inner coercion, he mainly discusses feelings of shame that play an important part. Pieter Spierenburg (2001, 2008) (see the ‘Late bloomer’ textbox) has advocated that honour as a motive for violence should be integrated into the civilisation theory. Spierenburg argues that honour has always been closely related to the physical strength of the body. In his opinion, honour in the West has been spiritualised in the course of the last three hundred years. By this he means that, whereas honour was initially associated with physical strength and aggression, that association has become less physical over time: it has become possible to be honourable and non-aggressive. This point of view is in keeping with Elias’s concept of the process of internalising coercion and increased self-restraint (Spierenburg, 1998, 2008).

Honour, vigilante justice and Dutch law Honour-related concepts are not entirely absent in Dutch law. For instance, there is Section 261(1) of the Dutch Criminal Code: ‘Any person who, by alleging a particular fact, intentionally injures the honour or reputation of another person, with the evident intention of giving publicity to the allegation, shall be guilty of slander and shall be liable to a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months or a fine of the third category.’ (For historical backgrounds to honour and defamation in Dutch law, see Keunen & Roodenburg, 1992; Janssens, 1998.)

2 Fa m i l i a r p e r s p e c t i ve s o n h o n o u r a n d v i o l e n c e

Taped-off breasts When the Dutch Criminal Code was intro-

ideas about this compared to those of the

duced in 1886, ‘offence against public

twenty-first century. In his memoirs about

decency’ (in Dutch: 'schending van de

his forty-year career with the police, for-

eerbaarheid'. This indicates an offence

mer Chief Constable, Jan Blaauw (1928),

against honourability) was already one

gives a fine example of offence from fifty

of the acts deemed punishable. Those of

years ago, which comes across as rather

us who open the criminal code will see

dated today. ‘In the early 1960s, we [at the

that that is still the case in Section 239.

vice squad and juvenile police] also paid a

But what is an ‘offence against public

great deal of attention to the fight against

decency’? The term is explained as: know-

dissemination of pornographic litera-

ingly and wilfully carrying out an act that

ture. We regularly monitored the weekly

would be offensive to a normal sense of

markets and the book shops which we

shame under the given circumstances. It

believed were of “dubious character” (...).

concerns the public display of personal

In the shop windows of these kinds of

intimate body parts. An example of this

businesses, there were usually “obscure”

would be an exhibitionist who exposes

weekly magazines with the breasts of

himself alongside the road or reveals his

seductive-looking young ladies carefully

genitals in a train compartment. This is

taped-over with strips that you couldn’t

a clear case, but the boundary of what

see through. If the “censorship tape”

a normal sense of shame can tolerate

dropped slightly, the shopkeeper was in

is not etched in stone; in all likelihood,

for a serious warning at the very least.’

people in 1886 would have had different

(Blaauw, 2004).

Having said that, there are no regulations in Dutch law that literally include the words ‘honour killings’ or honour-related violence’. The relationship between honour and Dutch law is mainly about the problem of vigilantism. What is the link between honour-related issues and taking the law into one’s own hands? Overview 2.1 outlines this.

71

Focus on honour

Overview 2.1

72

Honour violation and restoration with respect to Dutch law Honour violation not Honour violation involving violation of involving violation the law of the law

Honour restoration not involving violation of the law Honour restoration involving violation of the law

Case I

Case IIII

Case II

Case IV

Source: Janssen, 2009a.

The following simplified examples – Cases I to IV – clarify the overview: suppose an unmarried woman falls in love – Case I – enters into a relationship and falls pregnant. Her family is outraged by this. She then goes on to voluntarily marry the father of her child, which in the eyes of her family ‘erases’ the shame. Dutch law has not been compromised. This is not the case in Case II: suppose a married woman has an affair with a man who is also married. People find out about the affair and the family members concerned decide to get rid of the lovers. Affront to honour in this case leads to attempted murder. In Case III, Dutch law is also jeopardised: after being raped, a woman decides that she can no longer live with this shame and kills herself. In Case IV, Dutch law is compromised twice, both during the violation and the restoration of honour. An example: a young woman is raped. Her family decides not to put up with this shame and kills the rapist (Janssen, 2009a). When does this constitute vigilante justice? Vigilante justice is mainly evident in Case II and Case IV. In both cases, citizens take the law into their own hands. This simple overview teaches us another important lesson: honour-related violence not only involves vigilante justice. Some affronts to honour are in itself contrary to (legal) norms in the Netherlands even before vigilante justice has taken place. That is the case in Case III. In the textbox in Section 1.2.1 is stated that by explaining to police officers that honour-based- violence is a form of citizens taking the law into their own hands, support is gained for the notion that dealing with honour-based violence is police work. Vigilantism is unacceptable. What also helps convincing police officers that dealing with this particular form of vigilantism is regular police work, is the sympathy for the victims involved (Haas, 2010; Bosch, 2013). In the Netherlands, there is not much understanding for restricting free choice when it comes to choosing a partner. Being a virgin when entering into marriage is also not valued as much as it is by those involved in police cases. The same applies to the other bones of contention that are given as examples in this book (see also Chapter 3).

2 Fa m i l i a r p e r s p e c t i ve s o n h o n o u r a n d v i o l e n c e

Rape in times of war Vigilantism is an important factor dur-

how grave and long term the impact of

ing times of war when the state does not

this violence is on the good name of the

function properly, if at all. If the chances of

families. For instance, a Dinka woman

getting punished and convicted are slim

from South Sudan recalls, ‘We often give

or non-existent, then the most heinous

our children a name that refers to the

crimes are committed and retaliations

situation in which they were born, but I

ensue. In 1975 the American feminist, Susan

did not give my daughter a special name

Brownmiller, published the classic Against

so that no one could link her to the way

Our Will: Men, Women and Rape. In her

she was conceived. If other Dinka people

influential study, she calls into question the

were to find out how she was conceived

widespread view prevailing at the time,

through rape, they would give her a name

namely that women who become victims

that refers to that rape. Everyone would

of rape ask for it. Based on examples of

then immediately know the history. If my

rape in wartime, Brownmiller shows that

daughter misbehaves even once in her

rape is not so much a crime driven by lust

life, then other people will say that there

and the lure of female beauty. Instead it

is something wrong with her family. There

is primarily an expression of a desire for

was something going on with her mother

violence and power. Men will of course

because she was raped, and you can also

be genuinely concerned if their wives or

see that there is something the matter

daughters are raped, but there is an extra

with the daughter. Like mother like daugh-

dimension for men who are defeated in

ter. It would be difficult to find someone

war. Because if men derive their pride and

who was willing to marry her. My other

sense of honour from the extent to which

children would also face problems. Even

they are able to protect their wives and

my grandchildren could be confronted

daughters, then humiliation is complete

with it’ (Tankink, 2009: p. 19). Research

when victorious soldiers rape their wives

into children born of rape during wartime

and daughters. Rape is then a message

shows that besides having to contend with

from one man to another: ‘I won and you

contempt from the community, develop-

lost’. Unfortunately rape in times of war is

ing a parent-child relationship is often also

by no means a thing of the past. A study

difficult. It goes without saying that this

conducted in 2009 by medical anthro-

can have a negative effect on the psycho-

pologist, Marian Tankink, shows that

logical development of these children. For

women who fled to the Netherlands from

instance, they may develop attachment

Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and

disorders or develop problems with their

South Sudan recounted the sexual vio-

sense of self-esteem and the image they

lence they experienced in these conflicts.

have of themselves (Van Ee & Kleber, 2012,

It is painfully clear from the interviews

2013; Van Ee, 2014).

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Focus on honour

2.3

2.3.1

74

The anthropological perspective

Anthropologists in the Mediterranean area

Link to state formation In the previous section, Elias’s civilisation theory was discussed in detail and a link was made between interdependence, the process of internalisation of norms, the process of state formation, and the fall in the number of murders and homicides. It is striking that many classic anthropological studies focus on studying codes of honour in mainly rural communities that are usually situated some distance from the heart of the state (for instance, Bourdieu, 1965; Campbell, 1964; Blok, 1974; Jamous, 1992). A feature of many communities that anthropologists describe is that the members are heavily dependent on one another and maintain direct contact with one another (Peristiany, 1966). In other words, they cannot automatically turn to the government for conflict resolution because the government’s influence does not stretch that far in the more peripheral areas. Pinker (2011) even suggests that the decline of murders and homicides through government intervention is so self-evident to many anthropologists that they do not even bother to support that assumption with figures. He refers to an overview from the anthropologists Ericksen and Horton (1992). They examined 192 old studies and concluded that violence in the form of revenge between individuals was primarily something that occurred among hunters and gatherers, and that vigilante justice in family circles was prominent in groups that the government had no authority over.

Two sides of the Mediterranean area Where the civilisation theory focused on European history, anthropologists seem to have a broader geographical interest. Chapter 1 explains that, in the Netherlands, honour-related cases were initially linked to studies about the migration of communities with roots in Turkey.

2 Fa m i l i a r p e r s p e c t i ve s o n h o n o u r a n d v i o l e n c e

Primary and secondary cultural conflicts In the 1930s, a Sicilian father in New Jer-

studied in the United States, saw a connec-

sey killed a boy of only 16 years. The man

tion between migration and the occurrence

decided to carry out this dramatic act

of such conflicts. Sellin also distinguished

because the young man had seduced his

secondary conflicts that occur within a cul-

daughter. This jeopardised the family hon-

ture. He realised that cultures are not etched

our and so the father restored it according

in stone; instead they are subject to change.

to old Sicilian custom. So, the man was

An important factor in this is the process

very surprised when he was subsequently

of social differentiation. This term refers to

arrested in the United States. He did not

the different opinions and types of behav-

see that coming. Surely, he was well within

iour that arise over time in a more or less

his rights? In 1938, the criminologist Sellin

homogeneous group or culture. These dif-

wrote that this case was a typical example

ferences can become a breeding ground for

of a primary cultural conflict. By that he

conflicts within a culture. An example of this

meant a conflict between the norms of two

would-be differences in opinion between,

cultures, in this case Sicilian and American.

for example, generations, the less educated

Sellin, who emigrated as a teenager with his

and the highly educated or between the

parents from Sweden to Canada and then

poor and the rich.

Much has been written about honour and violence on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the areas that are mainly Muslim, such as the Rif area in Morocco (Jamous, 1992), and Algeria (Bourdieu, 1965). Those who are interested in reading not only about the North African coast, but also about honour on the rest of the African continent, should read Iliffe, 2005. However, there have also been a number of important studies about honour and violence in communities on the other side of the Mediterranean, for instance, about Greece, Spain and Italy (see, for instance, Campbell, 1964; Pitt-Rivers, 1966; Blok, 1974, 1980, 2001). That said, there is no such thing as ‘the’ Mediterranean area (Gillmore, 1987; Stewart, 1994). The point here, however, is to make it clear that honour codes also have a place in Western societies (Janssen & Van den Bergh, 2009) and that it is not a typical aspect of Muslim cultures (see also Section 2.4.2).

75

Focus on honour

76

Western thinkers on honour Numerous Western thinkers have pon-

100 BC, Cicero wrote about honour and, in

dered the question of what honour is and

1300 AD, the philosopher and theologian

what purpose it serves. It would go beyond

Thomas of Aquinas considered the concept

the scope of this work to examine all the

of honour. For the rest, many thinkers from

opinions, similarities and differences in

more recent times have committed their

detail, but it is good to see how many

views on honour to paper: Montaigne (1533-

major thinkers have devoted thoughts

1592), Bacon (1561-1626), Hobbes (1588-1679),

to honour, and this overview is definitely

Descartes (1596-1650), Montesquieu (1689-

not exhaustive. Around 400 years BC, the

1755), Diderot (1713-1784), Rousseau (1712-

Greek philosopher Aristotle started look-

1778), Kant (1724-1804) and Schopenhauer

ing for a definition of honour. In around

(1788-1860) (Janssen, 2009a).

2.3.2

Honour through the eyes of anthropologists

Aspects to be considered when studying codes of honour Elias’s ideas are not strange to anthropologists. Though, whereas Elias arrived at a theory about state formation at macro level based on an analysis of etiquette rules to do with nose-blowing, the work of anthropologists cited here mainly related to the analysis of life in groups in society, i.e. the meso level. In the process, the following emphases were placed in the study of honour codes: • Physical strength and masculinity We noted in the previous section how Spierenburg spoke of the spiritualisation of honour, with the link between physical strength and honour weakening in the course of history in the West, yet it is noticeable that many anthropological studies emphasise that there is a significant correlation between honour and physical strength (Pitt-Rivers, 1966, 1968; Block, 1980, 2001). For men, in particular, physical strength and virility evidently go hand in hand. Relatively little is said on the subject of women and honour in the classic studies. Women are often described as a means for men to derive honour, but not as group members who themselves have their own honour. This point of view has been criticised, especially from a feminist angle, and later research shows that women definitely prove that they also have honour (Van Eck, 2001, 2003b). Given the importance of the theme of the relationship between honour and social expectations of men and women, special attention is paid to this aspect in Section 2.4.1. These opinions are partly influenced by religion (see also Section 2.4.2).

2 Fa m i l i a r p e r s p e c t i ve s o n h o n o u r a n d v i o l e n c e

Cuckolds If it gets out that someone has commit-

saw for myself when I lived for a few years

ted adultery, this leads to serious loss of

in a Sicilian mountain village (see Blok

honour. Specific swear words are used to

1974). Billy goats get lazy if they’re on their

describe this kind of dishonour (Heester-

own with the herd. Which is why the goat

mans, 2003). Men who have been cheated

herders keep more than one billy goat so

on in this way are called ‘el cornudo’, i.e.

that all the nanny goats are covered. In this

horned one, in the Mediterranean Sea

respect, the billy goat is in strong contrast

region and in South America. Cuckolds in

to another familiar bearer of horns in this

plain English. The anthropologist Anton

region, namely the ram. Unlike billy goats,

Block wondered what this reference to

rams do not tolerate any rivals. When

horns was all about. He discovered that it

the animals mate, the ram distinguishes

refers exclusively to the horns of a particu-

itself through its fierceness and potency.

lar animal, namely the goat: ‘As is the case

The herders have to keep a close eye on

with the cheated husband, goats tolerate

the size of the herd to stop the rams from

rivals. Even in small herds, billy goats let

fighting with one another’ (Blok, 1980:

other males cover the nanny goats, as I

p. 220).

• Social position Is it possible to have honour if you live on a deserted island? This question cannot be answered with a resounding ‘yes’. Honour is the value of a person in his own eyes, but also in the eyes of his society (Pitt-Rivers, 1966, 1968). In the West, having honour is often viewed as an individual achievement. In his work on communication, for instance, Eppink (1986) addresses the ‘me cultures’ in which the individual and the content of the messages to be conveyed are key. In a ‘we culture’, on the other hand, it is all about the group. That means that when communicating in this kind of culture it is less about the content and more about the way in which groups address one another based on that ‘we feeling’. Hofstede (2001), who was mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, frequently uses the terms ‘individualism’ and ‘collectivism’ in his work on cultural differences. It will probably not be surprising that Western societies are usually considered individualistic or ‘me cultures’, while non-Western societies belong to the collectivist or ‘we cultures’, and that this has an effect on the way in which honour and violations are experienced. (See, for instance, Rodriguez Mosquera et al., 2008.) Wherever honour plays an important role in a group, loss of honour has grave consequences for membership of and the position in the group.

77

Focus on honour

78

Farewell letter in the shelter A young girl is housed in a safe place

despite everything, I will return to my fam-

after turmoil ensued in the family when

ily, because if I stay here things will only get

they found out that she had a boyfriend.

worse between us. I want to do everything

Although she is glad that she has been

I can to restore my bond with my family. It

offered a helping hand, she misses her

won’t be easy straight away. But if I’m with

family terribly. So, she decides to leave

them, they will forgive me for the shame

the shelter. She leaves a poignant farewell

that I have brought on them. My family will

letter for the staff at the shelter: ‘Dear care

surely accept me for how I am. P.S. Please

workers. I would like to thank you very

can you bring my things back to my family.

much for the help and advice that you have

Thank you in advance. I am sticking with

given me. But I can’t stay here any longer.

this decision. My family is more important

My family is very important to me. I believe

than my boyfriend. I would rather end the

my parents. And I accept what my family

relationship with my boyfriend than with

wants. I will never be able to live happily

my parents and family. Lots of love. Thank

without my family. I have decided that,

you for everything, truly.’

So, to have honour, an individual also needs others, and that brings us to the position in society. In Pitt-Rivers’ opinion, status does indeed make a difference (1966). High-ranking people are in a better position to withdraw from view. This book is primarily about honour in the family context. Does it make any difference whether it concerns rich people or poor people, for instance? If someone falls ill or loses his or her job because of bankruptcy and can no longer work, it does not constitute misconduct that could lead to a violation of family honour. A family with more material resources usually has more opportunities to use relatively costly solutions to resolve an honour-related conflict, for instance, by moving away or by covering up an issue (Ermers, 2007). However, we also know that differences in social positions may involve differences in opinions on honour codes. For instance, different honour-related beliefs apply to the nobility. Duelling was permitted in this social class for a long time (see, among others, Janssen, 1998; Yeşilgöz & Harchaoui, 2003; Spierenburg, 2008; Speitkamp, 2010; Matthey, 2012; Ten Voorde, 2014), whereas it was not permitted in the lower echelons of society (see, for instance, Gietman, 2011). In the southern states of America, slaves were even excluded from the local honour culture (Nisbet & Cohen, 1996.) (On exclusion and honour, see also Jasch, 2012; Groenemeyer, 2005.)

2 Fa m i l i a r p e r s p e c t i ve s o n h o n o u r a n d v i o l e n c e

Cross of Iron The war movie Cross of Iron from 1977

a better chance of getting that honour-

prompts the viewer to think about the

able distinction for bravery in the east.

relationship between honour and social

It is, however, bizarre that even though

positions. The story unfolds among Wehr-

Stransky no longer believes that the war

macht soldiers on the Eastern Front in

will have a positive outcome for Germany,

1943. When Corporal Steiner – portrayed

and he also turns his nose up at a man like

by James Coburn – returns from a patrol,

Hitler who cannot pride himself on elite

he meets Captain Stransky – a role played

origins, he is still fully committed to get-

by Maximilian Schell – for the first time.

ting that award. After the war, his class will

Stransky is the new commanding officer.

still be in control in Germany, and then at

Things immediately go wrong between

least he will have a visible decoration for

the two men after Stransky orders Steiner

bravery to show his community. He even

to execute a Russian child soldier. Steiner

goes as far as to lie about his actions at the

does not carry out the order and so

front. Whether or not he gets his highly

conflicts keep presenting themselves.

coveted Iron Cross depends on Steiner’s

Underlying the poor relationship between

testimony. But Steiner is reluctant to lie

the two men are their totally different

for the captain he hates so much. Steiner,

perceptions of humanity. Stransky comes

who has already been distinguished with

from an aristocratic family from Prus-

the Iron Cross, is from simple origins and

sia. He is convinced that he is a superior

in the final scene he makes it abundantly

person because he comes from a socially

clear to Stransky that talent, sensitivity and

privileged class. But obligations come

character are not reserved exclusively for

with that background: he must uphold the

the upper class. After all, in German his-

honour of his position in society. He left

tory there have been many major thinkers

France and went to the Eastern Front for

whose roots are not in the upper echelons

that reason, i.e. because he could not face

of society. To Steiner, honour is not tied

his family without an Iron Cross. He had

to class.

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Focus on honour

Cultures change Finally, in this section on the views of anthropologists, there is another important nuance, namely that cultures are not static, instead they are subject to change. Some developments are rapid. The village well is not the only place where family secrets can be leaked these days. Here we have in mind the advent of modern media. Honour and television The 19-year-old Mutlu Kaya received

it be known that he was worried about

death threats because she took part

his daughter and was relying on Can’s

in Sesi Cok Guzel, the Turkish version of

support. Unfortunately, his concerns

Holland’s Got Talent. Participating in a

were well founded. On 18 May 2015, the

show on the national television was not

Turkish newspaper Hürriyet reported

deemed to be appropriate behaviour

that Mutlu had been shot in the head.

for this young woman. Sibel Can, a well-

Mutlu’s story spread across the whole

known Turkish singer who put herself

world. On 25 June, The Mirror reported

forward as Mutlu’s coach for the talent

that she had since come out of her coma

contest, assured the young woman of

and that her ex-boyfriend had been

her support and encouraged her to make

arrested on suspicion of attempted

her dream come true. Mutlu’s father let

murder.

Unfortunately, numerous honour-related conflicts are reported online. Cyberspace has given a new dimension to honour-related violence, because images and messages that are perceived as violations of honour are extremely difficult to remove from the internet. That means that it is difficult to remove the sting of an honour-related conflict (Janssen et al., 2011). Hacking and GPS A relative comes to a police station to

extending the control that he has over his

report that she is very concerned about

wife. For instance, he is tracing her move-

a couple in her family. The family is

ments by hacking her phone and using

originally from the Middle East. The wife

GPS to find out where she has been. He is

wants a divorce, but her husband will not

always looking for evidence of adultery

entertain the idea. This situation has been

on her part. He threatens to show the

going on for several years. The husband is

family evidence as soon as he finds it.

2 Fa m i l i a r p e r s p e c t i ve s o n h o n o u r a n d v i o l e n c e

Nintendo medal In the twilight of his days as minister of

American army who have suffered serious

defence in the United States, Leon Panetta

wounds in combat or who have even lost

announced a new military distinction:

their lives. From a military point of view,

The Distinguished Warfare Medal for

while there may be recognition for the

drone pilots (ABC News, 6 March 2003).

value of the contribution that modern

He aimed high for this decoration, higher

technology has made to military cam-

than the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

paigns, the commotion arose as a result

American veterans reacted angrily to the

of the issue of the integrity of these acts

introduction of this ‘Nintendo medal’, as

of war. The dispute about this raged on

it was scornfully referred to. To be eligible

for years and ultimately the decoration,

for the Bronze Star, American soldiers

as it was initially conceived, was cancelled.

have to distinguish themselves in battle

Nevertheless, the ‘Nintendo medal’ did

by, for instance, rescuing a comrade while

give important impetus to the debate on

endangering their own lives. The Purple

the appreciation and honouring of military

Heart is awarded to people serving in the

efforts.

Trends related to cultural change are often difficult to explain. For instance, research conducted among young people of Turkish descent in pre-vocational secondary education in major Dutch cities has shown that perceptions about honour and honour-related violence are still quite persistent (De Boer & Jansen, 2009). However, other research carried out in the Netherlands among young people from various ethnic groups shows that education can influence perceptions of honour (Cihangir, 2012). Mirdal (2006) interviewed a few dozen women in Denmark, leaving a twenty-year interval between the sets of interviews. These women of predominantly Turkish origin still valued certain ideas about honourable behaviour and the role of women. Having said that, it was noticeable in the last set of interviews that the women had also started attaching importance to their socio-economic position in Denmark. Whereas twenty years ago, it was still considered a violation of good morals to send daughters to school, during the most recent interview it was considered a disgrace not to.

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Focus on honour

Lessons from the Kwakiutl: the difference between originating and continuing a custom In the first year of studying cultural anthro-

to immobilise children by tying them to

pology, I was taught by Wouter van Beek,

planks. But now it was no longer a matter

a well-known anthropologist who earned

of safety, it was done for the stylistic effect:

his spurs with his research in various parts

the deformed heads were found beauti-

of Africa. In one of his introductory lectures,

ful and something really characteristic of

he spoke of the Kwakiutl, Indian people liv-

the Kwakiutl. So, a matter of secondary

ing in the north of Vancouver Island in Can-

importance became the main point. I have

ada. Originally, these people used to live

remembered this story that I heard for the

on houses built on stilts. For adults, it was

first time more than twenty years ago, and

a great living environment, but for small

not only because Van Beek recounted it so

children it was not without its hazards.

well. To me the story was a real eye opener,

The thought that their brood could tumble

because it is a beautiful illustration of the

many metres gave many Kwakiutl parents

insight that the reason why a custom arises

sleepless nights. That said, these people

does not necessarily have to be the same

were quite sensible. By tying their young-

reason why a custom persists. In this chap-

sters to planks – similar to the function of a

ter, the emphasis has been firmly placed

playpen in Europe – they were able to pre-

on the emergence of states as a brake

vent any nasty accidents. An unintended

on vigilante justice. In modern states like

side effect of this safety measure was that it

the Netherlands violence perpetrated in

changed the shape of their heads. As time

the name of honour is still committed to

went by, and among other things due to

this day. We could learn a lesson from the

the increase in population, the Kwakiutl

Kwakiutl story, namely that people persist

moved to other areas on the mainland

with certain things because they feel that

and pole dwellings were no longer there

it is something that is part of them. In other

standard housing. Yet they continued

words, it is a matter of identity.

2.4

2.4.1

Elaboration

Gender and honour

One-sided explanation of the term ‘gender’ In the 1970s, more and more caveats were placed on the idea that differences between men and women could primarily be explained and understood as being biological. How men and women behaved or were expected to behave was not only a matter of biology, it also involved social codes and the norms underlying them. A new term was sought to express the difference between biological sex and its social interpretation, and that term became ‘gender’ (Althoff

2 Fa m i l i a r p e r s p e c t i ve s o n h o n o u r a n d v i o l e n c e

& Janssen, 2013). Thapar-Björkert, a critical author on the subject of honourrelated violence, pointed out that in this field the term gender is often used in a one-sided and narrow way by linking it to women only, and more specifically to female victimisation (Thapar-Björkert, 2007). However, we read hardly anything about women who actively commit violence themselves or encourage others to commit violence in the name of honour (see also Eldén, 2011), despite the fact that criminological research shows that they are out there (Irwin & Adler, 2012; Althoff, 2014). When the involvement of men is described, the emphasis is firmly on being an offender and hardly ever, if at all, on victimisation (Janssen & Sanberg, 2013b).

Men can be victims too The Dutch philosopher Prins once said that it seems as though migrant women have problems and that migrant men make problems (Prins, 2000; see also Razack, 2004). So, when various cases involving men as the victims of violence are made known, not only to the LEC EGG, but also from the pilot project that preceded the establishment of the centre, this is often greeted with astonishment. The final report on the pilot project compiled by the police describes 40 cases involving 42 victims, including eight men; these cases occurred during the period from October 2005 to February 2006. Two of the victims, one man and one woman, were killed (Janssen 2006). In an analysis of fifty threats made in 2006, it emerged that five men were victims. In an analysis of eleven cases with a fatal outcome (including suicide) also from 2006, six of the victims were men (Janssen & Sanberg, 2010b). Woman fatally shoots her lover A married woman of Turkish descent has

she puts an end to her affair. Eventually

a lover. When her husband starts to sus-

she fatally shoots her lover. According to

pect that his wife is having an affair, he

the woman, her husband forced her to kill

becomes suspicious and angry. He abuses

her lover. She was, as it were, the murder

and threatens his wife. He demands that

weapon in her husband’s hands.

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84

The fact that the police are familiar with cases in which men are victims of honour-related violence raises questions: is victimisation just as common among men as it is among women? Is victimisation identical for men and women? Leaving a husband A married female of Turkish descent

husband’s passport so that he can no

would like to end her marriage. In

longer leave the country. So, what she is

order to marry her, her husband

trying to do, in fact, is to leave him behind.

moved from Turkey to the Netherlands.

But her plan fails, because her husband has

When they are on holiday together in

since been granted a residence permit in

Turkey, the woman decides to take her

his own right.

The literature does not provide many answers. Many authors settle the issue of male victimisation by announcing that men can also be victims, but often they do not delve deeper into the issue (see, for instance, Appiah, 2010; Oberwittler & Kasselt, 2011). However, some authors do specifically discuss the experiences that men have with honour-related violence. Inspired by the fact that so little is known about men, Broom et al. (2012) conducted a survey among one thousand men in India. This was the first survey in the country that investigated the experiences of men who had undergone violence in their family and with relatives, that was due to honour codes. One of the research findings was that the higher the level of education and income, the lower the chances of violence within the family, with relatives or with honour as the motive. Thapar-Björkert (2007) distinguishes various ways in which men may become victims of honour-related violence: men may compromise family honour by getting caught stealing, for instance. In the Dutch approach, such non-sexual issues are beyond the scope of the policy aimed at addressing honour-related violence because the working definition outlined previously is limited to moral and family contexts. Men can also get into trouble because they have a relationship with a female victim, for example, in an adulterous relationship or if there is a dispute about choice of partner, as previously mentioned in the examples. For the rest, Thapar-Björkert mentions various kinds of group pressure exerted on male relatives. This could involve the pressure to marry a particular partner, but also the pressure to use fatal violence on someone who violates honour in order to restore the family’s reputation. However, the opinions are divided as to whether men who actually use fatal violence in such a situation should still be considered victims. Another example of group pressure is that men have to carry the can for violence committed by another person. For the family, for example, it is ‘more prudent’ for

2 Fa m i l i a r p e r s p e c t i ve s o n h o n o u r a n d v i o l e n c e

a young man without children or work to take the possible punishment than a pater familias with a job that provides the much-needed income. Group pressure may also result in victimisation if men are dependent on their in-laws. This is sometimes the case for sons-in-law who run the risk of being financially exploited and emotionally suppressed. For the rest, Thapar-Björkert links the sexual orientation of men to being victims of violence in the name of honour. By being openly homosexual, men display behaviour that is viewed as the equivalent of the sexually unacceptable behaviour of women and girls in communities adhering to honour-related notions (see also Yip, 2004; Janssen, 2015b). Dutch literature on honour and violence also describes the kinds of male victimisation mentioned by Thapar-Björkert (see, for instance, Van Eck 2001; Gezik 2003; Van der Torre & Schaap, 2005; Terpstra & Van Dijk, 2006; Metin et al., 2006; Van Aalst & Johannink, 2007; Brenninkmeijer et al., 2009; Wilmink et al., 2009).

No symmetry The fact that we are aware of examples of male victims of honour codes does not mean that violence in the name of honour is the same for men as it is for women. For instance, the starting position of men and women is often different: men are often more independent socially and economically than women are. As a result, they have more opportunities to get away with dishonourable behaviour or to find a way out of a problematic situation on their own (see, for instance, Welchman & Hossain, 2005; Thapar-Björkert 2007). Based on years of experience in the field as a police officer tackling honour-related cases, head of the LEC EGG Chief Constable Willem Timmer has come to the conclusion that it is also easier for men to find refuge if they are threatened. For a woman, the road to finding shelter is often rockier because she has children, has not mastered the language. Moreover, in the community, they tend to be more suspicious of women who temporarily stay out of reach of their families. Do indecent things never happen in shelters (Wikström & Ghazinour, 2010)? After all, the women staying there have withdrawn themselves from the supervision of their own families. As far as this goes, men have more room to manoeuvre. Another difference between men and women concerns claiming victimisation, which is important if one wants to be eligible for all kinds of assistance, such as access to a shelter. Portraying oneself as a victim seems to be more difficult for men socially. Literature on victimology shows that it is not easy for men to claim victim status. Victimhood is not usually in line with the dominant image of how a man should behave. The saying ‘big boys don’t cry’ is perfectly in line with that image of masculinity (Kooistra, 2006; Davies, 2007). It can manifest itself through the ridiculing of men who take on the role of a victim.

85

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86

These examples illustrate that in reality men can also become victims of violence in the name of honour and this does not necessarily mean that the behaviour of men and women in this respect is ‘symmetrical’. The term ‘symmetry’ has its roots in an important debate currently being discussed by researchers in the field of domestic violence. Some argue that there is such a thing as gender asymmetry, i.e. men are typically perpetrators of this type of violence and women are victims. Motives are sought as to the opportunities that men have to dominate and control women (see, for instance, Dobash & Dobash, 1979; Römkes, 2010). Other researchers, on the other hand, assume that there is gender symmetry, and that men and women suffer aggression just as often (see, for instance, Dutton et al., 2010). Although globally there are relatively few statistics on honour-related violence and there is no doubt a dark figure – Chapter 7 will discuss this in more detail – there seems to be no symmetry in honourrelated cases.

The complex relationship between culture and gender Explaining honour-related violence from a cultural perspective often goes hand in hand with notions about gender. Several lines of reasoning can be distinguished within the literature. For instance, we see the underlying thought that certain cultural communities, whereby a patriarchal system prevails, negatively affect and restrict women’s positions and social roles. Violence in the name of honour is then an expression of that inequality (see, for instance, Gill, 2009). Another line of argument stresses that, under the pretext of multiculturalism, Western governments are apparently ignoring the violence of men against women in ethnic minority communities: ‘It’s their culture, so we’re not getting involved’ (Thapar-Björkert, 2007; see also Beckett & Macey, 2001; Moller Okin, 1999). To Dutch readers, this line of reasoning may come across as rather bold and assertive. However, beyond the West it is often suggested that, by linking honour-related violence to specific non-Western cultures or ethnic groups, Westerners make it someone else’s problem, something that is not a factor in their own society (Thapar-Björkert, 2007; Welchman & Hossain, 2005). This brings with it a risk of paternalistic interventions and the demonising of certain communities, and the men in those communities in particular. The work of organisations in non-Western countries committed to preventing and addressing violence is also being made difficult because conservative opponents accuse them of allowing Western countries to exploit them for their own ‘post-colonial’ purposes or even of promoting wicked Western and/or Christian morals (Welchman & Hossain, 2005; Naher, 2010; see also Abu-Lughod, 2002; Jakimow, 2011). From this perspective, it is considered more prudent to speak

2 Fa m i l i a r p e r s p e c t i ve s o n h o n o u r a n d v i o l e n c e

of ‘violence against women’ instead of ‘honour-related violence’ because ‘violence against women’ occurs all over the world. Another argument for replacing the term ‘honour-related violence’ is that there is little honour to be gained from this kind of aggression (Sen, 2005; Welchman & Hossain, 2005; ThaparBjörkert, 2007; Meetoo & Mirza, 2007; Reddy, 2008; Ouis, 2009; Zuhur, 2009; Gill, 2013; Elakkary et al., 2014; Payton, 2014). In this respect, check Section 1.2.1 to see what is said about masculine pride. In addition, in the Netherlands it is acknowledged that the term ‘honour-related violence’ is not a good advocate for the positive aspects of honour. When a programme on prevention was launched in 2007 to make honour-related violence a subject for discussion in the communities concerned and to offer alternative types of behaviour, this project was given the following quite telling name: ‘On the good side of honour’. Finally, we see that, in literature on feminism and ethnicity, references are regularly made to the one-sided way in which women of migrant origin in particular are presented as passive and weak-willed victims in multi-ethnic society (see, for instance, Prins & Saharso, 2008; Lalmahomed, 2012). Ghorashi (2006) claims, ‘The dominant discourse on ethnic minorities has always had a clear gender component, but it has become much more explicit in current discussions and current policies. The impression of migrants from Muslim countries in particular is that women from ethnic minorities are suppressed by their culture and especially by their men. Within this image, men are seen as aggressors and women as passive.’ Moreover, the cultural background is offering little by way of solving this issue of violence. From this perspective, the violence will in fact only disappear if that specific culture disappears (Withaeckx & Coene, 2011). The stigma of passive, subordinated women from the east, who modern Westerners must save from their oppressive men, is not new and is typified as colonial feminism. This is not only stigmatising for women but also for men: they are depicted as the villains (Pratt Ewing, 2008, also see Mouthaan & De Neef, 1992; Yerden, 2001).

87

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Focus on honour

Giving women a voice Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak is an influential

gic parody, ‘These wives wanted to die’.

thinker on the subject of post-colonial

Although these statements are diametri-

studies. Based on the description of the

cally opposed, they are both inextricably

ritual of widow immolation practised in

linked to the legacy of the colonial past.

India, which the colonial rulers at the time

Furthermore, these statements are about

forbade, she shows how difficult it is to

women; we do not hear anything directly

give a voice to the victims of this practice.

from the women themselves. Historical

On the one hand, there are people who

research, for instance, based on police

see an example of what Spivak calls ‘white

reports or other documents from colonial

men saving brown women from brown

times, has shown that unfortunately we are

men’ in this British interference in the aboli-

unlikely to get a clearer picture of the views

tion of this ritual. In contrast, the Indian

of these women. Symptomatically, the

angle was put forward in the following

names of the victims are spelt incorrectly

statement, one that Spivak calls a nostal-

(Spivak, 1993).

2.4.2

Religion and honour

Which religion? Before considering which aspects of religion play a role in honour-related violence, an important issue must be discussed. The cases brought to the attention of the LEC EGG often concern problems within Muslim families, but that does not detract from the fact that the centre, also knows of numerous examples of honour-related disputes among Christians and Hindus, for instance. When examining the relationship between religion and codes of honour in this section, the focus will principally be on Islam because, in the public debate, this religion is often linked to various kinds of violence, including honour-related cases (Yussuf, 1999; Van Stokkom, 2007; Korteweg & Yurdakul, 2009; Doğan, 2011; Fildis, 2013; Janssen, 2013b).

2 Fa m i l i a r p e r s p e c t i ve s o n h o n o u r a n d v i o l e n c e

The rape of Dinah There is an ancient story about honour-

between their families be possible and will

related violence in the Old Testament. It

they be able to become one people. Hamor

is the account of the rape of Dinah. When

and Shechem agree to this. On returning

this young woman, Leah and Jacob’s

to their own people, they started count-

daughter, catches the eye of Shechem, one

ing their chickens before they hatched,

of the sons of Hamor, the ruler of the area

because they figured that once they were

in which they live, Shechem is overcome

related by marriage to Jacob’s family, they

with passion and rapes her. But because

would be able to profit from their livestock

he is in love with her, he tries to win her for

herds and other possessions. And so, all

himself. He tells his father that he wants to

the men had themselves circumcised. But

marry Dinah. Jacob has since learnt that

three days later, when all the men are still

his daughter has been raped. He had not

suffering with fevers from this procedure,

taken any action because his sons were

Simeon and Levi, two of Dinah’s brothers,

working in the fields at the time. When

attack the city and kill not only Hamor and

they hear what has happened, they are

Shechem but all the men. Jacob does not

furious. When Hamor and Shechem go to

support his sons’ action and accuses them

the family to ask for Dinah’s hand and to

of bringing misfortune upon him. How was

arrange other marriages between the two

he meant to protect his family if the inhab-

families, Jacob’s sons are deceitful. They

itants of the land joined forces and rose up

claim that they cannot allow their sister or

against them? But the sons do not share his

other women from their family to marry

opinion and answer their father’s question

uncircumcised men. Only if they are pre-

with a question: ‘Should we have treated

pared to get circumcised will the marriages

our sister like a prostitute?’ (Genesis 34: 1-31)

Geertz’s formula ‘Geertz’s formula’ is frequently referred to in academic research on religion (Kuijper, 2008). According to the anthropologist Geertz (1966), religion gives believers an explanation of the world whilst also providing a framework of rules on how to conduct oneself in this world. In summary, religion is a model of and a model for the world. This formula is primarily about norms, values and rules of life. Furthermore, research into religion focuses on types of social organisations that regulate religious communities. Examples in this respect would be a church, synagogue or mosque where a particular religious doctrine and related rules of life are promoted, and where believers also have a specific place to convene or to seek help or assistance (Janssen, 2013b).

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90

Islam and rules of life Let’s begin with the most important text for Muslims: the Qur’an. What does the Qur’an say about violence and honour? The Qur’an does not refer specifically to ‘honour killings’ or ‘honour-related’ violence. These terms are not to be found in the holy book (Akgunduz, 2004). However, there are references to ‘retaliation’ (178:173), which is similar to the biblical principle of ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’. But no direct justification for violence in the name of honour is to be found in the Muslim holy scripture. From the cases that are submitted to LEC EGG, the grounds for a conflict are often rooted in matters such as choosing or leaving a partner, and sexuality and extramarital pregnancies (see also the following chapter). The Qur’an does have something to say about the relationships between men and women and how they are governed. Grounds for discussion can often been found in these verses (for instance, 4:34) (Kausar et al., 2011). Here it is stated that Men are in charge of women by [right of ] what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband's] absence what Allah would have them guard. But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance – [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them. But if they obey you [once more], seek no means against them. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand. The question is: who are ‘protectors’? What should we think of ‘disobey’ and – last but not least – how far can one go with beating? There are no unequivocal answers to these questions; interpretations about gender relations abound. On the one hand, the text is taken literally, but there are also Muslim scholars that point out that the time and place in which the text was recorded should be taken into account. Seventh-century Arabic society simply cannot be compared to today (Kausar et al., 2011). This variation in interpretation of life rules – from absolute and literal to relativistic, in the sense of social change – plays a role in other texts from the Qur’an and in traditions in Hadith texts about indecent acts and entering into marriage (4:3, 2:232) and adultery (24:2) (Yussuf, 1999). In the discussion about the Qur’an’s role in violence in the name of honour, verses on the relationships between men and woman are not the only ones cited (see also Wadud, 2004; Azough et al., 2007; Jafri, 2008; Mazher Idriss & Abbas, 2011). The Qur’an is also cited to condemn taking the law into one’s own hands (5:32 and 6:151) (Yussuf, 1999; Van Eck, 2001, 2003b; Akgunduz, 2004). (In this context, see the ‘Cultural defence’ textbox in Section 5.1.2). When talking about Islam as a model for how the world is and the rules of life that follow that vision, we must realise that Islam’s influence on the thinking and life of Muslims is not strictly limited to what is recorded in holy texts. For

2 Fa m i l i a r p e r s p e c t i ve s o n h o n o u r a n d v i o l e n c e

instance, there are countries in which we know that both Islam and cultural codes of honour play an important role. Nevertheless, from a chronological and historical point of view, those codes already existed before the arrival of Islam. Muslim society incorporated these codes of honour over time. We have noted how differences in the interpretation of the Qur’an verses have emerged since the seventh century. This has also created leeway for various cultural interpretations, for instance, regarding the importance of virility in men in relation to honour, that cannot always be directly traced back to the holy texts. (For cultural influences on opinions about sexuality among Muslims, see also Buitelaar, 2002; Nabben et al., 2006; Adamczyk & Hayes, 2012). In the personal interpretation of Islamic rules of life, levels of knowledge also play a part: have the relevant texts been studied or not? Another factor is whether those concerned live in a Muslim environment (Janssen, 2013b; Janssen & Sanberg, 2013c).

Social organisation: the role of spiritual predecessors In the Netherlands, there is a separation of church and state. That is to say that the government does not interfere with the religious convictions of its citizens. So, when tackling honour-related cases, the police will not enter into a theological discussion. However, that does not mean that the police and other professionals are not interested in religious backgrounds when tackling specific cases. That interest mainly concerns having insights into and an understanding of motives. ‘Understanding’ in this context does not mean looking for a way to legitimise the behaviour of citizens. Instead it is understanding in the sense of ‘gaining insight’, as this is described in the first section of this chapter. In addition, we see that religion involves social organisation. A mosque is more than merely a place to pray; it is also a meeting place. Islamic imams lead ritual and Friday prayers and services, and are religious education teachers. Imams sometimes also try to influence the congregation’s thoughts on violence in a positive way (Boender, 2007). In the context of general prevention, the imam may distance himself from violence in the name of honour, and call on other believers to do so too. The LEC EGG has had cases in which Islamic clerics have contacted the police because they feared violent escalation in a specific case. The LEC EGG is also familiar with Islamic clerics who played an active role in mediation in honour conflicts, for instance, by pointing out religious arguments against the use of violence (Sanberg & Janssen, 2011; Janssen & Sanberg, 2013c, 2016). These spiritual leaders can also play an important role in providing aftercare in families where an honour-related conflict has occurred. This

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92

is not just about specific matters like arranging a funeral, but also for mediation and guidance. The police usually get involved if there is an acute threat or violence. The contact between Islamic imams and the social group in which the congregation circulates is more intensive and long term. If the Imam has good ties with the community of faith, he will also have the opportunity to observe whether or not those involved in an honour-related conflict are able to get through the crisis over time. Any contact that the police may have is simply too brief for this. It must be said that there are several ifs and buts attached to involving a spiritual leader in these issues. Islamic imams are part of the community of believers. This means that, when tackling honour-related cases, professionals must bear in mind that informing the spiritual leader must not lead to social sanctions for those involved in an honour-related conflict. So, before a spiritual leader is called in, the professionals concerned must be aware of his position of authority and his views on honour-related problems. (In this regard, see Chapter 5 on gathering information about honour-related cases.) Equally, it should be borne in mind that Islamic imams also hold a position of trust that must not be compromised (Janssen, 2013b). Ex-Muslim Leaving a religious community is a major

about faith. When he hears that Michiel

step. Eshan Jami, a young Dutch person of

Hegener, a Dutch journalist inspired by

Iranian origin, starts his book published in

the German Zentralrat der Ex-Muslime

2007 and entitled Het Recht om ex-Moslim

advocated for the creation of a committee

te zijn [translated: the right to be an ex-

dedicated to the rights of ex-Muslims, Jami

Muslim] with the words: ‘I am an “apostate”,

took the courageous decision and founded

a renouncer. That is not a name that I chose;

the Central Committee for Ex-Muslims on

instead it is a label that the Muslim commu-

11 September 2007. Choosing that emotion-

nity attached to me. What I’m wondering

ally charged date was not an unmitigated

now is this: Can you “renounce” a religion

success. For instance, there are other ex-

that you never consciously chose? If you’ve

Muslims who fear that, through this direct

always had a clouded picture of this reli-

link between terrorism and Islam, Muslims

gion? And is apostasy a sin that must be

will be stigmatised and the debate will be

punished by death – or at the very least

polarised even more. This group who have

social exclusion?’ He recounts how people

‘abandoned Islam’, dispute that violence

do not lose their faith in one fell swoop. It

and threats are inextricably bound with

is preceded by a whole process, in which

turning your back on the faith. However,

education, but also international political

in April 2008, Jami announced that the

developments, are a factor. Jami himself

committee would be disbanded because

mentions the 11 September 2001 attacks as

a persistent stream of threats were scaring

an important turning point in his thinking

potential members.

CLOSE-UP

Fencing with honour Rob Vonk is an IBT coordinator with The Hague police unit. IBT stands for Integrale Beroepsvaardigheids Training, or Integrated Professional Skills Training, which involves, for instance, legal knowledge, shooting skills and physical skills. He has also worked for many years as a fencing teacher. Master Vonk has the following to say about fencing with honour: ‘All in all I have been involved in fencing for more than forty years. Incidentally, my sporting roots are in the pentathlon, which is a combination of horse riding, fencing, shooting, swimming and cross-country, the five skills that a military messenger had to have. As a young boy, I was part of the Dutch Olympic team. I was at the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972. There I participated twice: once in a team in which we ended somewhere in the middle, and then again individually in the pentathlon event, where I came third in the swimming event. To me, it was an incredible honour to be able to represent my country. But soon after I had finished my competitions, eleven Israeli athletes were killed. Initially, we had no idea what had happened because in the Olympic village you are in a kind of cocoon. We were extremely upset when the news reached us. The news was particularly hard for the fencers among us. One of the participants who had been killed was Andrei Spitzer. Spitzer was originally from Romania, but he settled in the Netherlands in 1968, where he later met his wife and became a familiar face in the Dutch world of fencing. That makes a drama like that even more personal. Understandably, the incident spoilt the tournament completely. After the attack, a fierce debate ensued: should the event have continued or been stopped? Athletes had been preparing for many years and only once in four years are you given the chance to participate in the magical Olympic Games. But how far should you go to want to win? For some of those who stayed and managed to win a medal after the bloodbath, the effects resonated for a very long time: their Olympic victories were not deemed to be honourable, leading to isolation in the sports world. To my mind, honour plays an important part in life. A positive sense of honour affects your behaviour in a positive sense: you don’t betray your friends and you don’t hit women. And I can also imagine that a personal element is a factor in honour: some people may attach importance to an award, while it leaves others cold. When it comes to fencing, the link between honour and winning is fundamental. Look at all the ritual involved in a fencing match. Greeting your opponent with the weapon, the handshake at the end, even if you’ve lost. It’s all about skill and not cheating, which is why you never stab anyone in the back. You don’t speak during a duel, let alone swear in your mask, of course you don’t try to sabotage the hit registration and you don’t launch an attack after the referee calls ‘Halt!’. The emphasis on dignity and ingenuity is essential, that is the heart and character of the sport. Wherever I teach or coach people, whether it is the Dutch national team, the police or in a fencing school for beginners, only once I can get the need for that specific sense of honour across to my students do I feel I have succeeded as a teacher.’

3

Another perspective on honour and violence

The importance of using theories was discussed at great length in the previous chapter: using a theoretical framework properly can give structure and a system to the thoughts regarding a phenomenon such as honour-related violence, thus creating (new) insights. Chapter 3 elaborates on these thoughts. This chapter describes how the life-course perspective used in the various social and other sciences can be valuable in gaining insight into the backgrounds and nature of honour-related violence. The first section outlines the main assumptions and key concepts of this life-course perspective. The second section homes in on the relationship between family life, the life-course and honour-related violence based on previous insights from research into this type of violence (Janssen, 2009a). In the third section, the model presented in the second section is supplemented with insights from the life-course perspective. Finally, in the last section of this chapter, a brief comparison is made between the life-course perspective and the historical-sociological and anthropological perspectives discussed in the previous chapter.

3.1

3.1.1

The life-course perspective

Starting points

A theory or a field of study? For a while now, attention has been paid in various social and other sciences, including criminology, to the life-course perspective. By this we mean that social scientists are trying to discover how previously acquired experiences, such as marriage, affect the later course of life. Does being married, for instance, have consequences for future health or embarking on a criminal career? The life-course perspective is not so much a theory that predicts how the course of life takes place for an individual or a group. Instead it is more a field of study where different disciplines – like sociology, psychology and criminology – meet and each raise their own questions and put forward their theoretical explanations (Clausen, 1986). Sociologists, for instance, are interested in the macro and meso levels: what are society’s views on how life should be shaped

in the various stages of life? As far as this goes, can differences be observed between the different groups in the community (Kuipers, 2009)? Psychologists wonder how individual lives develop (Craeynest, 2013) and criminologists think about questions regarding the stages of life whereby delinquency is a factor, i.e. at what age do people become criminally active? When do they stop? And why is this so? (Sampson & Laub, 1993; Laub & Sampson, 2003; Blokland & Nieuwbeerta, 2010; Weerman & De Keijser, 2005; Janssen, 2016.)

Time in its various manifestations A lifetime unfolds one day at a time. Though there is more to be said about the lapse of time between birth and death, the fact is that time is experienced in various ways. Albert Einstein once illustrated the concept of relativity by arguing that an hour spent sitting next to a pretty girl flies by in a flash, while one minute sitting on a hot stove feels like an hour. In the field of study that deals with the course of life, various components with respect to time are distinguished (Clausen, 1986). Here we will mention three: • Biological component During their development, people all go through the baby, toddler and preschool phase, followed by adolescence, adulthood and old age. It goes without saying that these stages of life go hand in hand with physical changes. An example of this would be hormonal changes during puberty or diminished muscle strength and mobility in the final stages of life (Clausen, 1986; Craeynest, 2013). • Sociocultural component How people view these stages of life is coloured by the social environment and cultural influences. Views on appropriate behaviour and associated social roles are linked to each phase of life. What is acceptable behaviour for a preschool child aged five? What is an appropriate age to have a sexual relationship? What is an appropriate age to leave the parental home? These kinds of questions elicit different answers because there are differences in opinion between the various social and cultural environments (Clausen, 1986).

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98

The lives and migration of Polish farmers Between 1919 to 1920, the American William

and courts, among other things. From all of

I. Thomas and the Pole Florian Znanciecki

this, a dynamic image of social and cultural

produced a sociology classic with their

life emerges: the authors show how Polish

five-part study entitled The Polish Peasant

migrants in their new home countries did

in Europe and America What makes this

not copy the Polish rural life, but adapted

work on Polish farmers and their migration

to their new environment instead. Migra-

so extraordinary? This place of honour in

tion is more than relocating from Country

sociological literature is not just due to the

A to Country B; it is about creating some-

fact that it is one of the first studies based

thing new. Although the originality of the

on a life-course perspective. What makes

study was widely recognised, it was also

it special is that in this study this perspec-

criticised, because how come all that bio-

tive is used to gain better insight into the

graphical material in the five substantial

effects of migration on the further course

parts hardly contrasted with the authors

of life. Based on very varied source material,

ideas? Could the way in which the research-

the authors provide a sketch of the social

ers selected the personal documents, like

and economic lives of farmers in Poland

the letters, have been an influencing factor

and those among them who left the coun-

(Blumer, 1939)? Questions like this would

try as migrants. The authors based their

give a significant boost to the improvement

study on letters that migrants wrote to their

of methodologies and in-depth analysis

families in Poland, newspaper articles from

used in this type of life-course research

Poland, and information from churches

(Burawoy, 2000).

• Historical component Societies are not static: even the most stable societies change over time. The civilisation theory discussed in the previous chapter is an example of societal change. It means that the life-course of an individual is partly influenced by the times in which they live. The life-course of a person who lived a hundred years ago was different to the one of someone who is alive now. The difference in medical care is an example of this. Major historical events mark the lives of individuals. In this respect, consider historical events such as living in a time of war or an economic crisis, or the introduction of inventions, for instance, in the field of mobility and communication. Experiences like these make people view life differently. They call into question the norms and values that were important for their

3 Another perspective on honour and violence

parents and forbearers, and prompt people to come up with new ideas and beliefs (Clausen, 1986). Codes of honour and perceptions about the use of violence are also bound to time: not only the phase in the life-course in which people find themselves, but also the era in which they live affects ideas about honour and violence (see also Cooney, 2014). A changing role for fathers In his study of the concept of authority,

That homecoming was not always a time

the Flemish psychologist Paul Verhaeghe

to look forward to because, if you had done

clearly shows that ideas about the role of

something naughty as a child, there was

fathers in Western society are currently

a really good chance that mommy would

undergoing a transformation. One of the

tell daddy. In that case, you could expect

ways he illustrates this is by pointing to

a hiding’ (Verhaeghe, 2015: pp. 69-70). Yet

the changing role of fathers as parents:

this image of fatherhood has disappeared

‘There will always be fathers, even if it is

from a large part of society. The authority

merely as a biological necessity... [But]

of fathers is no longer self-evident. Verhae-

in the traditional family there was a clear

ghe even argues that these are confusing

division of roles. The power was mainly in

times for men: ‘You have to be a friend and

the mother’s hands, in a typical two-way

a father to your children.... Our expecta-

relationship (mother versus child). The

tions of upbringing are very ambiguous.

authority was mainly with the father, with-

More and more voices are calling for a

out him having to do much – the source of

return to a strict approach, because “the

his authority was external to him. Mothers

youth” are getting out of hand. Parents and

stayed at home, looked after the house-

schools blame each other for being too lax.

hold and were in a very direct relationship

But those who are strict have to endure a

with their children. Fathers were strange

torrent of accusations. We don’t want the

characters who were gone in the morning,

authority we used to have, but we haven’t

and returned home in the evening from a

yet developed a new kind of authority’

place called “work” at a predictable time.

(Verhaeghe, 2015: p. 70).

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3.1.2

100

Key concepts

Trajectory, transition, turning point and agency Apart from the fact that opinions change over time, there are still a few concepts in the life-course perspective that are eminently important (Elder, 1985; Sampson & Laub, 1993; Laub & Sampson, 2003; Weerman & De Keijser, 2005; Wingens, et al., 2011). Here is an overview: • Trajectory A trajectory is a path or a development line that extends throughout the course of life. An example of this would be the development of a career path or the course of a marriage. • Transition A feature of a trajectory is that it consists of a series of transitions. A good example is looking for one’s first job. The next step would then be promotion, and then further progression up the career ladder. The same applies to marriage. The next transition would then involve having children, for instance, or a divorce and/or getting married again. Rite of passage We have French anthropologist Arnold van

association or getting a black belt in karate.

Gennep – he took on his Dutch mother’s

According to Van Gennep, someone who

surname – to thank for another word for

goes to a next stage undergoes a ‘ritual

transition, namely rite of passage. He intro-

death’ followed by a rebirth. That process

duced the term in 1909 for rituals that mark

unfolds in three phases. The first phase

the transition of individuals or groups of

entails a separation. In preparation for the

people to a new position in society. In fact,

new life phase, the individual or group is

these transitions occur in all social domains,

first separated from the old position in soci-

in all stages of life and in all four corners of

ety. This can be done in a variety of ways,

the world. Consider the following exam-

for instance through physical isolation, as

ples: birth, circumcision, baptism or confes-

is the case with initiation rites in various

sion, first menstruation, losing virginity,

African communities: children are tempo-

marrying, divorce, menopause, completing

rarily isolated before returning to the group

a pilgrimage, entering a monastery, being

as fully-fledged, adult members. Alterna-

consecrated as a priest, joining the army,

tively, symbols or attributes of the social

completing a degree, joining a student

position are removed: an example would

3 Another perspective on honour and violence

be the short haircuts and shaving off of

that people who go through a liminal

facial hair that young men must undergo

phase together develop a special bond

when joining the army. The second phase

characterised by equality and solidarity.

may involve intermediate positions. That

Turner calls that communitas. Consider, for

is to say the old social position has not

instance, a group of young people who go

yet been completely left behind while

through initiation rituals when joining a

the new state has not yet been reached.

student association, the army or the police

Van Gennep calls the phase between two

academy. Life-long friendships can be

worlds ‘liminality’. This concept proved

the result of these kinds of shared experi-

to be a great source of inspiration for the

ences. Finally, in the last of the phases that

Scottish anthropologist, Victor Turner,

Van Gennep identified, a new position in

who has worked extensively on this

society is reached and the individual or

intermediate phase. In this second phase

group emerges in the new role, for exam-

that Van Gennep identifies, Turner (1967)

ple, as a married couple or as a graduate

added, among other things, the notion

doctor.

• Turning point People go through various trajectories, which means that those paths affect each other and may lead to turning points. These turning points do not ‘happen’ to people; they have an active role in them. A criminological example will clarify this point: as offenders get older, life as a lawbreaker becomes more difficult and dangerous. From a physical perspective alone, it becomes too demanding. Certain triggers and events can prompt people to reflect on the path they have thus taken so far. A person may decide to start leading a different life as a consequence. A change of circumstances, for instance, finding work or starting a family, also changes the self-image people have of themselves. Moreover, they move away from their old (social) environment and get new routines. The more people invest in their family and work, the more the risks involved in criminal behaviour start to weigh more heavily.

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102

Turkish national service: like father like son? In the novel De Val van Mehmet [translated:

and is going to the army,” he would say as

the downfall of Mehmet] (2014), Hülya

they climbed on his back and fought an

Cigdem describes how Mehmet’s father

imaginary enemy. Hatice thought that that

rejects him because he marries Hatice, a

was playful and sweet, until Muhammed

divorced woman. As a result, life in their

approached national service age. Mehmet

native village in Turkey becomes impos-

expected their son to serve in the army for

sible and so the young couple decide to

eighteen months. He was not interested

make a new start in the Netherlands. It is a

in buying his son’s way out of serving (...).

true turning point. There they have three

“What possessed you?” Hatice asked. “He

children. As they grow up, the conflicts in

will not survive if he is seconded to the

the family grow too. One of the contentious

mountains. I sometimes wonder which

issues between Mehmet and his offspring

planet you’re on. In Turkey, fathers help

is compulsory military service. (For more

their sons to get out of doing national

information on compulsory military service

service, and you want to send Muhammed

from a life-course perspective, see also

there even though it is not compulsory?!”

MacLean & Helder, 2007.) Cigdem writes,

(...) Finally, it was decided that Muhammad

‘Being trained to defend your country (...)

had to save the money needed as soon as

was a holy duty that every Turk ought to

possible. Muhammed didn’t understand

be proud to fulfil. A debt that you had to

why his parents were in such a rush. Under

pay off. A man who had not done military

Turkish law, he had until his thirty-eighth

service didn’t really count. Trying to get

birthday to fulfil his national service.

out of it didn’t even occur to Mehmet. It

Against his better judgement, he hoped

was a question of honour’ (Cigdem, 2014:

for a full exemption from military service,

p. 73). But, supported by his mother, his

especially for Turks living abroad. He would

son Muhammed thinks differently about

much rather use the buyout money for a

this. ‘Since the birth of his sons, [Mehmet]

nice car’ (Cigdem, 2014: pp. 316-317). And

dreamt of the day that he would wave them

with that a new turning point has been

goodbye as they left to fulfil their duty to

reached. We won’t be giving any spoilers

their fatherland. “My son is growing up

here about how the story ends.

• Agency Life does not simply happen to people. By agency, we mean people’s ability to make their own choices and to respond to their circumstances within the possibilities that the times that they live in and their social circumstances offer them. In this respect, consider what was said in the previous chapter in the subsection about honour and gender with respect to

3 Another perspective on honour and violence

the victimisation of women: a victim is not necessarily passive. Even those who endure unpleasant experiences have agency.

The appeal of the life-course perspective The criminologists Laub and Sampson (2003) have summarised the life-course approach succinctly with this concise phrase: ‘Making sense of lives’. Looking closely at lives from this perspective is appealing for various reasons. Scientists who contribute to insight into the course of life come from various disciplines. A wealth of literature has since been created as a consequence of that diversity. Various time components are described at the beginning of this section, ranging from the biological clock that regulates the human body to the social and historical context in which people live. Bearing these different components in mind, the life of an individual – the micro level – is linked to events taking place at the macro level in society and in history. What makes this perspective so dynamic is not only the multidisciplinary character and the linking of the micro and macro level, but above all the fact that this perspective looks at the entire life-course. Analysing the here and now alone will not suffice. An important notion is that the past helps to shape the future.

3.2

3.2.1

First steps

Families during the life-course

Linked lives Another important notion in the life-course perspective is that of linked lives. That is to say: numerous threads link our lives to other people: family, neighbours, colleagues and so on. Changes in one person’s life will have implications for the lives of others (Elder et al., 2003). While the first chapter describes how honour and violence can occur in different social domains such as in sport or organised crime, the focus in this chapter will be on families. The various examples of honour-related cases presented in the previous chapters repeatedly show that the behaviour of an individual has an effect on how the rest of the family behaves. That said, as an outsider it is difficult to judge the day-to-day affairs of a family. No one likes hanging out their dirty laundry and many of us are strongly inclined to give the outside world the impression that our family lives are truly harmonious.

103

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Focus on honour

Social control through gossip Simply put, gossip is talking about a third

should behave can be distilled from the

party in their absence. This chatter is not

stories that women tell each other. Posi-

necessarily negative, for instance, his

tive stories, for instance, emphasise chaste

marriage is on the rocks or she is evad-

behaviour or the fact that family and

ing taxes. Gossip can also be positive,

girlfriends can always rely on the helpful-

for instance, he’s a good neighbour, she’s a

ness and hospitality of the person they

great colleague (Elias & Scotson, 1965).

are talking about. There are also glowing

Gossip goes on throughout human society.

accounts of how well the children of the

Telling stories behind the backs of those

woman being spoken about are doing, or

concerned is not the exclusive domain of

that she has a really nice husband. In short,

women or a specific socio-economic class

these are stories that confirm how well the

or ethnic group. Everyone does it. Appar-

family are doing. The study also revealed

ently, people get something out of gossip.

that the participants were very concerned

First and foremost, gossiping is a way to

about negative stories. This concern was

exchange information. But, besides that,

one of the reasons why respondents in Van

gossip also has another function: it is a

de Berg’s study were not prepared to start a

means of achieving social control. After

conversation with men outside their fami-

all, people who gossip are expressing

lies. Just imagine if a man were to interpret

value judgements about other people’s

a simple greeting as an invitation to have

specific and desired behaviour (Goffman,

something other than an innocent relation-

1959; Gluckman 1963; Elias & Scotson,

ship? And if he were to tell other people all

1965; Bergmann, 1993). The sociologist

kinds of details about it? Then the woman

Marguerite van de Berg studied what

in question would risk losing her position

Moroccan women in Delfshaven, a suburb

because she would be portrayed as a ‘bad

of Rotterdam, had to say when they were

woman’ and thus as an example to other

gossiping. She noted, among other things,

women of how not to behave (Van de Berg,

that norms reflecting how a good woman

2009).

Above all, when dealing with honour-related cases, it is essential to bear in mind the tensions that may be present in families.

3 Another perspective on honour and violence

Family as a unit? Work carried out in the field of anthropol-

selves or to rise in people’s estimation. Rif-

ogy shows us that there may be major

fian people could not rely on one another

differences between the perception of

not to try and enrich themselves at their

a perfect family and what takes place in

expense or to try to enhance their reputa-

reality (Keesing, 1975; Jamous, 1992). The

tions. For instance, fathers would ensure

following statement from the anthropolo-

that their sons would not separate them-

gist Van Gemert about Berber households

selves (too soon) from the family with the

in the Moroccan Rif region is interesting in

intention of setting up their own house-

this respect: ‘Although the outside world

holds. The father would rather remarry and

is led to believe differently, in practice it is

add a wife to his household than see a son

difficult to maintain harmony in the house-

settle elsewhere, with some of the family

hold’ (Van Gemert, 1998: p. 39; see also

property (...). In addition, men would keep

Sahlins, 2013). Van Gemert has the follow-

a close eye on others in their immediate

ing to say about family relationships in the

environment’ (Van Gemert, 1998: p. 41). The

Moroccan Rif: ‘The closeness of the family

following saying also speaks volumes in

at a local level should also not be overesti-

this respect: ‘No one can hate like brothers

mated. In extreme scarcity, it would never

do’ (Van Gemert, 1998: p. 42).

be possible for everyone to enrich them-

The fact is that individual family members do not always have the same interests, ideas or objectives. Members of the family may find themselves in opposition to one another, or they may enter into coalitions against another family member or members. Mothers for mothers A young woman of Turkish descent sent

also heard these stories. The mother and

photographs of herself dressed in lingerie

the daughter both fear the father’s reaction.

to her boyfriend during their relationship.

The mother tries to help her daughter by

Now that the relationship has ended, she

appealing to the ex-boyfriend’s mother: is it

hears from friends that these photographs

not possible for her to persuade her son to

are doing the rounds on the internet and

take those photographs out of circulation

in her social environment. Her mother has

to prevent further escalation of the issue?

105

Focus on honour

3.2.2

106

A first schematic attempt

The life-course of relationships Based on insights into case histories from the police, a start has been made to place honour-related cases into a life-course perspective by differentiating between the following three consecutive periods. During the first phase the individual is single; in the second phase the individual enters into a relationship with a partner; and, in the third phase, that relationship has finally become ‘official’ (Janssen, 2009a). Overview 3.1 illustrates these phases. Even though the following overview is about an individual who goes from one family to another, experience shows that in daily life it is never about the individual alone. For anthropologists a marriage is simply about going from one family to another. In concrete terms, it means that when two people marry, they not only enter into an official relationship with each other, but also with each other’s families. According to Western ideals, the choice of a life or marriage partner concerns an individual. Having said that, it does not negate the fact that Westerners who have made such a choice will also have to deal with their partner’s family. When entering into a serious relationship, moral and other rights and obligations are transferred. What this ‘package’ looks like, what the roles of the wife’s family and the husband’s family will be, and the extent to which failure to comply with the ensuing rules will be construed as a loss of honour partly depends on the cultural background. What the roles for men and women constitute may differ, both in theory and in practice (Fallers & Fallers, 1976; Kağitçibaşi, 1982).

3 Another perspective on honour and violence

Overview 3.1

Schematic representation of honour-related violations in a relational context during the course of life

ààà Life-course ààà Life-course ààà Life-course ààà Life-course ààà Before marriage

Entering into marriage

During a marriage

The individual is in Family 1’s sphere of influence

Transition of the individual from Family 1 ààà Family 2

The individual is in the sphere of influence of Family 1 and Family 2

Marriage is the continuation of the relationship between Family 1 and Family 2 Sexual relations – loss of virginity/entering into sexual relationship outside

– going from Family 1 to Family 2 in an ‘impure’ state (for instance, for

– entering into extramarital relationships

marriage – rape

women: not being a virgin) – rape

– rape

Choice of partner – opposition to arranged

– opposition to arranged

– leaving the spouse

engagements/marriages

engagements/marriages* – elopement (voluntarily or involuntarily) ** – (re)marriage to a partner who is not

acceptable to the family or in-laws Pregnancy/parenthood – pregnancy/parenthood outside – ‘bringing’ children into the marriage

marriage who ‘have not come into

– extramarital pregnancies and children/doubts about paternity

the world in an honourable way’ (for instance, illegitimate children) – discussions about child custody/ taking children away Opposition to rules – opposition to regulations/ authority in Family 1

– opposition to regulations/authority – opposition to regulations/ in Families 1 and 2

authority in Families 1 and 2

Source: Janssen, 2009a. * If a girl is promised to a particular family as a bride, but she has her eye on another future husband, this means that there are three instead of two families involved in the case. ** On the subject of elopement in Turkey, Van Eck claims that if parents are against a marriage, the culture in Turkish rural areas offers a solution in the form of elopement. Officially, this is the kidnapping of a girl by a boy with the objective of marrying her. In practice, the girl is generally not a will-less victim; instead she decides to elope with the boy because her parents feel that no good will come of the marriage (Van Eck, 2001, 2003b).

107

Focus on honour

108

Sham marriages and relationships In the Netherlands, partners can choose

Netherlands showed that almost 70% of

from two different forms of living arrange-

all the applications were granted. Four per

ments that are regulated by law: they can

cent of all applications were rejected in the

marry or enter into a registered partner-

first instance because they were based on

ship. It is also possible to sign a cohabi-

sham relationships, and 6% concerned sus-

tation agreement, but is of course also

pected sham relationships. Twelve per cent

possible to live together without signing

of the cases rejected in the first instance

any formal agreement. However, not all

involved sham marriages. Over the course

marriages and relationships are embarked

of the entire proceedings, i.e. including

on as an emotional commitment and mile-

objections and appeals, 3% of all applica-

stone in the course of life as described in

tions were rejected. Nineteen per cent of

this chapter. Sometimes marriages or part-

the rejections involved sham relationships.

nerships, be they formally registered or not,

Generally speaking, the files showed that

are entered into with the sole objective of

these sham relationships involved bilateral

giving a foreigner right of residence in the

agreements. That is to say that both part-

Netherlands. A study based on files from

ners knew very well what the aim of the

the period from 1 January 2009 to 30 June

relationship was, namely to get a residence

2014 concerning applications for family

permit, sometimes as a favour to the family

formation with a partner residing in the

or friends (Jennissen et al., 2015).

The three phases explained in greater detail It goes without saying that the four categories of potential honour-related violations given in Overview 3.1 – sexual relations, choice of partner, pregnancy and parenthood and opposition to rules – are not exhaustive. It is only meant as a simple framework to clarify honour issues in a relational context. These subjects are outlined by phase: • The first phase: before marriage Two factors play an important role in this first phase: firstly, the individual has to guard his or her reputation. Tarnishing a good reputation through rebellious behaviour, sexual relations or pregnancy, for instance, negatively affects one’s chances on the marriage market and stains the family honour.

3 Another perspective on honour and violence

Loss of virginity and extramarital pregnancy A young woman of Iraqi origin has a secret

that the young woman is pregnant by her

relationship with a boy from a different eth-

boyfriend. Fearing her family’s reaction to

nic background. As soon as the family dis-

her loss of virginity and the fact that she

covers the relationship, they announce the

is unmarried and pregnant from a man

engagement of the woman to a nephew

other than her fiancé, she seeks refuge in a

as quickly as they can. But then it emerges

women’s shelter where her baby is born.

Children born out of wedlock The number of children born out of wed-

(2015) has written a book that is definitely

lock has increased dramatically in recent

worth reading. It homes in on the experi-

decades. The same applies to the Nether-

ences of illegitimate children and their par-

lands. According to Statistics Netherlands,

ents in Great Britain from the First World

2.6% of the mothers of children in the

War until the 1960s. In In the Family Way she

Netherlands in 1900 were not married. By

relates heart-breaking stories about young

2014, that figure had risen to no less than

mothers and fathers who were labelled

44.1%. A couple who are living together

immoral because they were not married

out of wedlock and have a baby need no

when they had children. She also discusses

longer fear disapproval from their social

children who were treated as outcasts

environment. It is worth noting that this

because they were conceived and born

has not always been the case in Western

out of wedlock. In this book, it is relatively

societies. Not only could the couple expect

older people that look back on their lives.

moral disapprobation, for a long time, chil-

Often, they do not mention their names

dren born out of wedlock were in a weaker

because many of them are still anxious and

position from a legal perspective, too, for

ashamed about their stories of extramarital

instance in inheritance law. Jane Robinson

pregnancy and birth, even in their old age.

Unfortunately, sexual preferences other than heterosexual ones are still considered to be an affront to the family’s good name. Homosexuality can often expect to be met with disapproval.

109

110

Focus on honour

Out of the closet A young man of Hindustan descent

not respond well: she is extremely upset

takes the plunge and tells his aunt that

and tells her husband, the young man’s

he is homosexual. The reaction from his

father. Both of the parents threaten

relative is not one of rejection; in fact,

the young man. The father is abusive

it is even positive. So, now the young

towards another relative who, like the

man plucks up the courage to tell this

aunt, sympathised when the young

mother about his big secret. She does

man came out of the closet.

The same applies to issues like being transgender. In recent years, society has been paying more attention to these cases, and the police have also dealt with honour-related cases in which transgenders played a role. Transgender A young man leaves his parental home aged

Middle East, don’t know anything about

nineteen. He was often abused there in the

this. Even though as it stands now he is not

past. Now he wants to start his own life. But

being threatened by his family in any way,

he has a big secret: he is transgender and he

the man fears that that may all change as

would much prefer to live life as a woman.

soon as his family gets wind of this plans to

His family, who were originally from the

become a woman.

Parents go to great lengths to ensure that their children stay on the rails. It is not merely the fact that children behaving inappropriately is considered dishonourable; parents’ failure to keep a tight rein on their offspring is also considered to be a stain on family honour.

3 Another perspective on honour and violence

Setting an example Parents of Kurdish descent are concerned

children, the parents take a spoon that has

about their teenage daughter. She dresses

been heated in the oven and burn the girl’s

as she sees fit and not like the rest of her

legs with it in the presence of the other

family, she wants tattoos and piercings and

children. After that, she is confined to her

she’s already been caught shoplifting. Her

room for the entire weekend without food.

parents want this daughter to get back into

When she gets to school at the beginning

line so that they can stop her from inspir-

of the new week, she tells them her story.

ing the other children in the family from

The school calls in social welfare and the

rebelling. To set an example to the other

police.

While it is often the case that both parents worry that the community may blame them for their lax parenting, police regularly see cases in which the mothers are scared that they will bear the blame for failures in parenting. Compromising photos Several young men take photos of a

the daughter who fears the wrath of

scantily clad young lady flanked by

the father. The mother, too, is scared of

a young man who has his genitals

the repercussions because she will be

exposed. The girl is of Turkish descent.

blamed for not having a proper grip on

Her mother knows about the salacious

her daughter’s upbringing. The men

photos. The mother and the daughter

who took the photos know all about

are both scared of what will happen

these fears and blackmail the young

when the father finds out about it. They

woman: if she doesn’t provide other

assume that he will not take this smear

(sexual) services, then they will show her

on the family name lightly. It is not only

father the photographs.

Secondly, it is important to keep an eye out for a suitable life partner. It has already been noted that a relationship other than a heterosexual one is by no means always accepted. Also, experience shows that some families have difficulty accepting partners from a different ethnic background.

111

112

Focus on honour

A Dutch boyfriend An adult woman still lives with her family

tionship is over, but they carry on seeing

who were originally from the Middle East.

each other in secret. The woman even falls

Her boyfriend is Dutch, that is to say of

pregnant. What now? She is faced with a

native Dutch origin; he asked her for her

dilemma: should she break with her family

hand in marriage some time ago. To prove

and start a new life with her boyfriend and

to her family that he is serious about her,

child? Or should she stay with her family

he has also converted to Islam. But, as far as

and forget about her boyfriend. Ultimately,

her brothers are concerned, this boyfriend

she chooses her family and secretly has an

is not an acceptable candidate for mar-

abortion. She hopes that her family don’t

riage. Serious threats ensue, leading the

find out about her secret, because that in

pair to decide to go ‘underground’: vis-à-

turn will constitute a stain on the family’s

vis the family they pretend that their rela-

honour.

Apart from having a different ethnic background, having a different faith can also be considered a cause of offence. Incidentally, this is not necessarily restricted to Muslims. It can also be a factor in families of other faiths who also attach great value to family honour. Jewish boyfriend not suitable for a Muslim woman A 16-year-old girl of North African descent

run away from home and ends up in a shel-

has a Jewish boyfriend. Her mother is

ter. Social welfare workers as well as police

outraged about this and blows soon follow.

officers discuss the issue with the girl and her

The fact is that she does not think a Jewish

family. They have arrived at an impasse. The

boyfriend is a suitable partner for a Muslim

family no longer considers their daughter to

woman. The conflict between the mother

be part of the family: they have rejected her.

and the daughter comes to a head when the

What the girl would like more than anything

mother sees a photo of the pair that the girl

is to be reunited with her family and for

has put on the internet. The girl decides to

them to accept her boyfriend.

• The second phase: getting marriage In the second phase, the two families form ties, for instance, through marriage. Though sometimes the prospective spouses are not keen on the marriage that the two families have arranged.

3 Another perspective on honour and violence

Not wanting to get married A young woman of Afghan descent is dread-

has no objection to the marriage. But then it

ing the marriage to a cousin that her parents

becomes apparent that the young woman

have arranged. One of the reasons why

has never dared to raise this subject with

she doesn’t want to marry him is that she

her parents. Through mediation from the

is afraid she might have handicapped chil-

women’s shelter, several discussions take

dren. She decides to take refuge in a wom-

place, and the parents and the daughter

en’s shelter. This is the first time that she is

both get a greater understanding of one

openly taking on the conflict with her family

another’s points of view. Ultimately, the girl

about the intended marriage. The problem

returns to her family and the women’s shel-

is that her family assume that their daughter

ter are regularly in touch with her.

Children whose parents are cousins Children whose parents are related –

is difficult to express in figures how often

which is the case when cousins get mar-

parents who are related suffer from such

ried – have an increased likelihood of

disorders. The absolute figures are small,

suffering from a rare autosomal recessive

but it does not detract from the fact that

disorder (Waelput & Achterberg, 2007). A

suffering from a disorder deeply affects

feature of this kind of disorder is that the

families (Waelput & Achterberg, 2007).

parents don’t suffer from the disorder;

The focus of the Dutch debate about mar-

instead they carry the gene. Parents don’t

riages between cousins has, however,

always know that they are carriers of a

shifted from the associated medical risks

certain disorder. The parents may coinci-

to a focus on the possibly involuntary

dentally be carriers of the same gene. It

nature of such marriages (Priem, 2015).

In principle, the three phases – or transitions to use the terms from a lifecourse perspective – are cyclical. After the relationship is broken, for instance due to divorce or death, in theory then the coast is clear to start a new relationship. Even though divorce may offer a good solution for resolving conflict, there are unfortunately numerous cases in which formal divorce is not perceived as a ‘real’ solution in honour-related cases. Those involved may continue to feel involved with the former partner and their family (Janssen & Sanberg, 2010b), and as a result it is difficult to make a new start and to start a relationship with another partner and their family.

113

114

Focus on honour

The family meeting A woman of Afghan descent is divorced.

new relationship is condemned in the

She now has a boyfriend. When her chil-

strongest terms. After the meeting, the

dren and ex-husband find out about her

son together with two other male family

boyfriend, things come to a head. A family

members visit the mother’s boyfriend. He

meeting ensues. During the delibera-

is kicked, beaten and stabbed many times.

tions, which the wife was not part of, the

He dies on the spot from his wounds.

So even if the marriage has ended, it does not necessarily mean that problems with the ex-partner and mutual family members are a thing of the past. Getting re-married A woman re-marries after her divorce.

strengthened in his conviction because

When her ex-husband finds out about

his son is also very angry with his mother.

it, he is enraged. To his mind, they

Ultimately, the man stabs his wife on

are still married and she is no right to

the street and she narrowly escapes

get married again. The husband feels

death.

• The third phase: during a marriage During a marriage, adultery may become a source of affront to honour. It may concern adultery on the part of the husband or the wife. An adulterous woman A married Moroccan woman has a lover.

the woman’s mother and her brother

The police overhear a conversation on a

about the question of what they should

telephone they have tapped in connection

do to her: reject her, put a curse on her or

with another investigation. During the con-

stage a car accident. What should they do

versation, they hear a discussion between

to her lover?

3 Another perspective on honour and violence

An adulterous man A Turkish man is stabbed in his home, but

was having an extramarital affair with a

he is not keen to give the police much

divorced woman. To compound matters,

information about what has happened. Bit

the victim’s wife, his niece, is pregnant.

by bit, it starts to become obvious that the

The father had already given the hus-

man has in all probability been stabbed by

band a talking to many times, and more

his father, and possibly also his brothers.

or less demanded that he should end the

The fact of the matter is that the victim

affair.

In this third phase, problems often arise when one of the partners wants to break off the relationship. The case generally becomes even more complicated if children are involved. Children should be with the father A woman of Iraqi descent makes it known

police. When the police arrive at the home,

that she wants to get a divorce. Her own

the sister speaks to them. She explains that

family and her in-laws do not support her

they have just heard that a relative has died

decision. One day, she gets a visit from her

and they have been overwhelmed by grief.

own parents, her sister and her brother-in-

Otherwise, there is nothing amiss. After

law. Her family want to take her child away

being reassured that all is well, the police

and give it to the father to take care of. In

leave again. As soon as the woman gets an

their culture, it is customary after a divorce

opportunity to tell the police her side of

for the children to go to the father and his

the story, she explains that the story about

family. A struggle ensues when the family

the family being in mourning was not true.

try to take the child away and the mother

It was a pretext that the family used to

resists. Meanwhile, the neighbours are

stop her from telling them what was really

alarmed by the goings-on. They call the

going on.

115

Focus on honour

3.3

3.3.1

116

Towards an integrated perspective

A new life-course schedule for violence and honour in a family context

Family honour during the life-course In the first chapter, we discussed ‘violence in dependency relationships’. This umbrella term covers numerous violent phenomena. In Section 1.2.3 it was noted that several phenomena are linked to migration and the multicultural society: arranged marriages, forced marriages, abandonment in a foreign country and female circumcision. These topics are also often linked to protecting family honour. Overview 3.2 places these topics in the course of life. The overview places the issues that may affect family honour according to the various phases of life. We also indicated which reactions, or combinations of reactions, those involved could expect in cases involving affronts to honour. Once again, these were listed according to life phase. Female circumcision Another term for the circumcision of girls

cultures it is posited that uncircumcised

and women is female genital mutilation

women are not suitable candidates for

(FGM). This procedure is carried out on

marriage. According to the Pharos Founda-

external female genitalia. There are four

tion, an expertise centre that specialises in

types of circumcision: 1) partial or total

health disparities and that concerns itself

removal of the clitoris; 2) partial or total

with FGM, there are around 29,000 women

removal of the clitoris, and the labia minora,

living in the Netherlands who have under-

with or without excision of the labia majora;

gone circumcision. About 80 per cent of

3) narrowing of the vaginal orifice by cut-

these women come from Somalia, Egypt,

ting and closing the labia minora and/or

Ethiopia, Eritrea and the autonomous

the labia majora, with or without excision of

Kurdish region in Northern Iraq. This inter-

the clitoris; and 4) all other harmful proce-

vention may lead to the following com-

dures to the female genitalia for non-med-

plaints: menstruation disorders, difficult/

ical purposes, such as, pricking, piercing,

painful urination, chronic pain in the lower

incising, scraping and cauterisation. There

abdomen; chronic urinary tract and vaginal

is no medical indication underlying these

infections, reduced fertility, psychosocial

kinds of circumcision; they are carried out

complaints, sexual complaints and/or post-

for cultural reasons. For instance, in some

traumatic stress disorder.

3 Another perspective on honour and violence

Overview 3.2

Issues that may affect family honour and possible reactions during the course of life

Phase in the life-course

Issues that may affect family honour

Possible reactions

Childhood 0-12 years

– Children born out of wedlock

– Circumcision

– Not being circumcised

– Abandonment in a foreign

– Opposition to family rules

country – Experiencing or being threatened with violence

Puberty 12-18 years

– Opposition to family rules

– Circumcision

– Not being circumcised

– Arranged marriage

– Loss of virginity

– Forced marriage

– Extramarital pregnancy

– Abandonment in a foreign

– Rape – Selecting a partner

country – Experiencing or being threatened with violence – Suicide – Being rejected or threatened with repudiation

Adolescence 18-24 years

– Opposition to family rules

– Arranged marriage

– Loss of virginity

– Forced marriage

– Extramarital pregnancy

– Marital captivity

– Rape

– Abandonment in a foreign

– Selecting a partner – Divorce and having a new relationship, discussions about the

country – Experiencing or being threatened with violence

custody of children if applicable – Suicide – Being rejected or threatened with repudiation Adulthood 24 years and above

– Opposition to family rules

– Forced marriage

– Loss of virginity

– Marital captivity

– Extramarital pregnancy

– Abandonment in a foreign

– Selecting a partner – Rape – Arranged marriages – Divorce and having a new rela-

country – Experiencing or being threatened with violence – Suicide

tionship, discussions about the – Being rejected or threatened custody of children if applicable

with repudiation

117

Focus on honour

3.3.2

118

The life-course under the microscope

More than a series of life phases Obviously, the life-course perspective involves more than listing the various experiences that people have according to consecutive life phases. The issues that may affect family honour as listed in Overview 3.2 each concern the trajectories and developments in individuals’ life-courses that may clash with the views held by the family. Serious conflicts may arise during transition phases. Conflicts involving the choice of partner or getting a divorce are examples of the type of conflict that may be met with violence or the threat of violence. In the worst-case scenario, the reactions may involve cutting existing family ties for good. Murder or homicide may be used in the process. Suicide is another example (see also Bergen et al., 2009; Feldman, 2010). Repudiation is another example of this. It involves being completely ostracised socially. The person who is repudiated may in turn choose to no longer have any contact with the family and to forego any kind of reconciliation. Grave desecration Rita Atria was a young woman from a small

young woman because they are deprived

Sicilian village. An assassin from a rival

of a normal social life. Having said that,

mafia family shot and killed her father in

they do have a warm relationship with

1985. Rita was only eleven years old at the

Borsellino, one that in fact constitutes a

time. After the violent death of her father,

family bond of sorts. But a bomb attack

her older brother Nicolò decides to take

that kills Borsellino on 19 July 1992 brings

revenge. But he, too, is murdered. His

an end to this important social contact.

widow, Piera Aiello, takes it upon herself

Rita writes the following in her diary: ‘Bor-

to talk to the authorities. Rita is hoping

sellino, you died for what you believed in.

that both of the murders in her family will

But without you, I too am dead.’ A week

eventually be brought before the court.

after Borsellino’s death, Rita takes her

She gives a statement to Paolo Borsellino,

own life. In her book about this sorry tale,

a magistrate who has taken on the battle

Petra Reski, a German journalist, describes

against organised crime. When her mother

what happens to Rita’s grave. ‘For security

gets wind of Rita’s collaboration with the

reasons, Piera does not attend the funeral

authorities, she throws her daughter out of

but she chooses the headstone that is

the house. After all, she has disgraced the

placed on the grave a few weeks after

family name. The authorities help Rita and

the burial – until Rita’s mother smashes

her sister-in-law to go into hiding. Stay-

it to smithereens. “If you do not remove

ing in a safe house proves difficult for the

the headstone, I will smash it to pieces,”

3 Another perspective on honour and violence

Giovanna Atria threatens the two guards

the betrayal of her daughter: “La verità

at the cemetery. She tells the entire village

vive” – The truth lives on. No one believes

how she intends to desecrate her daugh-

that she will carry out her threat until she

ter’s headstone. The headstone, chosen

arrives at the cemetery one afternoon

by her reviled daughter-in-law, has an

with a hammer hidden in her handbag’

epitaph etched in marble that immortalises

(Reski, 2009).

When tackling honour-related cases that involve violence, the issue is to find turning points. The question, however, is where to find these turning points. Younger generations have educational opportunities that will change their perspective on issues like marriage, sexuality and family honour (see, for instance, Pels & De Gruijter, 2006).

3.4

3.4.1

Various perspectives on honour and violence compared

Different levels

Different opportunities and different levels In the previous section, we compared theories to lenses. We have various lenses in our camera bag that can be used when studying violence committed in the name of honour. In Chapter 2, we discussed the historical-sociological and anthropological perspectives, and in this chapter the focus has been on the lifecourse perspective. These perspectives are not identical. The historical-sociological perspective of the theory of civilisation focuses strongly on the macro level of society. An example of this would be the focus on the process of state formation. The anthropological studies mentioned in Chapter 2 do not express an opinion about society as a whole; instead they home in on specific groups at meso level. This chapter explains how the life-course perspective is a field of studies in which judgements are made about the macro and meso level as well as about the level of the individual. When elaborating on the causes of honourrelated conflicts, the focus in this chapter has been on the family as well as on the individual.

119

Focus on honour

3.4.2

120

Different answers to different questions

What and why? In Section 2.1.2 we discussed the concepts of explaining and understanding. When explaining honour-related violence, the focus is the question of what people do in the name of honour and, for understanding, the aim is to understand why people commit violence in the name of honour. In this chapter, the life-course perspective is used to demonstrate the kinds of things that people do in the name of honour during the various phases of life. In Chapter 2, we explored the issue of why modern Western states prohibited vigilante justice over time; this discussion was based on the theory of civilisation. We consulted anthropologists to find an answer to the question of why honour codes are so important to people.

The inside perspective and the outsider perspective In Section 2.1.2 we introduced another pair of concepts: emic and etic. The emic perspective is about providing insights into the ways in which people experience and describe events in their lives in their own words. That is typical of the anthropological perspective. Viewing the theory of civilisation and the lifecourse perspective as they are described here, is mainly based on an outsider perspective.

CLOSE-UP

The blacksmith’s secret Remco Van Abcoude grew up with horses. He sat on a pony for the first time when he was eight years old and he started to explore the prospect of becoming a farrier when he turned eighteen. He shod a horse for the first time at the age of 22. More than twenty years later, he is still working as a blacksmith at the Mounted Brigade (Levende Have) for The Hague police force. ‘To me, professional ethics involves various facets. The profession of the blacksmith is in a state of flux at the moment. There are a lot of innovations and it’s important to keep abreast of what is going on. When I first started, we used to work a lot with silicone and that kind of stuff, but now the trend is to use natural products. This is not always to do with changing ideas about animal welfare. We are becoming increasingly aware that the horse functions perfectly by its nature. So, should we be tinkering with them so much? At the moment, science is busy studying this aspect quite intensively. This research has shown that the natural progression of the hoof while the horse steps, trots and gallops must be left unimpeded as much as possible. It is simply a matter of bare feet or a horseshoe, and for the rest not too many bells and whistles. As a craftsman, you should actively follow this kind of debate and explore new techniques. To my mind professional ethics is also about informing your clients about your field of expertise. In the recreation sector, in which I have plenty of experience as a farrier, people see horses in a different light, a more emotional one. I get that, because private individuals bring their own animal to you, a member of the family as it were. In the police force, horses are much more of a commodity; you are much less likely to bond personally with them. That is not to say that I’m some kind of maintenance mechanic around here. My experience is that when you give the people in the mounted brigade proper information about the benefits and necessity of a smith’s work, they come to appreciate you more over time. And even though it’s a bit more business-like in the police force, you have to realise that every horse is different; they are individuals and you have to get to know them. I reckon that applies to any animal that you want to get more out of than just food. It is even more so with horses. It is simply a prey and flight species. As soon as you change anything in its environment, a horse will react. You have to respect this sensitivity. Without getting too fanciful about it, I think I can safely say that you get more out of a horse if you treat it honourably. But if you ask me about respect for my professional knowledge, then I don’t only look to people. Do you know what the blacksmith’s secret is? I have greater respect for what horses think of my work than what people do. You don’t just hammer shoes onto their hooves. Horses have to have their hooves trimmed every six weeks. You can compare it to humans cutting and filing their nails. If you trim the hooves properly, you adjust the hoof so that it is in the correct position and then you as a blacksmith play an important role in preventing an abnormal gait and lameness. A horse responds if it can carry on walking thanks to what you did for it. I can’t say that the animal is grateful, it can’t speak to you or put your salary up, but it knows that it can carry on walking thanks to you. To me, that is the greatest honour.’

4

Recognising honourrelated issues

In this chapter, we elaborate on the ‘LEC EGG method’. Section 4.2 discusses how the police identify ‘red flags’. What are these indicators and how do they search for them in police information? To begin with, the first section considers several complications related to recognising honour-related issues.

4.1

4.1.1

Complications

Snapshots

Getting beyond fleeting impressions As soon as information is brought to the attention of the police, it is crucial to find out as quickly as possible whether the police already know about those involved and their issues. This kind of information is indispensable to finding out whether honour violations are the motive for vigilante justice. An ‘isolated incident’ is no more than a snapshot in time. To get any insight into the motives for the behaviour, the broader context has to be examined. In other words, you have to transcend the snapshot in time. What was the conflict about? Have attempts been made to restore the honour? What kinds of attempts were they? In Chapter 1, we discussed how honour-related cases by no means always end in death. Depending on the circumstances – in the previous chapter we examined numerous examples in which honour-related conflicts flare up during the course of life – entering into marriage, a divorce or repudiation of the partner, behaving as if nothing is going on, or accepting the situation and seeking reconciliation may be a way to resolve the conflict (Van Eck, 2001, 2003b). Lethal violence is effectively a last resort. Before it gets to this there are other possibilities. One could say that there is a sliding scale, as outlined in Overview 4.1. That said, this does not detract from the fact that an affront to honour can attract a serious and immediate violent reaction. More than a one-off snapshot in time is required to answer the question of how much leeway is available for averting an escalation of the violence.

Overview 4.1

The sliding scale of actions that can be taken to restore honour

Honour-restoring actions y1 up to and including yx

Honour violation Timeline

x

Fatal honour restoration y1

y2

y3

y4

yx

Source: Janssen, 2009a.

4.1.2

Doubtful honour

Unanswered questions Estimating and making an initial assessment of the case is in effect no more than a snapshot in time. For this reason, it is crucial (when cases are brought to the attention of the police and not much background information is available at that point in time) not to label these cases as ‘honour-related cases’ but instead as ‘possible honour-related cases’. As frustrating as it may be, some cases will always be ‘possible honour-related case’ because the police are unable to get a clear picture of the context. Some questions may simply remain unanswered. They concern cases of ‘doubtful honour’, as it were. A blood-stained wedding dress It comes to the police’s attention that

any indication of the owner’s iden-

a rubbish bag has been found in the

tity. An examination of the evidence

bushes: it contains a blood-stained

shows that the blood on the dress

wedding dress. The labels have been

is animal blood. Could it be that the

removed from the dress. The style

bride was no longer a virgin? Was she

of the dress looks very much like the

trying to save her honour by smearing

kind of bride’s dress that they wear

animal blood on her dress to give the

in the Middle East. There is, however,

impression that she was still a virgin

nothing about the dress that gives

(Janssen, 2006a)?

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Focus on honour

126

The sufferings of war A young woman whose family were origi-

fering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

nally from the Middle East has started a rela-

The source of the disorder is attributed to his

tionship with a South American. Her father

experiences in a war zone. The question now

is extremely displeased about it. He had

is whether the domestic violence is rooted in

another future in mind for his daughter. Vio-

adherence to cultural codes concerning the

lence has often been used in the home and

appropriate behaviour of family members.

once again the threats are real. An expert

Or are his wartime sufferings playing a deci-

has since established that the father is suf-

sive role in his violent behaviour?

Jealousy A husband and wife have been married

his wife several times with a knife. Despite

for a year. They have since had a baby. The

all of this, she manages to get herself and

husband, who is of North African descent,

her child to safety. She gets medical help

is jealous. When he looks at the child,

in time, and survives the stabbing inci-

doubt creeps in: is he really the father?

dent. Was the husband driven by family

Eventually the issue escalates and he stabs

honour, or was he pathologically jealous?

Pathological jealousy Pathological jealousy is a serious affliction.

night. Were it not for the fact that she was

Sometimes it is referred to as the Othello

labouring under an illusion, namely that my

syndrome after an insanely jealous char-

father was constantly having affairs, then

acter in a Shakespearean play (Janssen,

there would have been not much wrong

2009a). One of the most celebrated authors

with her (...). Wherever my father went,

in the Netherlands has also written on the

he was given a son to accompany him,

subject of jealousy. In Maarten ’t Hart’s

because my mother assumed that it would

case, it didn’t concern a fictitious character;

not be so easy to have an affair if he was

instead it was about his own mother. ‘[My

in the company of either his oldest or his

mother] was the epitome of a caring person

youngest son’ (’t Hart, 2015: pp. 6-7). The sus-

(...). She would be there for you day and

picions that occupy Maarten ’t Hart’s mother

4 Recognising honour-related issues

take on bizarre forms when she assumes

he did not father his three children. When,

that her husband is even hiding mistresses

after years of wrangling, one of his brothers

at the cemetery where he works. She goes

finally persuades him to have a cheek swab

as far as to suggest that her husband has

taken for a DNA test that incontrovertibly

hidden one of his ‘sluts’ in a freshly dug

demonstrates that he is indeed the biologi-

grave. ’t Hart mentions that he has several

cal father of his brood, he confronts his wife

family members who were afflicted with

with the following statement: ‘The results

this kind of pathological jealousy. One of

of the test are not proof that you have never

his uncles, for instance, was convinced that

been unfaithful’ (’t Hart, 2015: p. 123).

Sometimes it is not so much a matter of not finding any answer to the question of what the motive is; rather, it is that there are several possible answers.

4.2

4.2.1

Working with red flags

Thoughts behind the red flags

What is a red flag? ‘Red flags’ are used to identify cases whereby honour may be the motive for violence or the threat of violence. These red flags are divided into three types. First, there are flags that point to causes for honour violations. Secondly, there are flags that can be interpreted as indications for restoring honour. Thirdly, there are several flags that refer to the characteristics of honour codes and the social backgrounds of those involved. Flags related to crimes and other incidents and events, which can also be identified in the police information systems, are included in an electronic search that can be accessed in all the regional divisions of the National Police Force. It is the last set of flags, which are related to the aspects of the social background and environment that have to be ‘interpreted’ as it were (Janssen, 2008a, 2009a).

An indicator and not a measuring instrument A red flag does not necessarily mean that an honour violation is the underlying motive for violence; instead it is a signal that the case in question should be investigated regarding any evidence of an honour violation that may be the motive for violence (Janssen, 2008a, 2009a). For this reason, red flags are not recorded in the police information systems. There is no point in recording them because they are merely used to flag indicators on the grounds of which

127

128

Focus on honour

a case should be investigated further. They are also used to develop investigation hypotheses and scenarios (see also the ‘Hypotheses and scenarios’ textbox in Section 5.1.1). Recording red flags would rob them of their value as an early recognition system. The flags are no more than indicators to prompt further investigation. They are not part of a measuring instrument that measures whether or not a case should be labelled as indicative of ‘honour-related violence’. Using them in any other way would block the road to further analysis and investigation. It is clear that such a development would be counter-productive.

4.2.2

Types of red flags

Kinds of flags: causes of conflicts Some flags demonstrate the underlying causes of potential honour-related cases, i.e. honour violations: • Known kinds of affronts to honour Provocations, threats, insults and taunts can all lead to people literally feeling that their honour and reputation have been violated. Gossip and defamation can be construed as affronts to honour. Spreading rumours of people having a venereal disease, having undergone an abortion or being involved in an extramarital affair are all examples of this kind of honour violation. These days defamatory rumours are not only spread verbally, but also online. Angry words do not need to be spoken in public. Honour can also be violated when embarrassing stories about those concerned are told to other people that are not considered part of the in-group, i.e. the social group with which the person concerned feels involved or with which he or she identifies him- or herself. Revenge on Facebook With his relationship on the rocks, an

Facebook pages and are very angry: the

indignant ex-husband opens a Facebook

woman has violated the family honour.

account in the name of his former wife. He

An uncle informs her that if she doesn’t

posts photos on Facebook that leave little

make sure that these infamous texts and

to the imagination to suggest that his ex-

images are removed from the internet,

wife is offering sexual services in exchange

then he will not hesitate to kill her.

for money. Members of the wife’s family who live in the Middle East have seen these

4 Recognising honour-related issues

Revenge porn and sextortion Revenge porn involves images of a naked

extreme’. This kind of conduct is referred

or scantily clad individual that have vol-

to as sextortion, an amalgamation of ‘sex’

untarily been given to another person

and ‘extortion’. Sextortion, also referred to

(often the partner) or taken by that per-

as sexual extortion, is defined as ‘behav-

son. These images are then either spread

iour that leads to sexual material being

without the permission of the person in

obtained that can be used to blackmail the

the images or the person that has them

person portrayed (...). The motive for this

threatens to spread them. Revenge is

may be to obtain money or property, to

taken by spreading these images, for

obtain more sexual material [or] to extort

instance, as a reaction to the break-up of

sexual favours’ (Parliamentary Papers II

a relationship. The minister of Security

2015/16, 29279, 300, p. 3) (Ten Voorde,

and Justice has pointed out that revenge

2016). Moreover, in honour-related cases,

porn may be put on the web with another

revenge porn and sextortion are used as a

purpose in mind, for instance, to get ‘more

means of blackmail and to stain the hon-

material and material that is even more

our of the victims and their families.

• Conflicts between the people concerned as a possible source of honour violations Honour is felt and experienced in many ways. Various opinions – be they about sexual behaviour or business agreements – leading to conflicts may be a breeding ground for feeling that one’s honour has been violated.

Kinds of flags: manifestations of honour restoration It is also possible to differentiate between forms of honour restoration: • Consequences of restoring honour violently or otherwise The ultimate kind of honour restoration is lethal (murder, homicide or suicide). Lethal violence is by no means always used in honour-related cases. In this respect, there is another kind of violence that acts as red flags, for instance, abuse, assault or stalking.

129

Focus on honour

130

Family honour and prostitution In his book, De Fatale Fuik [translated: the

Sex was completely out of the question.

fatal trap] published in 2012, chief superin-

So, once he had broken her virginity and

tendent of police, Henk Werson, recounts

photographed her naked on his bed, he

his experience about the many years he

had her in his power. Her family honour

spent combatting forced prostitution and

was compromised. He only had to threaten

human trafficking. In the hard world of this

to show her parents the photograph, and

specific kind of organised crime, he was

she was like putty in his hands. Quite apart

also confronted with cases in which honour

from the fact that he could inform her fam-

plays a role. For instance, he tells the story

ily about her prostitution work’ (Werson,

of Jamilla, a young woman of Moroccan

2012: p. 291). This kind of honour violation

descent, who ends up in prostitution against

can lead to violent reactions by the family.

her will after she has come into contact with

(See also the textbox on revenge porn and

a certain Farid: ‘[Farid] let her cross a few

sextortion in Section 4.2.2.) For more on the

boundaries and then there was no turn-

relationship between human trafficking and

ing back. She was no longer allowed to be

honour-related violence, see also Dettmeijer

seen with a boy, let alone have a boyfriend.

et al., 2016.

• Honour restoration does not necessarily have to be carried out in the Netherlands. It is quite possible that the honour is restored in the country of origin of those concerned. This could range from forced marriages and repudiation to murder. For this reason, abduction, unlawful deprivation of liberty and missing person cases may also be ‘red flag’ cases. Suicidal behaviour among young ethnic minority women Research shows that young women of

ethnic minority women experienced kinds

ethnic minority backgrounds in the Neth-

of stress and pressure that was hardly, if at

erlands are more likely to exhibit non-fatal

all, mentioned in the native Dutch women’s

suicidal behaviour than their native Dutch

files. Much of this pressure concerned

peers. Based on a file search sample of 115

aspects of honour codes, such as remain-

young native Dutch women and women of

ing chaste and not losing one’s virginity,

Hindustan (see also in this context Salverda,

and pressure when choosing and marrying

2004), Turkish and Moroccan descent,

a partner and keeping a marriage alive

research was conducted to find out which

despite the fact that it was entered into

factors contribute to this behaviour. This

against the woman’s wishes (Van Bergen

research also studied cultural factors. The

et al., 2009).

4 Recognising honour-related issues

Kinds of flags: features of honour codes This final set of red flags concerns the more general features of honour codes: • Words that refer to honour A familiar example of a culturally determined notion of honour is male chauvinism or, in Turkish concepts of honour, namus and şeref. If those concerned use these kinds of words, it is a sure sign that honour is at stake. Yet caution should be exercised because those concerned may not actually use this terminology themselves. The fact is that using these expressions is generally considered taboo. One should therefore be wary if words like ‘honour’, ‘honour killings’ or ‘namus’ are literally used in the police systems. Did those concerned literally make statements using those words? Or is it rather a question of a well-intentioned but unnecessary ‘interpretation’ on the part of the police officer? • Heavy dependency on the community If an individual has close ties with a particular community, tensions may arise if the individual acts in a way that is contrary to the norms of his or her own community, or has views that are contrary to these norms. The differences in behaviour and/or views may be construed as an affront to honour, and often results in group pressure. Crab politics An extraordinary type of group pressure

enterprising congener by the claw and pull

is what anthropologists who study the

it back down into the trap to stop it from

Caribbean call ‘crab politics’ (Wilson, 1973;

escaping. This kind of behaviour also occurs

Brana-Shute, 1979). This phenomenon is not

among humans. For instance, Sansone

so much about choosing a different path,

(1992) describes how, in the eighties, deal-

one that is considered by the social group

ers of Surinamese origin had no qualms

as deviant. Rather, it concerns problems

about giving statements about their rivals

that manifest when people climb the social

to the police. As soon as a life path takes a

ladder. Crabs serve as a model for this kind

turn, through increased prosperity or some

of behaviour. If they are trapped in a pot

other kind of social progress, not everyone

with their fellow species, and one of the

cheers when they witness the good fortune

crabs has the presence of mind to seek

of a relative or a neighbour. Sometimes

freedom by following the light to escape

everything is done to hold the social climber

the crab pot, the other crabs will grab their

back.

131

132

Focus on honour

Initially, the socio-economic backgrounds and the emotions of those concerned were also examined. The underlying thinking behind this was that codes of honour could be a factor, particularly among ‘traditional’ people and among those who are less well educated and are at a disadvantage in the jobs market. Over the years, the LEC EGG has abandoned that line of thinking. Honour-related problems are not the preserve of less-well-educated people; they occur among the highly educated as well. Furthermore, it is often difficult for police officers to assess the degree of ‘traditionalism’. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that archaic notions about matters like relationships between men and women may be hiding behind a fine suit and a cool pair of shades. Conversely, a Muslim woman wearing a headscarf need not necessarily be an ‘oppressed woman’; she may very well be a highly educated woman who most certainly has her own outlook on the world. So, more information is needed if we are to make substantiated judgements about the thinking of individuals and groups. The integration paradox Encountering discrimination and preju-

included in the majority group in society.

dices in daily life may affect one’s bonding

If this doesn’t happen, they feel disap-

with the community. This is sometimes

pointed and indignant (Buijs, Demant &

referred to as the ‘integration paradox’. In

Hamdy, 2006; see also Huijnk & Andries-

a study among Moroccan-Dutch young

sen, 2016). So, it is remarkable that these

people, Buijs, Demant and Hamdy (2006)

feelings of rejection affect precisely those

observed that the more these young

people who have everything it takes to

people want to integrate in this country

succeed in society. Feeling rejected could

and the more they can see their future

be a contributing factor when qualified

here, the more sensitive they become

people start to become more interested

to rejection and exclusion mechanisms.

in and find out more about the cultural

Once these young people have success-

background of their forebears and, with

fully completed their tertiary education,

this, start to show an interest in codes of

they expect to get full recognition and be

honour.

4 Recognising honour-related issues

In principle, the same applies to emotions: there is no set framework that indicates how people will ideally respond to an honour-related issue. The emotions displayed say something about how the person experiences the conflict. However, ‘hard facts’ are difficult to deduce from an assessment of a person’s emotional state. No future in the Netherlands A young woman of Afghan descent

But he has never managed to get a

has a problematic relationship with

similar job in the Netherlands. He starts

her boyfriend. They often fight, and

to wonder whether his future and the

sometimes he beats her. She ends the

future of his family are not in Afghani-

relationship, but her ex continues to

stan after all. He suspects that he would

harass her. The young woman’s father

have a better grip on his daughter’s

sides with the ex-boyfriend and thinks

behaviour if they were there, and that

his daughter should get back together

he would be in a better position to con-

with him. In Afghanistan, the father had

tinue safeguarding the family’s good

a good job and was held in high esteem.

name.

133

CLOSE-UP

Willing and able Professor Hanny Elzinga is a dean affiliated to the Honours College at the University of Groningen. She is also deputy justice at the Court of Appeal in Leeuwarden. Honour plays a key role in both these positions. ‘Let me start with my work at the university. Each faculty puts forward the best ten per cent of its students to follow an extracurricular programme at our Honours College. We select students from that ten per cent. For this, we not only look at the figures; obviously you have to be willing as well as able to embark on the programme. Candidates have to have the drive and ambition to be able to utilise their full intellectual potential. Don’t get me wrong. When I talk about willing, I am not only talking about motivation in the sense that you will only be coming to get something out of us. No, just as important is the question: what do you have to offer us as a student? You have to show initiative. What we are doing in effect is appealing to the students’ personal sense of honour: what do you intend to contribute to making this extraordinary programme a success? For instance, on the initiative of two of our students an honorary doctorate was recently awarded to Desmond Tutu. Isn’t that a wonderful thing! Once students have been accepted into our programme, they delve further into their own discipline and they also broaden their scope by following special interdisciplinary modules. We use this interdisciplinary approach to try and encourage them to look beyond their own boundaries. In other words, it’s all about exploring and expanding. All that effort is ultimately rewarded with an honours degree that will improve opportunities in the job market for these graduates. As the dean, I am mainly occupied with organising the educational side of things. I was a lecturer in the field of criminal law before I was appointed dean. All along my aim has been to pass on the following message to my students: respect all the parties involved, and that includes the suspect. As a judge, you form an opinion about someone’s actions. It is not up to the judge to write a suspect off as a person. You have to be independent in your thinking and you have to be willing and able to take a decision: a judge cannot take a decision without giving the matter due consideration. The consequences of a judgment are too far-reaching for that. They require an explanation. Not being afraid to take the bull by the horns is for me an essential characteristic of your professional integrity as a judge. While we have been discussing my work, I have realised that for both positions I attach honour to doing my job as best I can. Part of this is striving to achieve dialogue. Having said that, I also realise that I hold a position of power. For instance, I have a big finger in the pie when it comes to who does and who does not get accepted to take part in the honours programme, and court judgements have a major impact on the individual who ultimately has to serve the sentence. Both of these scenarios require me to be accessible and to be open to what people tell me. As a lecturer and a judge, I want to understand what is going on with my students and those involved in the criminal proceedings for which I have to pass sentence. That said, it also requires a certain distance. I cannot hang out having a good time with the students in the pub and then put a line through their study plans. Otherwise I’d be compromising my professional honour, my independence and the dignity of my office. I can’t and won’t run that risk.’

5

Gathering information about honour-related cases

Using a checklist is the second step in the standard method that the police in the Netherlands use for recognising and tackling honour-related cases involving violence. The checklist is used to gather further information about cases that have been flagged – in the first step – as possibly involving honour violations as the motive for violence or the threat of violence. The first section in this chapter explains the contents of the checklist and what the underlying thinking behind this list is. The first section also discusses the various parts of the checklist. Section 5.2 sheds light on the requirements that the processing of the information must meet.

5.1

5.1.1

The checklist

A few thoughts behind the checklist

Not a measuring instrument nor a blue print The same set of tools are used in the analysis and tackling of honour-related issues as those used for other police operations. For instance, analysts can conduct network analyses and draw up timelines, while detectives compile interrogation plans. These plans are used to gain an understanding of why, i.e. the role and aim of interrogation in the investigation, and how an interrogation must be done. (In this regard, we have in mind aspects like the subjects that must be discussed, the sequence is which the subjects must be broached and the way in which questions must be worded.) The checklist is designed as a supplement to these techniques. This checklist is a qualitative instrument that police officers and other professionals in the field of safety and security can use after a red flag has been detected. Note that the checklist is not an instrument that measures whether or not honour is a motive, nor does it lead directly to an assessment of the risks (see, for instance, Belfrage et al., 2012). The checklist used in the Netherlands is a list of mainly open questions aimed at gathering background and other information and tips for police work. Completing the checklist is a labour-intensive process, but having sound information can prevent unpleasant surprises in the longer term, ones that may well require a major

time investment on the part of the police and its partners within the safety and security sector. Information collected based on this list is the foundation underlying the analysis and, with that, the plan of action. As noted, this does not mean that the checklist automatically leads to an estimation of the risks. A risk assessment is made based on the information collected using this checklist. If experts are called in, for instance, a psychiatrist or an anthropologist, then these specialists use the information gathered using the checklist to shed light on the case. The checklist also does not offer a blue print or a standard recipe for tackling honour-related violence. The underlying thinking is that a customised approach can be developed by thoroughly analysing the problem based on the information gathered on the checklist. The checklist has changed over time – among other things questions and subjects have been added – but the basic assumptions, i.e. its qualitative nature, and not using it as a blue print or a measuring instrument, have not changed. Always have an up-to-date checklist to hand The contents and design of the checklist

honour-related violence theme page on

have changed over the course of the years.

the police website (www.politie.nl). Police

Undoubtedly this instrument will also be

staff members can always access the latest

changed in the future. After all, the world

version via Kompol, the police intranet.

does not stand still: honour-related prob-

They can also use the app, that has been

lems are not static and the same applies

specially developed for the police, for

to the field of safety and security. For

domestic and honour-related violence.

these reasons, the tools that profession-

Based on a few simple questions related

als use have to be recalibrated from time

to the case in hand, this app refers the user

to time. Those professionals who do not

to the set of instruments to be used for the

work in the police force can download an

case and the relevant points of contact

up-to-date version of the checklist via the

within the police system.

137

Focus on honour

138

Two lines: one concerning the case and one for the investigation process line Staff members are not always involved from start to finish in many of the cases that the police deal with. Much may have already taken place that the police know nothing about before citizens or institutions approach the police. Even if the police catch a perpetrator in the act, actions or incidents may have taken place beforehand that are relevant to the offence and that the police had no insight into. Solving a case should therefore be seen as the reconstruction of a story: sometimes important elements of that story immediately come to the attention of the police. In other cases, an investigation may be required. (De Poot et al., 2004; see also Janssen & Sanberg, 2010b). When creating a reconstruction, it is essential that all the pieces of information are properly ordered so that it is clear how the case unfolded. Figure 5.1 gives a simple outline of the developments in a case in a story outlined chronologically. .

Figure 5.1

Developments in a case in chronological order

Point in time 1

Point in time 2

Point in time 3

Point in time 4

Point in time 5

Citizens take action

Citizens take action

The police and/or partner take action

Citizens take action

The police and/or partner take action

Two lines can be distinguished in a case like the one presented in Figure 5.1. One line describes the actions taken by citizens based on a conflict and how it unfolds. The actions and reactions of professionals to the incident during the investigation process can be placed on a different timeline. Both lines – for convenience let us call them the case and the investigation process line – should be filed in a dossier. First, an overview of the history and other developments in the case must be outlined in a dossier. The point here is that it must be obvious from this how the case unfolded over time. Answers to following questions must be noted: What happened? When, why and between whom did a conflict arise? How did those concerned react to it? Figure 5.2 gives an example based on Figure 5.1.

5 Gathering information about honour-related cases

Figure 5.2

The case line

Point in time 1

Point in time 2

Point in time 3

Point in time 4

Point in time 5

A fight breaks out at a party between two family members after an extramarital affair is discovered.

Other family members attempt to mediate but fail. Threats ensue.

–

A fight breaks out; there are serious injuries. One of the injured dies.

–

Secondly, sketching a line that systematically traces the actions of the police and other partners in the field of safety and security is essential for gaining insight into the case. As soon as a case is brought to the attention of the police and its partners, they also become actors in the case. This investigation process line based on the example in Figure 5.2, is shown in greater detail in Figure 5.3. Figure 5.3

The investigation process line

Point in time 1

Point in time 2

Point in time 3

Point in time 4

Point in time 5

–

–

The neighbours call the police after a noise disturbance. The police send round a patrol car.

–

When the police arrive on the scene, they discover that a fight has broken out and people have been hurt. The police call in back up and an ambulance.

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So, the example detailed here is based on two separate timelines. One dossier may contain a comprehensive overview that systematically describes the actions of the public, the police and partners in chronological order. This explanation is mainly to emphasise that both lines are essential for building a solid dossier. Only then is it possible to work out paths of inquiry, hypotheses, scenarios and a plan of action in a well-thought-out, systematic way. Hypotheses and scenarios These days the police often refer to hypoth-

the neighbours have often overheard argu-

eses and scenarios when investigating

ments between the victim and his family

crimes. Hypotheses concern the question

over the course of the last six months. The

of what happened. So, a hypothesis is not

man had even apologised to his immediate

the truth or a fact; rather it is an assump-

neighbour about the disruptions and told

tion that has to be proven, i.e. verified or

them that he was about to go to the police

rejected, i.e. falsified. Formulating hypoth-

because he felt threatened by his family. In

eses produces an overview of the possible

light of this information, the first and the

circumstances and thus areas of investiga-

third hypotheses are given less priority and

tion. One hypothesis may be more realistic

a scenario can be drawn up based on the

than another. By putting the hypotheses in

second hypothesis about a long-running

order of probability, it is possible to deter-

conflict within the family. But from conver-

mine which questions are most relevant to

sations with the family it turns out that the

an investigation, and should therefore be

man was suffering from a mental illness and

asked first. A scenario is an elaboration of

that he had refused to take his medication.

a hypothesis. Scenarios discuss questions

This is what the fights were about that the

such as how an incident in the hypothesis

neighbours had mentioned. The psychia-

may have occurred (Snijders, 2011). The

trist who was treating him confirmed that

two concepts can be illustrated based on

the statements made by the family were

a fictitious example. Suppose a dead body

true. He goes on to tell the police that man

is found on the side of the road. The body

had suicidal thoughts as soon as he stopped

of the man is seriously injured and further

taking his medication. The third hypothesis,

investigation is needed to determine the

which was not rejected nor tested initially,

cause of death. At this point in time, the fol-

has now come to the fore in the investiga-

lowing hypotheses can be formulated: (1)

tion. A new scenario is being work out:

the victim was involved in a traffic accident;

the man stopped taking his medication,

(2) the victim was murdered; and (3) the vic-

became suicidal and threw himself in front

tim killed himself. Local inquiries reveal that

of a vehicle.

5 Gathering information about honour-related cases

AIDA At the start of this chapter, we noted that the checklist has been around for a long time and that it has been changed and things have been added. The checklist given in this chapter differs in several respects from the checklist that the police and its partners in the safety and security sector have used in the Netherlands in recent years. Some questions have been added, for instance, there are now questions about the online behaviour of those concerned and questions about how marriages came about. The biggest change has been to the order of the items included on the checklist. In the previous version of the checklist, questions related to the following themes were included: the way the incident was reported and the nature of the problem; personal details; socio-economic backgrounds; drafting a plan of action; interviewing those involved and using interpreters; recording and passing on information; engaging experts; and, finally, police mediation (Janssen, 2009a). To make the instrument more user friendly, the aim was to try not to lose any of the wealth of information that the list offers, on the one hand, whilst on the other hand, making a better distinction between questions on the list that are important for gathering information and tips for the specific strategy for the case. Thus, this resulted in a new checklist that consists of four parts: • Accepting a case Well begun is half done. In other words, when a case comes in, it is essential to establish how the case was brought to the attention of the authorities and which professionals are involved in handling it. • Identifying the problem What is the key issue in this particular case? Which problem has to be tackled? Is this a task for the police only? Or are other professionals involved? • In-depth analysis In order to respond to a problem properly, a thorough analysis must be made, one that also delves into the backgrounds of those involved. • Approach Understanding and analysing the problem should lead to an approach for handling it. What is the objective of an approach? Is assistance from LEC EGG required? Is mediation an option? And which safety and security aspects play a role?

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This classification can be summarised in an acronym, i.e. an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word, AIDA. Checklists are used outside the Netherlands, too. In English, AIDA stands for accepting a case, identifying the problem, in-depth analysis and approach, and the nice thing is that it means the same in French, i.e. accepter un cas, identifier le problem, decendre au fond du cas and approche, and in Dutch, i.e. aannemen, identificieren, diepteanalyse and aanpak. Aida the opera Honour-related cases often involve for-

Aida wrangles important military secrets

bidden love. The same applies to Verdi’s

out of her beloved on her father’s orders.

opera, Aida. While Egypt is preparing for

Her father intends to take up the battle

war with Ethiopia, Radamès is put in charge

against Egypt again. But the spurned prin-

of the Egyptian army. This army captain is,

cess catches them. Radamès lets Aida and

however, not aware that Princess Amneris,

her father escape and takes the blame for

the pharaoh’s daughter, is in love with

everything. By doing so, the great warrior

him. The fact of the matter is that Radamès

loses his honour, because he is now con-

has pledged his heart to Aida, one of the

sidered to be a traitor. The judges sentence

princess’s handmaidens. No one is aware

Radamès to death: he is buried alive in an

that the beautiful Aida is the daughter of

underground tomb. He discovers quickly

the King of Ethiopia. When Radamès over-

that he is not alone in his imprisonment.

whelmingly defeats the Ethiopians, the

Aida has joined him, because she wants to

pharaoh offers him his daughter’s hand in

die together with her beloved. Together

marriage. While Radamès is hardly champ-

they close their eyes forever, entwined in

ing at the bit to get married to the princess,

each other’s arms.

The first and last sections of the acronym – the two As – contain many useful tips and practical guidelines for the user. Questions aimed at gathering information and developing insight into the problem to be addressed are the main focus of the two middle sections, namely identifying the problem and the indepth analysis. As previously explained, a dossier must focus on how the case has unfolded over time as well as the mentioning of the investigation process. Overview 5.4. gives an elaboration of the acronym AIDA. Finally, a remark about the information that is collected based on the checklist. Obviously, this information is not going to hold its value forever. It is simply a fact that the impression of the case that emerges from the records is determined by the time and the place at which it unfolds, and by the information that

5 Gathering information about honour-related cases

the police have at their disposal. If relevant pieces are missing or there are suddenly new developments, then the case will have to be held up to the light anew. In other words, analyses and opinions based on this data have a limited shelf life. Overview 5.4

An elaboration of the acronym AIDA

Letter Meaning A

Line

Accepting a case: – What is the case number?

Process

– Who is completing the checklist? – Who is handling the case? – Personal details of the subject of the investigation – How did the case come to the attention of the police? I

Case Case

Process

Case

Process

Identifying the problem: – The first contact with those concerned: how it was handled and language problems, if applicable – Nature of the problem according to those concerned

Case

– Awareness of the problem among people in the social environment of those concerned D

In-Depth analysis: – Personal details of other persons concerned

Case

– Socio-economic backgrounds – Questions about marriages and divorces – Questions about funerals – Previous encounters with the police and/or other

Case

Process

Case

Process

partners in the safety and security sector – Previous experiences with violence – Other information A

Approach: – Preparation and objective of the approach – Assistance from the LEC EGG

Process

– Mediation

Case

– Safety and security

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Process

Focus on honour

5.1.2

144

Accepting a case

Record the case number and details of the person(s) completing the checklist To avoid losing important information, it is essential to begin by consistently recording case numbers or other codes that the police or other agencies use to identify the case in question. Practice shows that various people may be involved in completing the checklist. For instance, the contact person for honour-related violence in the regional division, the local police officer involved in the case or a social worker from the shelter who has a good relationship with the people concerned. The best result is achieved if the instrument is completed by professionals who have an operational role in the case, to put in it police parlance. Police officers have digital access to the current version of the checklist via the intranet; other safety and security partners can access it from the police website. Record the name or names and contact details of the person(s) who filled in the checklist. Overview 5.5 sums it all up. Overview 5.5

Contact details of those completing the checklist

– Record the case number(s) that the police or other agencies have given to the case – Record the name(s) – Record the name of the unit or institution to which the person who completes the checklist is affiliated – Record relevant telephone numbers – Record relevant e-mail addresses

Who is handling the case? Where is the case being handled? Is it being handled by a police staff member or by some other professional? Record the relevant name(s) and contact details (also after-hours numbers). Also record the case number that the police or other agencies have given the case. Overview 5.6 outlines this.

5 Gathering information about honour-related cases

Overview 5.6

Details of those handling the case

– Record the name(s) – Record the name of the regional division or institution to which those handling the case are affiliated – Record telephone numbers that those handling the case can be contacted on, also outside office hours – Record relevant e-mail addresses

Personal details of the subject of the investigation When taking on a case, the practical thing to do is to get the most important information about the person that contacted the police or about whom others have contacted the police. In this context, we have in mind the surname or – if it concerns a woman, her maiden name – and any other names that the person is known by online. For the rest, note down the marital status; date, place and country of birth; last known residential address in the Netherlands; and the country of origin, nationality, residence status and citizen service number [Burger Service Nummer]. Also check the Persons Database [Basis Registratie Personen (BRP)], and enquire about the person’s ethnicity. Nationality is determined by the person’s passport. The term ‘ethnicity’ refers to the social and cultural identity of an individual or a group. Nationality and ethnicity may be the same, but that is by no means always the case. Kurds who have Turkish nationality are an example of this. Overview 5.7 outlines this further Victims of honour-related violence and their residence permits The Immigration and Naturalisation Ser-

of violence and go to a shelter, regardless

vice (IND) is tasked with implementing the

of their residence status. However, in

policy regarding aliens in the Netherlands.

practice it seems that there are many mis-

The IND assesses applications submitted

understandings about this. For instance,

by foreigners who want to reside in the

often professionals, too, believe that vic-

Netherlands or want to take on the Dutch

tims who have not lived in the Netherlands

nationality. There is a special policy for

for five years lose their residence status if

victims of honour-related violence, and

they break off the relationship with their

also for other types of violence, such as

partner. That is not true. Under Article 3.90

domestic violence. The basic assumption

of the Aliens Decree 2000 [Vreemdelingen-

is that it must always be possible for peo-

besluit 2000], residence permits are not

ple to escape from violence or the threat

revoked for a period of one year after noti-

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146

fication of the temporary or permanent

2000 [Vreemdelingencirculaire 2000] pro-

break up if the alien has left the person

vides for the option of requesting a tem-

with whom he or she resides due to acts

porary residence permit. The IND grants

of violence. In addition, Chapter B9/11 of

the residence permit for a fixed term if the

the Aliens Act Implementation Guidelines

LEC EGG’s expert opinion shows that there

2000 [Vreemdelingencirculaire 2000] pro-

is a real and long-term threat of honour-

vides for the possibility of allowing victims

related violence in the Netherlands. The

of domestic and honour-related violence

LEC EGG in any event includes in its advice

to be eligible for the granting of an inde-

the options for averting the threat. In

pendent residence permit on humanitar-

addition to threats in the Netherlands, the

ian grounds. For this, they require among

victim must also be facing threats in their

other things a copy of the police report and

country of origin. In this context, the victim

a statement from the shelter. For foreign-

must argue convincingly that family mem-

ers without residence permits who are vic-

bers live in the country of origin, which

tims of or threatened with domestic and/or

family members it concerns and where

honour-related violence, Chapter B8/2 of

these people live.

the Aliens Act Implementation Guidelines

Overview 5.7

Personal details of the subject of the investigation

– In addition to the surname, record the maiden name if it concerns a woman. – Also ask about names used online. Here we have in mind, for instance, usernames and nicknames. – Record the date, place and country of birth. Ask about the district and province and any well-known cities in the vicinity. Also ask for original and current addresses plus telephone numbers in the country of origin and any subsequent urban or other addresses. – Ask about marital status (make a copy of relevant documents). – Record the last known residential address and telephone numbers in the Netherlands. – Record the nationality (make a copy of relevant documents) and ethnicity. – Ask about residence status: residence permit, which type, temporary/dependent or short-stay visa (make a copy of relevant documents). -

Also check the Persons Database.

– Record the citizen service number.

5 Gathering information about honour-related cases

How did the case come to the attention of the police? To gain insight into a case, it is important to find out how it came to the attention of the police or other agencies. For instance, did citizens bring the issue to the police’s attention by reporting it or making a statement? Or did the police themselves come across evidence of the case because they found a body, for instance? Or was it based on an electronic search, as discussed in the previous chapter? How did the police or others in the safety and security sector classify the incident after it was brought to their attention? For instance, did it concern a threat, a missing person case, an abduction, a murder or a homicide? Answers to questions like this can provide insight into whether citizens were involved in a case, and their expectations regarding professionals in the safety and security sector. Also ask about which institutions know about the case and how they are involved in the handling of the matter. Overview 5.8 outlines this. Overview 5.8

How did the case come to the attention of the police?

– Did those concerned bring the case to the attention of the police or other agencies? If so, who was involved? What was reported or what did the report concern? How was the incident classified? – Did the police or another institution themselves come across evidence of the case? If so, what happened? How was the incident classified? – Which agencies are aware of and/or involved in the case? How do they classify the incident?

5.1.3

Identifying the problem

The first contact with those concerned Honour is a loaded subject. If someone comes to the police station to report a situation in which this person presumably plays an important role, then the duty police officer must take the matter seriously and pay due attention to the informant or person filing the report. Making a detailed intake report can throw light on the possible motive. Generally speaking, there is no point in mentioning any suspicions that honour may be the motive. People involved will not always confirm such suspicions directly. The questions should be open not leading. When looking for a motive, the word ‘honour’ should not be put into people’s mouths. Consider what was said in Section 1.2.1 on the subject of killings based on masculine pride. Honour is a complicated matter, one that people often find difficult to talk about. What’s more, in many communities the police are the last ones that people would turn to if they have a problem.

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148

So never tell them that it is busy and that they should come back later. Often people have to pluck up the courage to go to the police. Try to prevent the conversation from being interrupted. It goes without saying that these recommendations also apply if the police or another partner in the field of safety and security themselves discover the case and talk to those concerned for the first time. Furthermore, each person concerned must be interviewed separately. Only then will those involved feel free to speak; their stories can be compared later. The police officer who is handling the case must look out for the interests of the persons concerned and the consequences of making statements. Why is a particular statement being made? Which statements are being made and by whom? At what point are these statements being made? Cultural patterns (and implications) must be taken into consideration in the process. A young girl who openly and honestly makes statements as a witness may later be forced to pay a high price for this. When in doubt, always talk to a specialist in the regional division who can call on the LEC EGG if necessary. Overview 5.9 gives a summary of these aspects. Overview 5.9

The first contact with those concerned

– Take your time – as much as is possible – for a detailed initial interview. – Look for a quiet place for the interview. – Take those concerned seriously and give them all the attention they require. Don’t let the interview be interrupted. – Speak to each person concerned separately. – Take the interests of the persons concerned and the consequences of making statements into consideration. – Never send the people involved away.

It is not unusual for the police or other agencies to have to deal with people who have not mastered the Dutch language, and using another language, for instance English, may not be an option either. In this case, an interpreter’s help is necessary if those concerned are to be properly understood. However, not everyone who speaks a particular language is suitable for acting as an interpreter. If someone from the in-group is asked, there is a chance that they may recognise the person concerned as being one of their own group, movement or family, which means that they are not likely to speak openly and honestly. Embarrassment and concerns about gossip may then be reinforced, and so people may keep quiet or not reveal as much. For this reason, we recommend not working with an interpreter during the initial contact. However, the legal

5 Gathering information about honour-related cases

requirements stipulated for furnishing evidence will obviously have to be taken into account during further investigations. For this reason, always use a sworn interpreter for formal interrogations.

Sworn Court Interpreters and Translators Act The Sworn Court Interpreters and Transla-

in the register is valid for a period of five

tors Act [Wet beëdigde tolken en vertalers]

years. In order to maintain high standards,

came into effect on 1 January 2009. The

it has been laid down by law that sworn

objective of this Act is to safeguard the

interpreters and translators must maintain

standard and integrity of interpreters and

their knowledge and skills through a sys-

translators who work within the domain

tem of continuing professional education,

of the police and the judicial authorities.

and by carrying out a minimum number of

To this end, a register of sworn interpret-

professional assignments per registration

ers and translators has been set up. Entry

period.

For the rest, when using an interpreter’s services, the interpreter is not meant to be acting as a ‘culture specialist’ who, based on their own convictions, points a police officer in a particular direction, be it unwittingly, subconsciously or sometimes intentionally. Make sure that the interpreter is giving a fair interpretation of what is being said. This may be difficult, particularly if the officer concerned has not mastered the foreign language. That said, pay attention to whether the interpreter frequently uses police jargon or politically correct language in their interpretations. These ‘extra layers of interpretations’ may result in important nuances being overlooked. When in doubt, have another (independent) interpreter check the translation. Some external experts who are consulted for honour-related cases via the LEC EGG are also sworn interpreters. However, they cannot take on both roles for one particular case: they can either act as the interpreter or the expert, but not both. Overview 5.10 lists the most important points.

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150

Overview 5.10 Working with interpreters – For the initial contact, it is preferable not to use any interpreter, but take the requirements for furnishing evidence into account, and use a sworn interpreter for formal interrogations. – In other cases, use an interpreter that does not belong to the in-group. – Make sure that the interpreter does not act as ‘culture specialist’, or give their own twist to the interpretation. – When in doubt, have another (independent) interpreter check the translation. – An external expert in a case cannot act as an interpreter for the same case.

Nature of the problem according to those concerned Previously, we mentioned that one should not use words like ‘honour’. Ask those concerned to describe the problem in their own words: what are they afraid of? Who is involved? And who is aware of the problem? It is not always wise to start asking questions like this straight away. Sometimes people are so nervous or troubled that it may be better to start with more simple questions, for instance, questions about personal details, so that they can get used to being interviewed. Having said that, the situation may be such that it requires getting to the point and outlining the essence of the problem straight away. Is it indeed an honour-related case? If so, try to establish what the honour violation is and whether any attempts have been made to restore the honour. In other words, try to estimate at the end of the discussion at what point on the sliding scale of actions taken to restore honour (Overview 4.1) the case is located. Overview 5.11 outlines this. Overview 5.11 Nature of the problem – What is the problem (differentiate between honour violation and honour restoration)? – What are those concerned specifically afraid of? In other words, what is the worst that can happen? Has it already happened? – Who is involved in the problem?

5 Gathering information about honour-related cases

Awareness of the problem among people in the social environment of those concerned Confidentiality is an important factor in honour-related cases. For this reason, it is crucial to identify who is already aware of the problem described by those concerned. Are there individuals who it is feared will react badly as soon as they become aware of the problem? These days, people put a lot of personal information online and on social media. So, do not forget to ask whether those involved have posted any information that may compromise confidentiality on Facebook or in a discussion forum, for instance. These questions are listed once again in Overview 5.12. Overview 5.12 Who is aware of the problem? – Who is aware of the problem? – Are there people who must not under any circumstances become aware of the problem? If so, who are they? – Have those concerned said anything online about the problem? If so, when, where and what was posted online?

5.1.4

In-depth analysis

Personal details of all those involved The police will ask questions about personal details during the initial contact. Apart from noting the personal information, address details, and residence status of some individuals concerned, also try to map the whole family group. Here we are referring to the father, mother and children (nuclear family) as well as uncles, aunts, cousins, and so forth (extended family). Previously we warned you about the danger of secrets being leaked on the internet. For this reason, also ask about the way in which those involved present themselves online. Various analyses can be made based on this kind of information. The police are familiar with social network analyses that can shed light on the existence of relationships between individuals and the extent of their contacts (Janssen, 2012). Figure 5.13 gives an example of such an analysis.

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Focus on honour

Figure 5.13

152

A social network

The analysis in Figure 5.13 says something about the degree of contact between men and women. If it concerns telephone traffic, for instance, then the figure can be used to deduce who is phoning who and how often. This kind of information can provide interesting glimpses into family life and honour-related issues in the family context. An overview of the family structure, i.e. a family tree, is also indispensable. Figure 5.14 gives an example of this kind of family tree. Figure 5.14

A family tree

An important difference between Figure 5.13 and 5.14 is that the people have more or less fixed positions: an individual remains the father or mother of his or her children, the relationships between siblings, uncles, aunts, first and second cousins are not subject to change. Obviously, marriages can break down, as a result of which there will be movements in the family tree. On the other hand, a social network analysis telephone traffic is much more transient. A comprehen-

5 Gathering information about honour-related cases

sive family tree offers experts insights into the family relationships. The naming of children, marriages between members of certain branches of the family – for instance, marriages between cousins or two families from which various children are married to one another – together with information about residence status may reveal something about authority, dependency and other relationships. To be able to complete a family tree, information about the marital status of those involved is also required. Are the individuals in question single, married, living together, divorced or widowed? If those concerned do not know all the answers, ask for someone else (a companion or confidant) who would be able to provide the information. Make copies of documents as much as possible. If the documents are not directly at hand, ask those involved to bring them at a later stage. Bear in mind that the age of consent is not necessarily 18 years of age. In some cultures, women are minors as long as they are not married. So, if an unmarried 25-year-old woman is reported missing, this may mean that it concerns an extremely vulnerable woman who needs the highest level of protection as far as the person reporting the incident is concerned. For the rest, pay attention when recording first names and surnames. In Europe, it is customary to mention the first name first, followed by the surname. In other cultures, that may be the other way around. The composition of names and surnames may also change in the course of life, for instance, after a marriage or divorce. Do you know my name? In 2006, the politician of Somali descent,

names: ‘Now, you may well wonder what

Ayaan Hirsi Magan Isse Guleid Ali Wai’ays

I am called. I am Ayaan, the daughter of

Muhammad Ali Umar Osman Mahamud

Hirsi, the son of Magan, the son of Isse,

– better known as Ayaan Hirsi Ali – came

the son of Guleid, who was the son of

under fire. She was accused among other

Ali, who was the son of Wai’ays, the son

things of using a false name on her asy-

of Muhammad, of Ali, of Umar, of the

lum application. As a consequence, legal

Osman family, the son of Mahamud. I am

proceedings were initiated to revoke

from that clan. My ancestor is Darod, who

her Dutch nationality. Ultimately, she

left Arabia eight hundred years ago and

was allowed to keep her passport. What

came to Somalia where he founded the

was the matter? Her official name is Hirsi

large tribe of the Darod. I am a Darod,

Magan, but when she registered in the

a Macherten, an Osman Mahamud and

Netherlands she adopted her great-

a Magan. Last week, there was some

grandfather’s name. This is permitted

confusion about my name. What is my

according to Somali law. In a fragment

name? Now you know what my name is.’

from her press release, which has since

Eventually, this affair led to the fall of the

become famous, she explained her

Balkenende II cabinet.

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154

Finally, check the Persons Database too. Overview 5.15 summarises the questions about personal details once more. Overview 5.15 Personal details – In addition to the surname, record the maiden names of women (spouses, mothers and mothers-in-law, sisters and sisters-in-law). – Also ask about names used online. Here we have in mind, for instance, usernames and nicknames. – Ask about the marital status of the persons concerned (make a copy of relevant documents). – Record the place and country of birth. Ask about the district and province and any well-known cities in the vicinity. Also ask for the original and current addresses plus telephone numbers in the country of origin and any subsequent urban or other addresses. – Record the last known residential address and telephone numbers in the Netherlands. – Record the nationality (make a copy of relevant documents) and ask about ethnicity. – Ask about residence status: residence permit, which type, temporary/dependent or short-stay visa (make a copy of relevant documents). Who is dependent on whom? – Also check the Persons Database. – Record the citizen service number.

Questions about marriages and divorces Experience shows that many honour-related issues have to do with choosing partners and getting married. It is therefore advisable to probe about this topic: how did the partners become acquainted? Was it a matter that strictly concerned the happy couple only? Or did the family play a role when it came to arranging the marriage? Did anyone feel they were under some kind of pressure or being coerced? What is the relationship between the two families? Are they from the same district or are they related in some way? The answers to these questions can tell experts about interrelationships within a family and community. So, do not be satisfied with an answer like ‘we are distantly related’. Instead be more specific: ‘The father of the groom is a brother of the bride’s mother’. Whose idea was it to get married? Who proposed and what were the families’ roles in this? For instance, which members of the family were present during the proposal? Were there any negotiations about paying a bride price to the bride’s family? Did they discuss a dowry that the bride would be given when

5 Gathering information about honour-related cases

she married? And what was the upshot of the negotiations? Was the bride price or dowry paid out in one go or in instalments? Did it involve money and/or property? Bride price and dowry A marriage brings two families together.

has her dowry. A bride price to the bride’s

In effect, the families enter into a contract

family compensates them for the loss of a

with each other. Property may also be

worker in that family. In practice, disagree-

exchanged in the process, and this hap-

ments over these transactions between

pens all over the world. Two systems can

families often lead to violence, sometimes

be distinguished in this: a bride price sys-

even lethal violence. In South Asia, each

tem, and a dowry system (Keesing, 1981). A

year thousands of women lose their lives

dowry consists of money or property that

as a consequence. Rakhshinda Perveen

is brought into the marriage. In fact, it is an

researched problems surrounding the

advance for the inheritance. A bride price,

dowries in Pakistan. She saw, among other

on the other hand, is paid by the groom

things, conflicts and problems for women

and his family to the family of the bride.

in particular. Because dowries have grown

Systems like this were established as a

significantly over the years, they are used

form of social security, for instance, as col-

as an excuse to exclude women from fur-

lateral for women who become widowed

ther inheritance. Women are even killed

or are rejected by their husbands. Under

by their in-laws so that the dowry does not

these circumstances, the wife is not left

need to be returned if there is a divorce

literally empty-handed because she still

(see also Standish, 2014).

Did they ultimately get married? If so, when and where did the wedding take place and who solemnised the marriage? Was it a religious wedding? Was there also a civil wedding ceremony? Even though only civil marriages are legally valid, religious wedding ceremonies are highly valued by those concerned, and they are considered to be the official seal of commitment between the husband and wife. Was a marriage certificate or other official document drawn up? If so, where is this document and what is on it? Have agreements been included about the bride price or dowry, for instance? Who were the witnesses at the wedding ceremony? Who else attended? Was there a wedding reception afterwards? If so, who attended? Was the marriage consummated? In some cultures, the marriage is only considered valid if the couple have intercourse after the ceremony. Finally, it is important to ask where the couple went to live after getting married. Did the married couple go to live with the family or did they set up home separately? Answers to these kind of questions can also bring to light impor-

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tant information about the relationships within the family. The same applies to divorces. If there are marital problems, it is good to ask whether the families concerned view divorce as a possible solution. How does the family or the community feel about the subject of divorce? What problems are expected if it comes to divorce? If divorce is an option, what conditions must be met and what steps should be taken to finalise the divorce? What consequences will a divorce have for the husband, wife, children, property and prior agreements about a bride price or dowry? Overview 5.16 lists the questions about marriage and divorce. Overview 5.16 Questions about marriage and divorce – How did the partners become acquainted? – How did the marriage come about? For instance, was it arranged by family, or did the partners get together entirely at their own initiative? Did anyone feel they were under some kind of pressure or being coerced? Are the partners’ families related? If so, how? How did other marriages in the families of the partners come about? – Whose idea was it to get married? Who proposed and who was present at the time? Were there any negotiations about paying a bride price to the bride’s family? If so, what was agreed? Did they discuss a dowry that the bride would be given when she married? If so, what was agreed? – When and where did the wedding take place and who solemnised the marriage? Was a marriage certificate drawn up? If so, who has the certificate and what is stated on it? For instance, about a bride price or dowry, or other conditions. Who were the witnesses? Who attended? Was there a wedding reception? If so, who attended? Was the marriage consummated? – Did it involve a religious and/or civil marriage? – Where did the couple go to live after the wedding? What are the group’s views on divorce? Is divorce an option? If so, how should it be done? – Does the case involve a divorce or proposed divorce? If so, who initiated the divorced? What do the families in question think about the divorce or proposed divorce? Does it involve the annulment of a civil and/or a religious marriage? Would a divorce have implications for the bride price or the dowry?

Questions about funerals Like a marriage, a funeral is also an important social occasion from which much can be derived about the relationships within a family. In the unfortunate event that there is a killing, it is important to find out who claims the body and who arranges the funeral. What kind of funeral is it? For instance, was there a

5 Gathering information about honour-related cases

funeral service and who attended? Where was the funeral service held? In the Netherlands or abroad? If it involved a violent death, it is important to find out whether the victim’s family were the only ones who attended, or whether the family of the suspect or suspects – if known – were also present. Are the parties in contact with each other? This can provide essential insights into how parties think about feelings of guilt and revenge. For instance, does the suspect’s family acknowledge guilt, and are they trying to buy their way out of things? Does the deceased’s family have emotions that may culminate in a blood feud? (See also the ‘Honour and blood feud’ textbox in Section 7.3.1.) Overview 5.17 outlines this. Overview 5.17 Questions about funerals – Who claimed the body? – Who arranged the funeral? How was the funeral performed? Who attended? – Where was the funeral service held? In the Netherlands or abroad? – Was it a violent death and are there are suspects? If so, was there contact between the deceased’s family and the suspect’s family before or during the funeral? What was/ were the contact or contacts about?

Socio-economic backgrounds Questions concerning the social backgrounds of all those involved – not just those of an individual, but of the whole family or of another important group – obviously concern the circumstances in the Netherlands as well as those in the country of origin. Information about this can provide insight into whether or not honour is a motive. For the rest, this kind of information may shed light on the interrelationships. Dependency is a particularly interesting issue in this respect, for instance, in financial terms or regarding right of residence. In other words, the point is to clarify what expectations people have of one another and to what extent not meeting those expectations will be construed and dishonourable. Socio-economic background information may also offer clues for finding a suitable mediator for a conflict. Suppose that those involved are not religious, then there would probably be little point in approaching a religious leader as a mediator. The socio-economic backgrounds may include their education, employment history, current work situation and financial position. Furthermore, when taking security measures, it is important to know whether there are people in the family circle who have access to important information, for instance, through

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working with the Persons Database which contains information about individuals’ places of residence – or possession of weapons. Concerns about acquaintances working in the police force In 2013, The Colours of the Chameleon,

She was afraid that acquaintances work-

a study into the involvement of police

ing for the police could find out what her

officers outside the scope of their work,

address was and pass it on to her parents. In

was published. Occasionally police officers

another case, a woman of Turkish descent

come into the picture, not as professionals,

was having a sexual relationship. Her boy-

but as suspects or victims in honour-related

friend abused her. When she subsequently

cases. In that research, information from

filed an official report with the police, she

the checklist also revealed that citizens who

also mentioned that she was scared that

find themselves in trouble are concerned

her brother, who worked for the police,

about the possibility of family members or

would find out. He would, after all, be able

friends working at the police finding confi-

to read about what happened to her in the

dential information and then divulging it to

police information systems (Janssen, 2015d).

family members. For instance, there was a

Serious consideration should be given to

case involving a young woman of Moroccan

shielding the information in the police

descent whose virginity was questioned.

information systems in these specific cases.

It is also important to find out whether the views of the persons concerned regarding religious and other norms and values differ. This could include views on sexuality, homosexuality, education, appearance, relationships between men and woman or expenses. From whom can resistance be expected? Who can be relied on for help? The person asking the questions must be aware of socially desirable responses: it may well be that a person will not to reveal what he or she really thinks, but instead gives an answer that he or she thinks will please the interviewer. Each situation needs to be considered on a case-by-case basis for issues concerning whether it is wise to ask questions directly or indirectly in a conversation or interview. Overview 5.18 outlines this.

5 Gathering information about honour-related cases

Overview 5.18 Questions about socio-economic backgrounds – Ask about the highest level of education completed in the Netherlands and/or in the country of origin. – Enquire about the position in the jobs market. If those concerned are not employed, ask about their employment history. Are there people who have access to important information or weapons through their work? – Find out about the financial position of those concerned. – Who takes the decisions in the family or other groups involved in the case? From whom can resistance be expected? Who can be relied on for help? – Enquire about the religious beliefs of those concerned. Which mosque/church/ synagogue or prayer house do they attend? Record the name of the place of worship and the movement within the faith. – Try to gain insight into the social life of the family or group in public: in what public places do they gather (for instance, in a community centre, coffee house or gym)? – Try to find out the extent to which opinions differ within the family or group in question.

Previous encounters with the police and/or other partners in the safety and security sector When gathering information about the social setting based on the questions presented above, it is also important to understand any previous contacts that those involved may have had with the police or other agencies. This information may reveal something about the duration of the problems and the encounters that those involved may have had with Dutch agencies. Have the individuals in question had any previous contact with the police or with other partners in the safety and security sector? What was the issue then? Is there a link with the current case? Also check the police or other relevant information systems to which the person handling the case is authorised. Overview 5.19 outlines this.

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Overview 5.19 Previous encounters with the police and/or other partners in the safety and security sector – Have the individuals in question been involved with the police before? If so, when was this and what was the issue then? Is there are link with the current case? – Have the individuals in question been involved with other partners in the safety and security sector before? If so, when was this and what was the issue then? Is there a link with the current case? – Also check police and other information systems.

Previous experiences with violence While it is important to clarify whether threats of violence have been outed or actual violence was commited in the case to hand, previous encounters with violence are also relevant. This could involve physical violence – including hitting, kicking, pushing, being locked up, threatened (with or without weapons or being forced to take medication and/or drugs) – as well as mental torment – verbal abuse, humiliation, blackmail, threats to relatives. How did those concerned react to this violence in the past? Past reactions may help to determine how the current case should be handled. Also check whether the police can find information about previous incidents in their own information systems. Finally, if violence has been used in the past, probe about the perpetrators’ characteristics. Are they armed and dangerous? Do they move in criminal circles? Do they abuse alcohol or drugs? Or are they mentally disturbed? Also check the police or other relevant information systems. Overview 5.20 outlines this.

5 Gathering information about honour-related cases

Overview 5.20 Encounters with violence – Is anyone being threatened with violence right now? If so, when and in what form? – Has violence already been used in this case? If so, when and in what form? – Has violence been used in the past? If so, what kind of violence was it, who used it, and who was targeted? Do the police know about these incidents? Are there any previous criminal records? – Probe about the perpetrators’ backgrounds and specific characteristics. Bear in mind alcohol and/or drug abuse and mental disorders when it comes to violence and the threat of violence, access to and the use of weapons and other features of modus operandi. – How did the individuals in question react to previous violent encounters? Did they themselves threaten to use violence or actually use violence? If so, when and in what form? – Also check police and other information systems.

Other information Furthermore, record all information that may be of interest to the case and that has not been mentioned in the checklist. This may include personal impressions held by the people handling the case (police or partners), personal opinions about the quality of the information gathered, or suggestions for further investigation into missing information. Overview 5.21 outlines this. Overview 5.21 Other information – Record all information that may be of interest to the case and that has not been mentioned in the checklist.

5.1.5

Approach

Preparation and objective of the approach The issues surrounding honour-related violence are so complex that a good plan of action is essential. Decisions made in haste, for which it is not possible to oversee all the possible consequences in advance, may have an adverse effect. It is even possible that the police or other partners inadvertently violate the honour of those involved because they acted according to a strategy that was poorly prepared. For instance, consider what could happen if a closely kept secret is

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disclosed thanks to carelessness on the part of the police or other partners. If this is perceived as a stain on honour, it will exacerbate the problem. For those involved, the consequences may get out of hand, while the police officer handling the case may be completely oblivious to the harm caused because he or she may not know about or recognise the sensitivities involved. The case will be even more complicated if those concerned hold the police or other partners in the safety and security sector responsible for this. Attempts to restore honour – including those involving the use of force – may even be directed against members of staff working for the police and its partners! To be well prepared, it is essential that a proper overview of all the information gathered is made. For the police as well as for the others involved in the case, it is useful to have an overview showing the interrelationships between those concerned and their current addresses and telephone numbers. Who is (presumably) being threatened with murder or abduction? Where is the potential victim at this point in time? Who (probably) initiated the honour-related violence (the instigator) and who (probably) intends to carry out the plan? Below is an example of this kind of overview. Overview 5.22 Overview of the relationships between those concerned Position in the family

First Date of birth names and surnames

Place, district and Work country of birth

Potential victim, also X1 the person reporting the incident

04-04-1974

Town X in the Netherlands

Father

X2

01-02-1943

Town Y in Turkey

Mother (suspected instigator) Brother

X3

05-03-1945

Town Y in Turkey

X4

12-10-1967

Town Y in Turkey

Brother

X6

02-03-1969

Town Y in Turkey

Brother (suspected actual perpetrator)

X7

05-06-1971

Town X in the Netherlands

Ex-husband

Z1

01-03-1972

Town Y in Turkey

Current address and telephone numbers

Bookkeeper Any Street 2, in X or at an unknown address in Turkey 06-12345678 Retired Any Street 2, in X 000-1111111 None Any Street 2, in X 000-1111111 None Any Street 2, in X 000-1111111 06-33333333 Hairdresser Unknown address in Turkey Welder Any Street 2, in X 000-1111111 06-44444444 Avenue 1, in Z. 111-2222222 06-55555555

5 Gathering information about honour-related cases

It is also advisable to draw up a list of all the contact details of the police and other professionals. Overview 5.23 serves as an example. Overview 5.23 Overview of the professionals involved First names Agency and surnames

Position in organisation

Mrs X

Women’s shelter

Social worker

Mr Y

Social service

Office address, e-mail and telephone numbers

Appointments made

Date of appointment

02-04-2014 Accompanied individual B to the police station for the discussion about her children on 09-04-2014 Main Square 2, in Y Takes part in 03-03-2014 Involved [email protected] the discussion in a family 555-2222222 concerning B’s supervision children on order 09-04-2014 concerning B’s children High Street 1 in Y [email protected] 555-1111111

Overviews along the lines of examples 5.22 and 5.23 are an important tool when drawing up a plan of action. Once the information has been sorted properly and put into a clear order, it quickly becomes clear whether there is any missing information that still needs to be captured. Also find out what the potential victim and/or other persons concerned may want. Do those concerned still wish to have contact with the person responsible for the honour violation? Are those concerned prepared to sever important social ties, like their family? How do they view the future? For the rest, it is important that all those involved and the police themselves, have realistic expectations of one another and thus also of those in the field of safety and security. So, do not make any promises. Trust will be betrayed if these promises cannot be kept. It is advisable to write down all the resulting agreements, for instance, regarding safety and security and mediation or information sharing (see also Section 5.2), and to ask all those concerned to sign the document, citizens as well as professionals. Furthermore, thought should be given to aftercare beforehand. Given the nature of their tasks, the police are not in a position to provide long-term assistance to individuals and their families after an incident. However, perhaps the local police officer can drop in on the individuals in question or perhaps they can be referred to other professionals for specific kinds of care. Overview 5.24 summarises the most important points.

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Overview 5.24 Preparation and objective of the approach – Do not act hastily. – Keep an overview of the contact details of those concerned to hand; the same applies to the contact details of all professionals working for and outside the police. – List the information that has been gathered. Is information still missing? If so, how can it be obtained? – What is the aim of the approach? Do the individuals in question and the professionals share the same vision? Record this vision plus the agreements associated with it. – Be clear to those concerned about the role of the police and others in the field of safety and security. Do not make any promises. – Think about the aftercare that will be needed.

Assistance from the LEC EGG The police officer or other safety and security professionals handling the case must be well aware that they will not always be able to solve the complicated problems related to honour-related violence. Sometimes extra assistance is required. After all, honour is a dynamic phenomenon that comes in various manifestations. So, it is not possible to provide a ‘recipe’ for tackling honourrelated violence. Via contact persons within the regional divisions, complex issues can be submitted to the LEC EGG, whereby experts will examine the case. The LEC EGG does not take on operational responsibility; this responsibility remains with the unit that is in charge of the case. Instead, the centre of expertise helps to think things through and gives advice to those concerned. Incidentally, the concept ‘complex case’ is not etched in stone. A case is complex and appropriate for LEC EGG support if it is difficult to come to grips with the motive for the violence, or the threat of violence, or if there is a risk that the violence may escalate. Serious cases involving death are referred to the LEC EGG, as well as issues that are the focus of media and political attention. These are also covered by the term ‘complex’. Two kinds of cases always elicit the intervention of the LEC EGG: engaging an expert from outside the police force, for example, an anthropologist or psychiatrist depending on the issue (see also Chapter 6); and when a so-called ‘emergency bed’ is used. In emergencies, women, underage girls and/or mothers with children can be given access to emergency beds out of office hours. These beds are available at a limited number of organisations that run women’s shelters. The LEC EGG has the exclusive competence to determine whether place-

5 Gathering information about honour-related cases

ment via this procedure is required. As soon as the LEC EGG deems placement necessary, they will approach a special coordination point within the women’s shelter organisations. There they assess which shelter the girl or woman, with children where applicable, can be accommodated. The LEC EGG then contacts the designated shelter and makes practical arrangements regarding the placement. These practical aspects, for instance, transport to the shelter, are dealt with by the regional division handling the case. That local division also informs the shelter in its own catchment area; the local shelter is responsible for any transfers to other shelters. Transfers are necessary because the aim is to ensure that emergency beds are only occupied for one or two days. After that they have to be available again in case other people in a crisis situation require them. The LEC EGG gladly supports its colleagues and partners in the safety and security sector. However, when turning to the expertise centre for help, make sure you provide them with as much information as possible, i.e. a fully completed checklist and copies of all the relevant supporting documents mentioned above (including passports, ID cards and other personal documents such as marriage certificates) and relevant documents from the police themselves or from other agencies involved in safety and security, for instance, interrogations reports, wiretap records and official reports on the findings. The LEC EGG cannot process incomplete dossiers. Overview 5.25 presents the most important aspects. Overview 5.25 Assistance from the LEC EGG – LEC EGG support for complex cases can be requested within the police force through the contact person for honour-related violence in the unit. – Only the LEC EGG can request an emergency bed. – Only the LEC EGG can engage an external expert. – If you appeal to the LEC EGG, make sure you submit a comprehensive dossier, including copies of all the supporting documents.

Mediation If it comes to mediation, there are a number of aspects that should be considered in the context of proper preparation (Sanberg & Janssen, 2011; Janssen & Sanberg, 2016). First of all, a suitable venue for the meeting must be chosen. It must be neutral territory, so that all those involved are willing to attend. If there are reasons to assume that there will be an escalation of the violence, safety

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and security aspects are also important. For instance, is there enough room to speak to those concerned individually or to separate them from the group if emotions are running high? Do body searches if necessary, and make sure you can rely on the backup of colleagues should problems arise. Another important point when searching for a suitable venue is take into account the visibility of the interlocutors. If outsiders can see who is involved in the discussions, the case may leak out, rubbing salt into the wounds of the persons who feel their sense of honour has been violated. All things taken into consideration, a police station offers good options for conducting these difficult interviews. In addition, it is important to find a suitable mediator. In some cases, asking people from their own circle to mediate may be a solution. Those involved may know someone who has sufficient authority and a big enough support base. However, it may well be that the interrelationships have become so blurred that this is no longer possible. Then having a spiritual leader as the mediator might be a good alternative. However, asking an imam or another spiritual leader as standard practice, without consulting those involved, may have disastrous consequences if it appears that those concerned do not recognise the leader’s authority. So, do not look for a mediator off your own bat; consult, for instance, the contact person in the regional division, who in turn can call on the LEC EGG if necessary. If a police officer is to moderate the discussion, choose someone who radiates authority. Leave the moderating to the oldest and/or most senior in rank. Often it is wise – depending on the group in question – to have a man lead the conversation. Critics may suggest that such a recommendation is outdated in the Dutch context. However, the purpose of the mediation interview is not to take up a position on the moral high ground; rather it is to prevent any escalation in a complex conflict. A degree of empathy for the perceptions of the people involved is crucial. The point here is that the moderator must be able to count on the respect and trust of those present. If the moderator first has to ‘fight’ for his or her own position, he or she will never be an effective moderator and those involved will never accept anything he has to say. Incidentally, colleagues can reinforce the moderator’s authority by treating him like a true ‘magistrate’: do not let the mediator meet the participants at the front door, take their coats or serve them coffee. Instead, do it for him. It is important that the mediator is in charge of the discussion at all times. It is also important that the mediator makes the subjects under discussion tangible and specific. This can be done, for instance, by putting all agreements down on paper and putting all these documents in a file and writing down all their names while everyone concerned is watching. This will once again under-

5 Gathering information about honour-related cases

score the serious nature of the matter under discussion. Overview 5.26 gives a summary of the most important points. Overview 5.26 A mediation interview led by the police – What is the key problem in the mediation interview? Does it concern one subject that is current right now, or a protracted conflict? Make sure the subject of the discussion is specific, and ensure that all those involved have a clear idea of what specific problem the mediation is about. – What is the aim of mediation? What point on the horizon is everyone aiming at? Do all those involved have the same goal in mind? Be specific about what agreements are being made to achieve that goal – what is expected of them – and how compliance with that goal will be monitored. Record the agreements. – Who will mediate? Is it appropriate to use a person from the circle of people involved, or is it preferable to engage a safety and security professional like a police officer? The mediator should at any rate be well informed on the subject and be respected by all those concerned. – Who are present at the mediation? Are those persons present actually party to the conflict under discussion? Does every participant in the discussion feel free to really speak out? – Where is the mediation interview being held? Is it neutral territory like a police station? Or is it a significant place for those involved, like a community centre or a prayer house? Which safety and security aspects play a role when choosing the venue? Is it feasible to put the disputing parties into one room? Can the people concerned be seen or overheard by other people during the interview?

Security and protection In addition to the police approach to honour-related violence, the Netherlands also has the Security and Protection System [Stelsel Bewaken en Beveiligen]. Various parties are involved in this system, which focuses on the safety and security of people, property and services (including organisations like municipalities, the diplomatic corps or companies). These parties include the police force, mayors, and the Public Prosecution Service; the chief public prosecutor is the person ultimately responsible for the system. As soon as cases involving honour-related violence and any kind of threat arise, the Security and Protection Team should be informed. This team can then make a threat assessment based on the information gathered using the checklist. This threat assessment includes an opinion on the security measures to be taken.

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An important assumption underlying the security policy is that the people being threatened are expected to cooperate. In this regard, consider what was said in Chapter 3 about agency: people have their own ideas about their aims in life and how they think they can solve their problems. In principle, security cannot be imposed on people, but if they do not cooperate, then this has to be recorded in writing. Security terms: ‘threat’ and ‘risk’ On Valentine’s Day 1989, Salman Rushdie

Metropolitan Police Department in charge

got a call from a BBC journalist who told

of personal security in Great Britain) officer

him that he had been ‘sentenced to death’

would come along with an agent from the

by Ayatollah Khomeini. The reason for this

secret service and they would tell him what

sentence was his novel, The Satanic Verses,

security decisions had been taken in con-

which was considered to be anti-Islam.

nection with the threat. ‘Threat’ is appar-

Overnight, the author had to contend with

ently a technical term and it is not the same

severe security measures and he could

as ‘risk’. The threat level is general; risk levels

no longer live under his own name. As an

are specific. While a threat level against an

alias, he chose the first names of his favour-

individual could be high – it was up to the

ite authors, Joseph Conrad and Anton

intelligence services to determine that – the

Chekhov: Salman Rushdie became Joseph

risk level of a particular act by that individ-

Anton. In Joseph Anton. A memoir (2012),

ual could be much lower, for instance, if no

Rushdie outlines what he went through

one knew what he was planning or when

during that period in his life: for instance,

he was planning to do it. Determining the

how did he keep his friendships and love

risk was a task for the police security team.

relationships alive? Can a writer continue

These were terms that he had to master,

with his work? He also had to do some seri-

because threat and risk assessments would

ous delving into security jargon during

from that moment forth become part of his

that period of time. The Special Branch (a

daily life (2012).

Another assumption is that one should lead life as normal as possible within the limits of security. Personal wishes and safety requirements cannot always be reconciled and, for this reason, the people being protected do not always have a say in the matter. To avoid disappointment, it is important that those concerned are well informed about the security measures and what is expected of them.

5 Gathering information about honour-related cases

A new identity

5.2

5.2.1

In the Netherlands, witnesses may be

hide their pasts, and who they really are.

eligible for protection measures in cases

This means that contacts with family and

involving grave threats that have to be

friends are drastically limited at the very

taken seriously. Those threats must be the

least, and they live, sometimes for the rest

result of the cooperation in the investiga-

of their lives, in constant fear of reprisals.

tion or prosecution of criminal offences.

All of this is difficult for any person, but

It may well be that the threat is such that

even more difficult for individuals who

it jeopardises the safety of partners and/

have very strong family ties, as is the case

or family members and that they become

with many honour-related issues. Partici-

involved in the protection measures. Part

pation in a witness protection programme

of the protection may involve assuming a

can lead to personal and social stress. This

new identity. But do not think too lightly

means that inclusion in a programme is

about this, because it is a very serious

often a heavy burden and sometimes has

process. Participants undergo a ‘social

far-reaching consequences. It is therefore

death and rebirth’, as it were. Their former

important that the witnesses themselves

lives and identities have to be ‘buried’. In

decide whether they are willing and able

addition, the new lives of the protected

to conform to life in a witness protection

witnesses are dominated by attempts to

programme (Anonymous, 2010).

Data

Processing data

What is processing? Without a good information position, the police cannot fulfil their various tasks. However, this does not mean that the police can collect unlimited data and keep it forever or for as long as the police themselves deem it necessary. In a state under the rule of law, there are limits to the government’s access to data. The Dutch Police Data Act, which came into effect in the Netherlands on 1 January 2008, imposes limits on the ‘processing’ of police information. ‘Processing’ refers to various kinds of use: the collection, recording, classification, changing, retrieving, internal and external disclosure (to third parties) of data (Section 1 of the Dutch Police Data Act). Storing data, too, is covered by the term ‘processing’ as it is used in the Dutch Police Data Act.

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Cold cases Homicide, like murder and manslaughter,

Often the advancement of science plays

does not have a limitation period. This

an important role in tackling cold cases.

means that as long as these cases are not

Indeed, new knowledge can contribute sub-

solved, the file remains ‘open’ and thus

stantially to the improvement of the toolbox

remains operational, even though the

that detectives and forensic investigators

investigation is no longer being actively

have at their disposal. An example of this

pursued. In recent years, the number of

would be the significant developments in

investigations into cold cases, i.e. serious

investigating DNA that have taken place

cases that have not been solved and are not

in the last decade (Van der Wal, 2011). In

time prescribed, has soared. Honour-related

honour-related cases, the increase in knowl-

cases may also be cold cases. For various

edge and attention for these cases has also

reasons, cases may be re-examined after

played a major role. For instance, in the past

some time, sometimes years after they were

honour motives were not always recognised

first opened. For instance, a new witness

in cases involving fatalities, which meant

may have come forward. It may be some-

that they were treated as ‘normal’ murders,

body who finally dares to speak out because

manslaughter or suicides. If the insights

the family relationships have changed in

that we have now about honour-related

the interim: a perpetrator of the violence

violence were applied to these cases, new

has died or someone who has a great deal

hypotheses and paths of inquiry based on

of influence in the family has moved abroad.

these would be forthcoming.

The Dutch Police Data Act stipulates that the processing of police data has to be necessary for the work being carried out and that the data has to be obtained lawfully. Moreover, it may only be used for the purpose for which it has been collected (Section 3 of the Dutch Police Data Act). In addition to this, police information must be correct, accurate, complete and protected against improper use (Section 4 of the Dutch Police Data Act) (see also Franken, 2016). These principles, of course, also relate to the data that the police process in honour-related cases.

Processing sensitive information Sensitive information, for instance, the ethnical background or political, religious or sexual orientation of a person, may only be processed in addition to the processing of other police information and if it is unavoidable (Section 5 of the Dutch Police Data Act). In cases where the police take into account affronts to honour as a motive for violence or the threat of violence, such sensitive data

5 Gathering information about honour-related cases

may be requested using the checklist discussed in the previous chapter. This does indeed happen alongside the processing of other police information, for instance, information from the incident register [incidentenregistratie], the National Law Enforcement Database [Basisvoorziening Handhaving (BVH)]. The gathering of sensitive information is unavoidable, because this information plays an important role in answering the question of whether an affront to honour is a motive for the violence for those involved in a case.

5.2.2

Disclosing information

Disclosing information outside the police force In principle, free movement of police data applies within the police force. Having said that, what is the situation when it comes to disclosing information to professionals outside the police force? After all, the police are not the only ones responsible for tackling honour-related violence. Here we will briefly consider the requirements related to the disclosure of information stipulated for the police; we will not take into consideration the requirements set for other organisations. (For an overview of the relevant legislation that applies, for instance, to the probation service, women’s shelter, municipalities and the Child Care and Protection Board [Raad voor de Kinderbescherming], see Helpdesk Privacy & Programmabureau Eergerelateerd Geweld, 2008). Section 16 of the Dutch Police Data Act provides the official collaboration with other departments when it comes to disclosure of information to those in authority and investigating officers. Here one can think of mayors, citizens Prosecution Service and special investigating officers. Section 18 Dutch Police Data Act regulates the structural disclosure of information to external parties. The Dutch Police Data Decree [Besluit politiegegevens] outlines which individuals and institutions this section applies to. Organisations who are regularly involved in honour-related cases are also listed in the decree. The Child Care and Protection Board is one of these. Under Section 19 of the Dutch Police Data Act, information may be disclosed to external parties in special cases and on a one-off basis. These cases must focus on the objectives that are an extension of the police duties, as these are laid down in the Dutch Police Act of 2012. In this context, a head of a combined school may be informed that one of the pupils has become involved in an honour-related conflict at home. This would involve offering assistance and preventing a criminal offence, namely the committing of violence.

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172

In practice, there are various structural collaborative alliances, both local and national. These require a structural system for exchanging information. Disclosing information for these kinds of collaborative arrangements puts the police and its partners in the field of safety and security in a better position to carry out their tasks properly. Under Section 20 of Dutch Police Data Act, this kind of recorded exchange is possible, but conditions do apply: the collaborative arrangement must consist of ‘compelling public interest’. An example of this would be the fight against youth crime, for instance, or the tackling of domestic or honour-related violence. In addition, the objective of providing police information to third parties must be in line with police duties, such as the prevention or investigation of offences, maintaining public order, providing assistance to those who need it or monitoring compliance with legislation. Inappropriate disclosure After getting married, the couple move in

ing of information had already been set

with the groom’s parents. The marriage

out in an agreement between the police

is facing difficulties, however. The young

and the organisation in question. Up until

woman says that she hardly ever leaves

then, there was nothing amiss about the

the house, has to work hard and suffers

way in which the information was handled.

abuse. The situation does not change

The police provided information in an

when she has a baby. The woman feels

appropriate fashion. But then a member

threatened, and wants a different life

of staff at the shelter gives the analysis to

for herself and for her child. She tells her

the father’s lawyer, and the analysis starts

story to the police, and they analyse her

to play a role in the conflict between the

case. The objective of this analysis is to

parents about custody of the child. With

identify the safety risks for the mother

that, the duty of confidentiality has been

and child. The contents of the analysis are

breached. What’s more, the analysis was

shared with a shelter organisation who is

never conducted with the objective of

responsible for providing temporary and

gaining insights into the various options

safe accommodation for the woman and

for assigning custody. This constitutes

her child. Agreements about the exchang-

inappropriate disclosure.

5 Gathering information about honour-related cases

We have already mentioned the Police Data Decree. If the intention is to disclose information to institutions that are not listed as entitled to receive this information, then the decision to disclose the information must be taken with the agreement of the competent authority. The competent authority is then a cosignatory of the decision. This authority is the mayor, if the police are acting in connection with maintaining public order or when performing assistance tasks. When the police are enforcing criminal law, the information falls under the authority of the public prosecutor. Police information must be handled with due care. For this reason, a duty of confidentiality was included in the Act Disclaimers Breaches of the duty of confidentiality

The fact is that impressions created by

are officially liable to prosecution. As a

these records are determined by time and

warning, every page in a dossier compiled

the information that the police have at

by the LEC EGG includes the following

their disposal. If relevant pieces are missing

footnote: ‘Confidential information. May

or there are suddenly new developments,

not be disclosed to third parties or used for

then the case will have to be re-examined.’

purposes other than those for which it was

Including these disclaimers once again

compiled’. It concludes with the following

draws the attention of the person reading

words: ‘Finally, it should be noted that dos-

the dossier to the conditions attached to

siers and analyses have a limited lifespan.

using the information presented.

(Section 7 of the Dutch Police Data Act). The duty of confidentiality rests on the information, i.e. that duty is not limited to police staff, it also applies to third parties who receive police information. For one-off cases and collaborations, i.e. if it concerns those who are not listed as entitled to receive information under the Police Data Decree, it is prescribed by law that the recipient must be made aware of this when police information is disclosed. Information about the disclosure of police information has to be recorded: which compelling public interest does it concern? For what purpose is the information being disclosed and to whom? In short: all these aspects of the collaborative partnership have to be recorded.

173

CLOSE-UP

Cut with honour In actual fact, Nick van Veen wanted to become a chef, but via a friend of his father’s he ended up taking evening classes at the hairdressing college at the age of thirteen. At that time, he would never have guessed that he would still be in the hairdressing business fifty years on. ‘Truth be told, it was just a job in the beginning. But when I became acquainted with the work of the British hairdresser Vidal Sassoon in the seventies, a whole new world opened up to me. Sassoon cut hair into geometric hairstyles, inspired by the work of modernist architects from the Bauhaus movement. For me, that was a revelation. It all looked deceptively simple, but in the beginning, it took me six hours to cut a hairdo like that. I was determined to master the art; for me it was a question of honour. But as I gained more experience in my field and as I grew older, I started to think differently about my professional honour. Of course, you have to master the technical basics of your profession, but it’s not only about hair: you have to see the whole person. Our hair plays an important role in how we feel and how we see others. Hair is a language, a kind of communication. When men lose their hair, they feel as though their strength has gone. Women with a bad hairdo feel insecure. A good do lifts you up. So, hairdressers have a heavy responsibility: when a new client sits down in the chair, you have ten minutes to suss out what they are like, or for sixty per cent at least. Only then can you create a hairdo that is flattering and that the client themselves can maintain. And, in my opinion, being able to maintain it is essential. You can create something truly wonderful in the salon, but if it does collapse like a house of cards as soon as the person gets home, and they are not capable of fixing it up themselves, then you have not done that person a service, and their hair will be in a mess again. There’s no honour in that for me as a professional.’ In Nick’s opinion, honour is about more than providing a service; above all it is about integrity. ‘Doing people’s hair is an intimate business. Once you have the client’s confidence, you quickly go from the outside to the inside, and you share their secrets. These could be about all kinds of misery to do with work or their marriage. But I also have clients from international diplomatic circles. That’s when you hear all kinds of things – like about what goes on behind the news – which will make your ears burn. As a hairdresser I feel that you have to observe professional confidentiality, just like priest or a lawyer. It would be dishonourable if I were to simply pass on those secrets, or if I called a gossip magazine because I had given a celebrity a perm. You don’t do that, not even to promote your business. A hairdresser is of course also an entrepreneur. You need a certain turnover if you want to keep your head above water. But I’m convinced that you’ll get that turnover if you do your job properly. I think it’s a sign that you’re lacking something if you use reverse thinking. In other words, if you put turnover first, if you talk people into buying all kinds of products that they don’t really need, and only then focus on the standard of your work. I wasn’t brought up that way. In my early years, inspirational teachers gave me the opportunity to learn the business of hairdressing in all its facets and to this day I am grateful for that. In turn, I would like to pass on my experience to the younger generation. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I want to hand over my business, but rather I’d like to pass on the pleasure there is to be had in the hairdressing business. That is actually a matter of honour.’

6

Working with experts

The focus of this chapter is on experts. In this context, we are not referring to experts working within the police force; instead we mean external experts. In the first section, we address the role of the experts in criminal proceedings and we differentiate between the investigation and the lawsuit. The second section is about engaging experts: attention is paid to the different areas of science in which experts can be approached, and differences in insights that may arise between experts. The last section outlines the conditions and terms of requirements that experts must meet and that the police must take into account if the collaboration is to be a success.

6.1

6.1.1

The role of experts in criminal proceedings

Criminal proceedings

From investigation to prosecution Criminal proceedings consist of two parts: the investigation and the prosecution phases. There is a criminal law basis underlying both phases. Criminal law is about establishing the truth, i.e. the relevant facts and circumstances have to be proven. Establishing the truth is also a crucial factor within the sciences (Broeders, 2008). Experts from the sciences can also be called upon when establishing the truth in criminal matters, not only during the investigation phase but also during prosecution. One and the same expert can be deployed in the investigation and prosecution phases, but extreme reticence should be exercised when doing so. In practice, it is preferable to use different experts for the two phases. A judge may of course ask the expert about his or her opinion during the investigation phase. The preference for engaging another expert in the prosecution phase is primarily motivated by the need for a critical view from an expert who takes the case as a whole into consideration.

Police reports on honour-related issues in the courtroom The reports written with the intervention

tioned in the ruling even though they are

of the LEC EGG are primarily intended

part of the dossier. We were not able to

for the police: information about the

find out why this is the case. Despite these

(cultural) backgrounds of those involved

nuances, eight judgements that refer to

in an offence provide important refer-

an LEC EGG report may seem sparse, but it

ence points for police work. The judicial

should be noted that criminal justice pro-

system is also interested in the facts

ceedings follow a process of attrition: only

and circumstances under which a crime

few of the crimes brought to the atten-

is committed. Insights into these facts

tion of the police actually result in a trial

and circumstances are considered when

before the criminal court. The same is true

deciding whether or not an appeal should

of honour-related cases. It is also impor-

be admitted on grounds of justification

tant to note that the purpose of the policy

and when determining the punishment

on tackling honour-related violence is

(see also Section 6.1.2). From this perspec-

to prevent such violence by intervening

tive, a police report may well contain

in the conflict, or what is threatening to

information that the court may find

become a conflict, as soon as possible,

interesting. Research based on the Dutch

whether or not through mediation. The

versions of the search terms ‘national

LEC EGG method aims to do precisely that:

expertise centre for honour-related vio-

recognise signs of honour-related con-

lence’, ‘LEC EGG’ and ‘LEC-EGG’ on the

flicts before anyone resorts to violence.

www.rechtspraak.nl (a website contain-

Many cases that come to light based on

ing, among other things, judgements in

the LEC EGG method include defamation

criminal matters) resulted in eight judge-

cases that, regardless of whether they are

ments involving the LEC EGG between

punishable, do not always lead to a trial,

the time it was established in 2008 until

albeit sometimes because no one lodges

mid-2015. Judgements referring to the LEC

a complaint. This is, however, necessary

EGG but not published on rechtspraak.nl

for prosecuting these types of cases. Def-

have not been taken into consideration.

amation may prompt an investigation into

Likewise, judgements about matters that

what is going on so that a solution can be

have been reported by the LEC EGG, but

found before a conflict turns violent if this

ultimately not used by the court, are also

conflict is related to honour (Janssen &

not discussed. Incidentally, reports from

Ten Voorde, 2015).

the LEC EGG are sometimes not men-

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Focus on honour

6.1.2

178

The aim of involving experts

During the investigation and during the prosecution Experts can play an important role during the criminal investigations phase when it comes to identifying paths of inquiry (hypotheses and scenarios) and strategies for drafting a plan of action. In order to convincingly prove to a court that a suspect has committed a particular offence intentionally, knowledge of the suspect’s backgrounds and the circumstances under which he or she has committed the crime are usually required. The same applies if a justification defence is relied on (for instance, in cases involving force majeure in emergency situations, self-defence or the use of excessive force in self-defence); grounds for exculpation (for instance, absence of criminal responsibility by reason of mental disorder, duress or absence of all guilt); and during sentencing. Cultural defence There was a time when a degree of leni-

precedents. There is evidence that there

ency towards violence, apparently inspired

has recently been a reversal in thinking

by cultural codes was reflected in the lit-

instead. For instance, literature has shown

erature and published case law (Siesling &

that culturally inspired violence has been

Ten Voorde, 2009). In her doctoral thesis on

more severely punished (Maris, 2001), and

multiculturalism and defence in criminal

case law shows that the cultural context of

proceedings, Siesling (2006) introduced

the offence is sometimes used as a basis

the term ‘cultural criminal case’. A cultural

for heavier sentencing. For some time now,

case is ‘a criminal case in which, at some

politicians have been pushing for introduc-

point during the proceedings, one of the

ing stricter penalties for honour-related

parties involved relies on the influence

violence (Parliamentary Papers II 2007/08,

that the suspect’s cultural background

30388, 27). But the government had the fol-

has on the offence, whereby that cultural

lowing to say on the subject: ‘The criminal

background could also be given a role in

prosecution of perpetrators of honour-

the adjudication of the conduct’ (2006: p.

related violence does not differ from other

48). In theory, there is the evidence, the

crimes. Referring to cultural background

judgement of the grounds for excluding

in the defence will not result in a reduced

criminal responsibility and, when sentenc-

sentence’ (Parliamentary Papers II 2006/07,

ing, leeway for also taking the cultural

30388, 9). Those who would like to know

backgrounds of the offence and the

more about the way in which defence is

offender (see, for instance, Wormhoudt,

set up in honour-related cases in countries

1986; Boksem & Kromdijk, 2000; Strijbosch,

that are familiar with this phenomenon,

2001; Bovens, 2003, Wiersinga, 2002, 2005;

for instance Turkey, can turn to Van Eck,

Karakaya, 2006; Ten Voorde, 2007). But this

2000, 2001 and Doğan, 2014a, 2014b,

opinion has found little resonance in legal

among others.

6 Working with experts

Indeed, when imposing a penalty, a court has the freedom to take into account the suspect’s situation. The court may engage an expert to further explain the relevant backgrounds and circumstances in greater detail, based on the dossier as a whole (Janssen, 2009b). Overview 6.1 summarises the options for engaging experts in criminal proceedings. It goes without saying that experts are not always used in criminal proceedings, but this overview does not take that into consideration. Overview 6.1

The role of experts in criminal proceedings

Criminal proceedings

Step 1 An offence is committed

Step 2 The offence comes to the attention of the police and the police initiate an investigation

Step 3 The case is brought before the competent court

It is possible to engage an expert

It is possible to engage an expert

Objective Searching and thinking directions, hypotheses and scenarios

Objective Evaluating intent, and grounds for justification and exculpation

Objective Determine and give reasons for the sentencing

179

Focus on honour

6.2

6.2.1

180

Engaging an expert

Approaching an expert

The role of the LEC EGG The police will only call on experts with the LEC EGG’s intervention. The experts that the LEC EGG engages are experienced academics in the fields of the language, culture and religion of those ethnic groups that are brought to the attention of the LEC EGG in the cases they deal with. Experts are by no means always engaged for all cases. In 2011, 504 cases were submitted to the LEC EGG; of these, experts were engaged in 32 cases, i.e. 6%. In 2012 the percentage was 8% (40 out of 492 cases), in 2013 it was 9% (44 out of 506 cases) and in 2014 it was 5% (25 of the 460 cases) (LEC EGG, 2014, 2015). The advice of the experts is based on information in the file of a case with an honour-related component, an expert in the field of culture often gives advice based on the information in the file that was discussed in the previous chapter. Suppose a psychiatrist is involved as an expert during the investigation phase, then he or she may carry out a personality assessment.

The National Expertise Broker The Posthumus Commission was established following the Schiedammer Park murder in 2000 – a major incident in the Netherlands that caused an uproar. The murder of a young girl in a park in the Dutch town Schiedam in 2000 and the attempted murder of her friend resulted in a miscarriage of justice and led to a wrongful conviction. The Commission issued a critical report with recommendations pertaining to investigation and prosecution practices (Commissie Posthumus, 2005). Subsequently, the ‘Investigation and Prosecution Reinforcement Programme’ was established on the orders of the ministries of Justice and Home Affairs (Public Prosecution Service, National Police Force, NFI, 2005, 2006). The Investigation and Prosecution Reinforcement Programme comprises sub-programmes for the police, the judicial authorities and the Netherlands Forensic Institute. The ‘Investigation Reinforcement Programme’ is the sub-programme that concerns the police. The Investigation Reinforcement Programme aims to increase trust in the police, among other things, by enhancing professionalism, when it comes to complex criminal investigations. The Posthumus Commission called for attention to be paid to the position of experts in criminal proceedings and to the assignments given to these experts. It also recommended the setting up of a pool of experts. The development of the ‘National Expertise Broker’ [Landelijke Deskundigheidsmakelaar], which was

6 Working with experts

initiated in 2005, dovetailed well with this and was included in the Investigation and Prosecution Reinforcement Programme (Henzen, 2011). Originally the National Expertise Broker started out as a project. It has since outgrown the status of a project and has become a permanent department within the Police Academy. The National Expertise Broker acts as a point of contact for the police. This service is free and available 24/7. It works inter alia with the National Information Organisation Department [Dienst Landelijke Informatie Organisatie] and the Operational Support Department of the National Police Force’s Central Unit, the Netherlands Forensic Institute, the support desks in the various units and Europol. The department has the following tasks: contributing to the solving of serious crimes by advising and mediating with national and international experts and/or coordinating and organising expert meetings held by experienced investigators. In other words, the National Expertise Broker advises the police on the deployment of experts in the investigation process. Increasingly, this advisory service is also offered to the Public Prosecution Service and the judiciary on the deployment of experts in the prosecution process. The National Expertise Broker consults the LEC EGG about cultural expertise, among other things. Besides the National Expertise Broker, an independent Board for Assessment and Advice has been set up; it assesses experts regarding their degree of expertise using an assessment tool. It is worth noting that the experts that are presented to the board have to first undergo a security screening. The board consists of representatives from the judiciary, the Public Prosecution Service, the behavioural sciences, the forensic sciences and the police. The experts who have undergone the ‘expertise test’ are included in a national databank that is managed by the National Expertise Broker (Henzen, 2011).

The Experts in Criminal Cases Act and the Dutch register of court experts The Experts in Criminal Cases Act [Wet deskundigen in strafzaken] came into effect on 1 January 2010. The Act has been included in the Dutch Code of Criminal Procedures (Parliamentary Papers II 2006/07, 31116, 3). This Act partly came about following the recommendation to raise awareness of the role of the expert in the criminal process that was proposed in the Posthumus Commission’s report (2005). As a consequence, a public prosecutor may under certain circumstances only appoint an expert who is registered in the Netherlands Register of Court Experts. To appoint an expert who is not registered, the public prosecutor has to file an application with the delegated judge, who may or may not proceed with the appointment. If the expert only has an advisory role, for instance, on the treatment of a person with a particular cultural or psychiatric background, then the Experts in Criminal Cases Act does not apply and

181

Focus on honour

182

no appointment is required. If the expert has to carry out an investigation that may be subject to a counter investigation, for instance, a personality assessment, then an appointment is required. The Act is intended not only to regulate the position of experts, but also to strengthen the position of the defence. This means that a public prosecutor also has an obligation to notify the suspect’s counsel, provided that this suspect is known and the interests of the investigation are not compromised. A suspect also has the right to request a counter investigation.

The relationship between the National Expertise Broker and the Netherlands Register of Court Experts In practice, the National Expertise Broker was created as a support department for the investigation side of the case. It provides a databank intended principally for the police. As opposed to this, the Netherlands Register of Court Experts has its legal basis in the Experts in Criminal Cases Act, and it is a public register that can be consulted by the entire criminal justice system as well as by the legal profession. The expectation is that it is going to take a long time before the Netherlands Register of Court Experts is ‘full’. Until such time, the National Expertise Broker functions as an addition to the Netherlands Register of Court Experts. In addition, there are areas of expertise that may be relevant to the investigation but not included in the Netherlands Register of Court Experts and which are unlikely to be included in the future. The National Expertise Broker is a point of contact for the police too (Henzen, 2011; see also Parliamentary Papers II 2007/08, 31116, 10). To appoint an expert who is not registered, the public prosecutor has to file an application with the delegated judge, who may or may not proceed with the appointment.

6.2.2

Types of expertise

Exact sciences Experts can be sought and found in a wide range of disciplines, but in this section, we are restricting ourselves to expertise in scientific fields. Popular perceptions – partly determined by TV series like CSI (Broeders, 2008) – are often based on the ‘exact sciences’ when it comes to expertise. Yet, in practice, other experts also get involved, for instance, from the fields of psychology, psychiatry or cultural anthropology. They are often called on, for their opinions in honourrelated cases. Needless to say, how experts substantiate their opinions is crucial. Key to this is the application of scientific methods. Forensic experts who, if requested, are willing to make statements about matters that neither they

6 Working with experts

themselves nor other scientists have researched, which is quite often the case when experts appear in judicial proceedings, cannot be considered as forensic scientists for those cases. Their judgements are not scientifically substantiated and are seen as speculations (Broeders, 2008).

Other sciences Siesling points out other factors that make a difference to the way the various kinds of scientific expertise are assessed: ‘Anthropologists have quite recently entered the scene in Dutch criminal justice proceedings (...). It is likely that the judge may be more suspicious of a witness who is an expert in the field of cultural anthropology. This suspicion may (...) be due to the fact that the judge is not so familiar with anthropology as a forensic science and associations with them may seem less “hard” than the other forensic sciences they are used to. It may be that the nature of criminal proceedings are not really in line with the expertise and working methods of the cultural expert and, for this reason, cultural experts are less likely to be consulted or have their research results referred to in criminal proceedings’ (Siesling, 2006: pp. 67-68). A science like cultural anthropology provides a different kind of contribution than DNA research and other investigations of trace evidence. However, cultural anthropologists or other cultural scholars can provide insight into possible backgrounds and motives based on facts and circumstances. By doing so, they can contribute significantly to the investigation, and may also contribute at a later stage to the substantiation when meting out the punishment.

6.2.3

Differences in opinions between experts

Two types of differences of opinion When different experts are all working in the same field, it is conceivable that they may have differences of opinion. These differences may emerge if various experts are asked to report on one and the same case. Moreover, differences of opinion may be apparent from the scientific publications of the experts in question. If the insights that experts have differ, then it is important to differentiate between two situations. Experts may disagree on one specific point.

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Focus on honour

184

The Dreyfus affair In 1894, Alfred Dreyfus, a French officer

accuse – addressed to the French presi-

of Jewish descent, was falsely accused

dent. In his famous accusation, he also

of spying for the Germans. However,

lashes out at the experts who in turn felt

the recently appointed head of the

that their honour has been stained and so

intelligence services, Colonel Georges

they instituted legal proceedings against

Picquart, discovered the true facts of the

Zola for defamation. Robert Harris wrote

matter and tried to bring the real spy,

an exciting historical novel in which he

another French officer, Ferdinand Walsin-

meticulously describes the affair from

Esterhazy, before the court. It was not

Picquart’s perspective (2013). One of the

plain sailing because the honour of the

experts, Alphonse Bertillon, appears in

French army was at stake and there were

this book. He is an important figure in the

many who, unlike Picquart, believed that

development of several forensic tech-

that reputation would be best preserved

niques who tries to reconcile the contra-

by covering up the issue. Apart from this,

dictory statements of the other experts.

Dreyfus was also the perfect scapegoat

He comes to the following conclusion: to

thanks to prevailing anti-Semitic senti-

avoid being unmasked, Dreyfus forged

ments. There was an important role

his own handwriting by changing the

reserved for experts in this whole sorry

letter shapes passed down to him by his

affair. The issue of whether a certain docu-

own family! In short, based on this bizarre

ment could have been written by Dreyfus

reasoning, the experts are always right

was essential to the furnishing of evidence

and Dreyfus can only be found guilty.

against Dreyfus. For this reason, several

Yet it would take until 19 September 1899

handwriting experts were consulted, but

before Dreyfus was finally given amnesty;

they failed to agree on the outcome. The

one day later he was freed. Only on 12 July

famous author, Émile Zola, stood up for

1906 did the Court of Cassation overturn

Dreyfus on 13 January 1898 in an open

the previous judgement and Dreyfus was

letter with the telling title of J´accuse – I

acquitted on all counts.

Another kind of conflict may be due to the fact that experts work at different ‘measurement levels’. Below we give some examples as clarification. A psychiatrist, who forms opinions on the mental state of an individual, works at a micro level. A psychologist asked to explain group dynamics in a youth group works at a meso level. A historian who is asked to outline the political development in a particular country during a specific period works at a macro level.

6 Working with experts

Honour or stress? On 16 June 2008, Ahmet O. sets light to his

brushstrokes is that this entrepreneur

own grand café and car, and takes an alder-

has bitten off more than he can chew and

man and four officials hostage at gunpoint

sees the imminent bankruptcy of his busi-

in the town hall of Almelo. Journalist Mir-

ness as an embarrassment. To save face,

jam Pool wrote a remarkable work about

the blame for his loss needs to be placed

this matter and its legal outcome that is

squarely with the outside world. However,

well worth reading: Procedures en pistolen

O.’s defence counsel, Korvinus, argues

(i.e. Procedures and pistols) (2013). O. has a

that honour is not the issue at all: ‘Things

difficult relationship with the municipal-

came to a head thanks to the treatment

ity. Thanks to red tape and impenetrable

he received at the hands of the municipal

rules, it proves extremely difficult for him

authorities, treatment that he perceived to

to run his catering business. This case is

be protracted intimidation and injustice,

brought to the LEC EGG’s attention; they

compounded by exhaustion and the immi-

engage an anthropologist as an expert.

nent loss of financial security’ (Pool, 2003:

Honour is mentioned as a factor in the LEC

p. 233). A report from a psychiatrist sup-

EGG report. What it boils down to in broad

ports the defence counsel’s argument.

Overview 6.2 gives a simplified outline of the two types of differences in opinion. Overview 6.2

Differences in insights between experts

Analysis levels

Macro level Beliefs and norms of SOCIETY

External expert 1

External expert 2

Meso level Beliefs and norms of a GROUP

External expert 3

Micro level Beliefs and norms of an INDIVIDUAL

External expert 4

External expert 5

185

External expert 6

Focus on honour

186

These differences seem to advocate for the integration of different explanatory models. However, is it really as simple as all that (Baerveldt, 1998)? In Chapter 2, we compared theories to lenses: each theory gives us a different view of the phenomenon being studied. Each lens reveals something important, but if we were to put one lens in front of the other, we probably wouldn’t see anything anymore. Consider once more the different theoretical perspectives outlined in Chapter 2. The theory of civilisation establishes a link between the process of state formation and vigilante justice. This is an explanation at macro level. Anthropological studies often focus on the meso level. For instance, they could discuss honour amongst people from a particular region or people from the Middle East who live in large family groups. Chapter 3 introduces the lifecourse perspective, which can be used at various levels of analysis. Judgements can be made about the behaviour of individual people based on these perspectives. Having said that, it is always difficult to unravel how exactly the events that happen at a macro or meso level affect the micro level. An example of this would be experiences in a war zone or a person suffering psychiatric or psychological disorders and the effect they have on cultural perceptions of violence perpetrated in the name of honour (Kleber, 2002; Knipscheer & Kleber, 2008; Kortmann, 2002; Mechelen, 2002). Moreover, vice versa: it is still a mystery how the behaviour of individuals or smaller groups affects the larger entity (Janssen, 2008c).

Contradiction is unavoidable The anthropologist mentioned in Chapter 2, Geertz, is also not optimistic about the prospects of theoretical and disciplinary integration. Different measurement levels, methods and techniques, scientific vocabulary and culture cannot simply be mixed up. Geertz continues his discourse by claiming that the notion that, spiritual and emotional lives are situated in the mind and that culture starts outside the body is not sustainable. Evolving insights from biology, psychology and cultural studies cannot be integrated into a hierarchical structure. With the future in mind, he feels that it is unrealistic, to assume that ultimately, a kind of meta theory will emerge. One in which all the various disciplines will have their set position (Geertz, 2000). As far as this is concerned, it is not as though we are running the risk of encountering experts who contradict one another; rather, it is already a fact. Those who work for the police should not join the fray of trying to be proven right scientifically; instead they should use any differences in insight between the various experts as a source of inspiration when formulating hypotheses and scenarios.

6 Working with experts

6.3

6.3.1

Requirements

What is required of an expert?

Practical experience The National Expertise Broker sets requirements for experts and requirements for the Netherlands Register of Court. Experts are provided for in the Experts in Criminal Cases Act. In the literature, much attention has been paid to the efforts of experts (see, for instance, Posthumus Commission, 2005; Wiersinga, 2005; Malsch, 2008; Nijboer, 2008; Siesling & Ten Voorde, 2009). In this and the following subsection, we outline the requirements set by the LEC when working with experts in cases that involve honour. The legal assumptions and conditions are also taken into account. Experience shows that a good expert is one who: • has an impeccable record and is not mixing any interests An expert has an impeccable record given that confidential police information is made available to them. A statement of confidentiality must be signed, which reiterates that, the facts the expert becomes aware of in the course of their work, cannot be used in publications, be they scientific or otherwise. After all, the case history was not made available with that objective in mind. Furthermore, it is important that an expert produces objective answers to the questions that the police present them with. This objectivity is compromised as soon as the expert has other interests, regardless of what these may be. Here we have in mind political, familial or commercial interests. • has proven knowledge and experience in the field of expertise Experts have to be able to substantiate where they got their knowledge from, for instance, from their training and/or work experience. When it concerns cultural knowledge and a command of languages, having a certain ethnic or cultural background is not enough to be considered an expert. Ultimately, it is not only about actual knowledge and facts worth knowing; it is also about being able to analyse these at an abstract level. Based on the description of the substantial requirements for “expertise”, an ‘experience expert’, i.e. someone who has somehow been involved in an honour-related case in his or her private lives, does not necessarily qualify a person as an expert in a legal sense.

187

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188

• has made demonstrable efforts to keep their knowledge up to date Having knowledge and understanding about a certain subject matter requires maintenance. The subject of the investigation (for instance, a certain culture or community) as well as (theoretical) views (such as theories) and methods used in the expert’s discipline may change. These efforts may be apparent from participating in debates within one’s own discipline (such as those in scientific journals and trade magazines or at conferences) or following relevant courses so that the gaps in one’s own knowledge can be addressed. • has a good understanding of the limitations of their own abilities It is important that experts restrict themselves to their own field of expertise when making statements. For instance, it would be inappropriate for an anthropologist to voice their views on the mental state of those involved in a particular case. Experts can only recommend that the expert for that specific field should be consulted. • has a good understanding of the range of duties of the police and the duties of the expert If an expert is asked to give an advice to the police, then it goes without saying that the expert must freely and objectively arrive at an opinion of the issue under consideration. After all, the expert in question is not part of the police organisation; instead he or she is an independent third party. Being familiar with the way the police operate is, however, required. An example in this context would be the time pressure factor. When performing their duties, the police are obliged to observe statutory time limits. For instance, in a state under the rule of law such as the Netherlands, suspects cannot be held in remand indefinitely. If the police are to tackle cases consistently, they need to get information or advice quickly from experts who can be reached easily. However, practice shows that the time horizon that police officers have is different to the ones that experts focus on. Moreover, to experts, the concept of ‘being accessible’ means being available on working days during normal office hours, while the police need to be able to reach experts over the weekends and during the evening if need be. • has the capacity to formulate clear recommendations An expert is asked for advice because he or she works in a field other than that of a police officer. In other words, the knowledge required does not exist within the police organisation. However, the advice that the expert gives has no value if it is formulated in such a way that police officers can-

6 Working with experts

not understand it. It is crucial that an expert is able to report in such a way that justice is done to the requirements of his or her own discipline. It is also important that the advice is comprehensible and not open for misinterpretation so the police can follow up the recommendations.

The paradox of expertise

6.3.2

Having experts on the team doesn’t auto-

can be taken in a responsible way. On the

matically lead to a better understanding

other hand, the words of experts can

of the problem that has to be tackled.

only achieve their objective if experts

The fact is that a ‘paradox of expertise’

are in fact able to arrive at their own

may arise. This means that: on the one

judgements – without detracting from

hand law enforcement professionals,

their specialism – that can be under-

for instance detectives or judges, need

stood by laymen, and thus not be mis-

specialists in order to get an understand-

interpreted, (Bourcier & De Bonis, 1999;

ing of complex cases, so that decisions

Nijboer, 2004).

What is required of the police?

The police cannot do it alone... Whether the police properly utilises expert knowledge not only depends on the expert concerned. The police themselves also have an important role and responsibility when it comes to establishing productive collaboration with experts from outside the police organisation. For this reason, the police can be expected to: • emphasise the confidential nature of the information The information that the police have at their disposal is confidential. We have already explained that the police may share information under certain conditions with an expert. Even though it is always risky to disclose information to those outside the police, the risks associated with honourrelated cases are much higher. The fact is that confidentiality often plays a major role in these issues. If certain information gets into the ‘wrong hands’, the risk of an escalation of the violence in the conflict could increase significantly. For this reason, it is necessary, to make it clear from the beginning of the collaboration with an expert (by having them sign a confidentiality statement) that all the information that reaches an expert, directly or indirectly, when carrying out work for the police must

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190

be considered confidential, both during the collaboration and after it ends. This means that experts cannot make statements to the media about the work that they are doing for the police and about anything else that comes to their knowledge. Although it is laudable that experts may participate in scientific discourse within their own discipline by publishing in scientific journals, they are not permitted to use information disclosed to them during their collaboration with the police. After all, this kind of information was not gathered with the objective of carrying out scientific research or being published in any other way. • to have a good understanding of the expert’s task and that of the police This aspect was already touched on when discussing the requirements for experts. It is important that it is clear what the expectations are on both sides, so that the police and the experts take on each other’s roles. Previously we noted that experts should be aware of the boundaries that the law sets for what the police may and may not do. It is of course just as important that the police have a realistic view of what may and can be expected of experts: for instance, in which field is the expert competent? • present the expert with a specific and well-delineated question If the previous point is taken into account, then it means that the police must first question their reasons for engaging an expert before they go ahead and ask one to assist. In other words, which piece of the puzzle should the expert be clarifying? The question to be asked has to be demarcated. In any event, it has to be about an aspect of the case that concerns the expert’s field of expertise. Moreover, the expert must not be asked to take certain decisions, for instance, related to the way the criminal investigation is being carried out. The expert must also feel free to reject the hypotheses and the scenarios that the police put forward. Suppose the expert was asked whether motives for particular threats would be rooted in an affront to honour, then expert should also be able to turn down that hypothesis by saying no, there is no link to honour. Other kinds of motives may also play a role (see also Section 4.1.2).

6 Working with experts

• note in a dossier why and how the expert was deployed Written information is often made available to an expert. For instance, the report on an interrogation or the official report that the police officer just drew up. However, experts may also attend interrogations and the information that the expert bases his or her judgements on must be recorded in the dossier for the case being handled. So, it goes without saying that experts must include the sources in their own reports, and the police must also indicate what information was made available and why, and for which actions or at which locations the expert was present, for instance, at an interrogation or at a reconstruction on at the scene of the crime. An expert can only be deployed in one way, and that is as an expert. The expert should not be used as an interpreter as well, even if he or she is a sworn interpreter. The fact that an expert is required to be independent makes it impossible for them to perform other roles during the handling of a particular case by the police.

191

CLOSE-UP

Two types of honour

Lieutenant Colonel Tina Tuiten works as the deputy commander at the Royal Netherlands Military Constabulary Training Centre [Koninklijke Marechaussee]: ‘I remember well many years ago how, after I had an information meeting at the Royal Netherlands Military Constabulary, I thought, “This is what I want!” And I decided to take the plunge. As a twenty-year-old, the challenge, structure and order appealed to me. The uniform was also great, but I quickly realised that it is no more than a piece of equipment. When I look back, I have to admit that I was really insecure, but I kept that to myself. I wanted to play an active role, to perform well and to serve society. For instance, I would be proud to be able to return someone’s stolen handbag to them. It was a fantastic feeling. I have grown over the years and my range of duties have become more complex and more difficult in the sense that I have been given more responsibilities, have started to collaborate more with other people and institutions, and of course have had to deal with more complicated problems, like being seconded to the Sudan. I worked there for the United Nations as a liaison officer for the UN Child Protection - Juvenile Justice Police Department. The objective was to develop a sound police system. My focus was on children who had ended up on the wrong side of the judicial authorities. In this context, I spoke to a lot of women and children who were in detention. There, children are detained for things like stealing an apple. It’ll come as no surprise that the living conditions in Sudanese prisons are appalling. Even though you are faced with terrible suffering in an extremely complex society, you always try to apply yourself to the best of your ability, even if you see that you can only take very small steps for the benefit of the local population. Later I was promoted to brigade commander, and was put in charge of 300 colleagues. I was also responsible for the security of the houses and workplaces of members of the Royal Household and the prime minister’s official residence When I arrived in 1993, I really did not dare to dream of getting as far as I have and being given the chance to get to know so many different aspects of the work at the Royal Netherlands Constabulary. It has been a fantastic journey of discovery. Now I feel as though I’ve come full circle. In my current position, I am responsible for training and coaching colleagues and this gives me a great deal of satisfaction. Serving is in my blood. This is truly the place for me. There is, of course, an aspect of personal honour, which involves doing your job as well as possible, setting the bar high for yourself and continuing to develop, but that’s not really the reason that I feel so much in my element now. This is because there is another kind of honour. People can only learn by being open and vulnerable. The same applies to coaching: the process will not get off the ground without openness. I am honoured if my colleagues put their trust in me and reveal what their concerns are. It is not always easy, because you have to be honest and you have to be able to take criticism and be critical. Having said that, if the process goes well, then you feel a connection and together you can move forward.’

7

Counting honour-related cases

To get statistics on honour-related cases, you first have to detect them. That is what the first section of this chapter is about. The second section addresses the question of why it is important to collect statistics on honour-related cases and the difficulties that arise when interpreting these statistics. The statistics for honour-related cases in the Netherlands are presented in the last section of this chapter. This chapter also outlines the problems that arise when comparing figures on honour-related violence collected by the various countries.

7.1

7.1.1

Visibility

The police’s perspective

Recognising and acknowledging Football legend, Johan Cruijff, once said ‘You will only see it when you get it.’ That extraordinary statement also applies to violence perpetrated in the name of honour. Police officers can only recognise this kind of violence once they know what kind of phenomenon it is and what they have to look out for. Honour-related violence is not just about recognising cases, but also about acknowledging these issues. As far as acknowledging is concerned, it is essential that police officers firstly realise that honour-related violence is part of Dutch society: violent retaliation when restoring honour cannot be brushed off as ‘exotic’ because the simple truth is that Dutch citizens are affected. Addressing this kind of violence is, in its entirety, part of police duties as these are described in the first chapter of this book.

Snapshots If the police already know about and are open to the notion of violence in the name of honour, then there is another important factor that affects their perception. In Subsection 4.1.1 we mentioned that honour-related cases do not emerge out of the blue; there are reasons for the conflict and those involved will have threatened to retaliate, whether or not it involves violence. In that sub-

section, the term ‘sliding scale’ is mentioned and in Section 5.1.1, the various timelines are described. In short, honour-related cases should be construed as dynamic processes, and not as incidents that have more or less reached their conclusion. As soon as a case is brought to the attention of the police, it is ‘labelled’ in the police information systems. As such, a case may come in as a ‘threat’ and then end up being a murder or homicide over time. What the police see therefore partly depends on the moment the police examine a particular case.

7.1.2

The perspective of those concerned

Willingness to report If an incident occurs in broad daylight on a street in the presence of many witnesses, then the likelihood that the police will see what happened through their own observation or those of witnesses will of course be many times greater than if an incident takes place in the privacy of a home, in the family circle, without outside witnesses (Brodeur, 2010). Honour-related violence is a prime example of a phenomenon that is not so easy to observe. That means that the police are heavily dependent on other safety and security organisations (also see Section 1.3) with whom they collaborate. Another essential aspect is the attitude of the citizens who become involved in honour-related cases. On the one hand, honour-related violence in the various communities where this problem is an issue will hopefully become more open to discussion and it will stop being a taboo subject. Discussions on the subject may open doors to alternatives. On the other hand, greater frankness may bring more honour-related cases to light and perhaps reduce the threshold to turning to the police and other safety and security partners for advice. In other words, the police are heavily dependent on the extent to which citizens are willing to report incidents to the police. (For an overview of factors that affect reporting and willingness to report, see Van de Weijer & Bernasco, 2016.) The media plays an important role in this process of making difficult subjects open to discussion and finding citizens willing to speak about their experiences (to the police). Various authors have focused on the relationship between the media and honour-related violence (see, for instance, Korteweg & Yurdakul, 2009), but Brenninkmeijer et al. (2009) mainly put the spotlight on the paradoxical nature of this relationship. On the one hand, media attention can play an important part in raising awareness and making taboo subjects something that people will talk about. On the other hand, high media visibility can also lead to a stigmatisation processes, and have a negative impact on willingness to report as a consequence.

195

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196

The key question is: do all forms of honour-related violence come to the surface in the end? In police circles, they talk about ‘fetching’ and ‘bringing’. ‘Fetching’ refers to those cases that the police themselves come across, and ‘bringing’ refers to those cases that citizens bring to their attention. Now, if you add all the fetching and bringing together, does it give a complete picture of all the various kinds of honour-related violence in the Netherlands? Previously we explained that the police do not see everything – factors such as knowledge play a role in the police’s ability to spot cases – and, besides this, citizens are not always willing to tell the police about cases. So, this means that there is a dark figure, i.e. no one knows how many honour-related cases escape the attention of the police. This applies to all crimes, not just honour-related violence.

7.2

7.2.1

The objective of the statistics

A constructivist vision

Don’t stats speak for themselves? Those who read the previous paragraph closely will understand that, in practice, stats are not so simple: a lot depends on the ability of the police to recognise cases on time, and on citizens being willing to draw attention to cases. In criminology, having a constructivist view of statistics is mentioned. It is claimed that crime statistics are given social significance. What is made punishable, investigated and prosecuted depends on the moral views of groups and parties that have the political power to make those views legally valid (De Haan & Janssen, 2016). So, statistics do not speak for themselves: they require an interpretation of the social context.

The point of statistics If there are so many ifs and buts attached to stats, is there any point in collecting them? The answer is a wholehearted ‘yes’. Compare statistics to a complicated camera: we can take adequate pictures using the camera, pictures which will then promote the development of policies and their implementation. That said, the person using the camera has to know what he or she is doing, otherwise the picture will be out of focus or distorted. If exaggerated figures or figures are presented on their own, without any detailed explanation, the foundations of the debate about honour-related violence are demolished. The grave danger here is a twofold: not only does it erode the significance of the

7 Counting honour-related cases

term ‘honour-related violence’, it also undermines the confidence that the various groups and communities, where these issues are very much alive, have in institutions like the police. Furthermore, it may very well impede the process of exposing certain norms within the circles of those involved.

7.2.2

Insight into the police approach and the cases that the police deal with

The method used government-wide as the starting point Do the calls for a balanced approach to statistics mean that any kind of quantification is totally out of the question? No, on the contrary. The fact that the Netherlands applies the LEC EGG method as a standard practice for the police approach to honour-related violence opens up perspectives (Janssen & Sanberg, 2010a, 2013a). No definition Why is a definition of honour-related

possible to determine whether it is justi-

violence not taken as a basic premise for

fied to classify a case as honour-related

counting and recording incidents? The

one or not. That is because the only

answer is very simple: there is no defini-

empirical fact related to honour-related

tive definition of honour-related violence

violence is basically the violence itself.

that applies to violence perpetrated in the

The ‘honour component’ is not physically

name of honour among various commu-

tangible: it is a social construct. That is to

nities (see also Kromhout et al., 2007). A

say, committing or threatening to commit

working definition has been developed in

violence is motivated in advance or retro-

the Netherlands (Ferwerda & Van Leiden,

spectively by pointing to alleged honour

2005), one that provides professionals

violations. Honour is a motive. Explana-

with important points of reference for

tions given by suspects or other people

understanding honour-related violence

involved play an important role in this.

in practice. However, even on the basis

(See also the ‘Categorising and defining

of this working definition, it is not always

violence’ textbox in Section 1.2.2.)

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198

This uniform approach offers excellent possibilities for setting up a registration system. Using the national methodology as a starting point for a register has several major benefits: • Uniformity If figures or registration are to have any significance, then the process of gathering and recording figures has to be administrated in a uniform way. This is extremely difficult when it comes to manifestations of honour-related violence. As far as recognition and strategy are concerned, uniformity in the way these issues are addressed has been achieved within the Dutch police force. For this reason, applying the methodology is a good starting point for setting up a register. • Insights into working methods and standards There is a clearly defined approach within the Dutch police force for both oral and written aspects. If a register is set up based on a uniform method of working, it will provide important insights into the way in which the methodology is implemented in practice in the various units. Based on this kind of recording system, problem areas and other issues related to the quality of the way cases are tackled can be recognised and overcome. • Placing cases in the relevant context It goes without saying that case histories have to be studied. However, to effectively gain insight into cases, it is essential that the context of the case is clarified. It is not inconceivable, for instance, that the impressions formed about a certain issue are based on the information that the police has gathered. Furthermore, these may differ from those impressions based only on the information produced collated from women’s shelters or the IND. When the Dutch police provide statistics about honour-related violence, then these are the stats that the LEC EGG gathers about cases in the Netherlands that were handled according to the LEC EGG method. Because of this, this information constitutes an important information source about the cases that the police have handled in the Netherlands, cases for which violations of honour have been taken into account as a motive for violence or the threat of violence. So that means that cases have been included for which no clarity about the motive was ever forthcoming. The ‘A blood-stained wedding dress’ case outlined in Section 4.1.2 is a prime example of this.

7 Counting honour-related cases

7.3

7.3.1

A few figures on honour-related cases

Honour-related cases in the Netherlands

LEC EGG statistics Each year, between 450 and 500 cases are submitted to the LEC EGG. That is approximately a sixth of the around 3,000 cases that the police in the Netherlands deal with and that take into account honour-related motives. Moreover, these cases have been handled in accordance with the LEC EGG method (LEC EGG, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017). Table 7.1 gives an outline of the number of cases that were brought to the attention of the expertise centre from 2011 to 2016. It also indicates what kinds of cases they were. In principle, cases can be classified in several ways. For instance, a case may involve defamation as well as abuse. Table 7.1 is based on the most serious classification. The case in the example mentioned above would be classified as abuse on the table below. The majority of cases handled by the LEC EGG between 2011 and 2016 involved threats. Abuse comes in at second place. Even though every death is one too many, the number of murders and homicides represents a relatively small part of the work that LEC EGG does: in the period from 2011 to 2016, the number of murder and homicide victims ranged from seven to seventeen. On the other hand, relatively speaking many of the total number of murders and homicides committed in the Netherlands are submitted to the LEC EGG. According to Statistics Netherlands, 120 people lost their lives to murder or homicide in 2015. Of those cases, nine were submitted to the LEC EGG in 2015. This means that approximately 8% of all murders and homicides committed in 2015 were submitted to the LEC EGG because it was suspected that the motives could have been related to honour issues. Between 2011 and 2016, the majority of these cases involved descendants of Turkish (approximately 30%), Moroccan (almost 20%), Iraqi (around 10%), Afghan (about 10%) or Kurdish (almost 10%) background. In addition, cases were also submitted that concerned people with roots, for instance, in the Balkans, or people of Syrian, Somali, Pakistani or Surinamese-Hindustan descent. In Sections 1.2.1 and 1.1.2, we explained that the police approach to honourrelated violence in the Netherlands focuses primarily on families from migrant backgrounds. That is not to say that native Dutch people never come into the picture. A second ethnic group is involved in around 15% of the cases that the LEC EGG handles annually. The native Dutch population is involved in a significant proportion of these cases (LEC EGG, 2017).

199

200

Focus on honour

Table 7.1

Cases handled by the LEC EGG between 2011 to 2016

Category Threats Abuse Attempted murder/ homicide Murder/homicide Suicide Abduction Unlawful deprivation of liberty Force Sexual abuse Rape Missing persons Other Totaal

2011

%

2012

%

2013

%

2014

%

2015

%

2016

%

290 162

58% 32%

270 146

55% 30%

307 125

61% 25%

264 119

57% 26%

214 153

47% 34%

209 135

43% 28%

9 7 2 4

2% 1% 0% 1%

9 13 2 9

2% 3% 0% 2%

12 17 3 5

2% 3% 1% 1%

6 14 3 11

1% 3% 1% 2%

11 9 2 1

2% 2% 0% 0%

13 9 0 5

3% 2% 0% 1%

9 2% 0 0% 4 1% 11 2% 3 1% 3 1% 504 100%

6 1% 0 0% 12 2% 13 3% 7 1% 5 1% 492 100%

6 1% 0 0% 5 1% 10 2% 5 1% 11 2% 506 100%

0 0% 0 0% 10 2% 14 3% 2 0% 17 4% 460 100%

8 2% 17 4% 7 2% 11 2% 2 0% 17 4% 452 100%

7 1% 49 10% 8 2% 12 2% 5 1% 29 6% 481 100%

Source: LEC EGG, 2015, 2016 * In 2011, a murder case from 2010 was handled again. This case was included in the figures for 2010 and 2011. Two cold cases dating back to 1993 and 1999 were handled in 2013. These cases were included in the figures for 2013. Three cold cases dating back to 1988, 1992 and 2004 were handled in 2014. These cases were included in the figures for 2014. Three of the fatal cases handled in 2015 involved several casualties: a total of 13 people were killed in the murders/homicides, and in one case in the end the perpetrator killed himself. (See also the ‘Cold case’ textbox in Section 5.2.1.) ** Even though coercion was included in the Dutch Criminal Code a long time ago, the police have not always used this provision. The police have started to use this provision more frequently since greater attention is being paid to issues like forced marriage.

The involvement of the native Dutch population A businessman of Turkish descent starts a

when this girlfriend starts a relationship

relationship with a native Dutch woman

with another man. The businessman finds

whom he knows from his work. Even

this hard to swallow. The Dutch woman

though the man is married and has chil-

and her new boyfriend are threatened.

dren with his wife, the relationship with the

The businessman together with his family

Dutch woman continues and a child is born

kidnap the child that he has had with his

out of the union. The man’s family is not

Dutch girlfriend. Married or not, the child

happy about this second relationship. His

belongs with the father’s family, at least to

family even takes to hitting the girlfriend,

their minds. The mother refuses to accept

after which the relationship is put on the

this. Once she finally gets her child back in

back burner. In fact, the man only stays in

a very roundabout way, she takes refuge

touch with his girlfriend because they have

with her child in a women’s shelter.

a child together. But things come to a head

7 Counting honour-related cases

Statistics prior to the establishment of the LEC EGG: 1970 to 2000 The Tank case outlined in Chapter 1 was the first honour-related case that was written about extensively in a professional journal of the Dutch police force. In the decades that followed, an article or a thesis would occasionally be devoted to the subject (Van der Molen, 1983), but no systematic attention has been paid to violence in the name of honour. However, that does not mean that no honour-related cases occurred from the seventies up until the end of the millennium. According to Van Dijken and Nauta (1978), seven murders and convictions were reported to the police between 1968 and 1977. The authors thought that these cases may have involved restoring honour or blood feuds. There were another six attempts of murder or homicide involving suspected honour-related motives in that period. Honour-related incidents and blood feuds compared Blood feuds and honour killings are both

other family. After a blood feud, another

fatal kinds of violence. Honour killings

blood feud may be committed, this time

involve the murder of a man or woman

initiated by the family of the victim of the

who is considered responsible for caus-

first blood feud. This is how a whole chain

ing others to suffer a loss of honour. In

of blood feuds comes about. The period

blood feuds, people kill based on another

between two blood feuds can be very

principle, namely the notion of an ‘eye for

long, sometimes as much as twenty years,

an eye, and a tooth for a tooth’. In her dis-

for instance, because a son only takes

sertation on honour killings among Turks

revenge once he has reached adulthood.

in the Netherlands, Van Eck explains what

The first murder in a series of blood feuds

a blood feud in this context means. What

may have all kinds of reasons: an alterca-

it boils down to is that, because a blood

tion about land or an honour killing. When

relative is killed, a blood relative from the

this honour killing is followed by one or

perpetrator’s family is killed. As a general

more blood feuds, then because it is the

rule, an important male family member is

first in a series of murders, it may also be

chosen as the victim, a breadwinner, pref-

referred to as a blood feud (Van Eck, 2001,

erably, to effect maximum impact on the

2003b).

In 1983, at what was then still known as the Dutch Police Academy Frank van der Molen wrote a thesis. In his thesis regarding Turkish honour and blood feuds, he attempts to ascertain how many honour-related cases had taken place among Turkish people in Rotterdam and The Hague. He chose these cities because at that time many people of Turkish descent lived there. Incidentally, he not only studied all the murders and homicides, but also threats, abuse and

201

Focus on honour

202

grievous bodily harm. He came across 137 serious violent crimes involving suspects of Turkish descent that took place between 1976 and 1982: 96 took place in Rotterdam and 41 in The Hague. Of the total, he studied 76 cases more closely. In Rotterdam, he found 25 cases and in The Hague, he found seven cases in which he thought that honour may have been the motive. He saw blood feud as the motive for three cases: one in Rotterdam and two in The Hague. Van der Molen studied press reports in the Dutch media for the period from 1972 to 1981. He found 95 cases in which someone of Turkish origin was killed during a criminal offence. Twenty-one of the cases apparently involved fatal honour-related violence. Eight of the cases took place in Rotterdam, three in The Hague and the other cases took place in other parts of the Netherlands. The conflicts that prompted these fatal cases included adultery, rape and sexual insults. Finally, in 2001 Clementine van Eck published her thesis entitled Door bloed gezuiverd. Eerwraak bij Turken in Nederland (i.e. Cleansed with Blood. Honour Killings among Turks in the Netherlands). For this research, Van Eck examined thirty criminal files concerning cases that took place between 1972 and 1993; these files also contained police information. She only used twenty of these dossiers for her book. In summary, we can say that for decades we have known about violence perpetrated in the name of honour. Though, the attention paid to them is fragmentary and, until 2000, these incidents were primarily associated with people of Turkish descent. That said, the LEC EGG statistics presented above show that honour-related violence also occurs in other ethnical groups. Being yourself among the Roma people In Gypsy Boy (2011), Mikey Walsh describes

ing. To compound matters, Mikey discovers

his youth in the Roma community in Great

at a young age that he is homosexual. He

Britain. He hardly attends school as a child

can’t remember when he first realised that

and has virtually no contact with ‘Gorgia’,

he was indeed homosexual. But in some

i.e. people who are not Roma. Early on he

ways, he has always been aware of it, deep

realises that he cannot meet the standards

down inside. Of course, he’s in denial about

for correct and honourable male behaviour

it, as despairing as he is about not being the

as these apply among the Roma. His father

person that would destroy him completely

comes from a family in which men cher-

as a Roma. But once he reaches puberty, he

ish their reputation as fighters. But, from

can no longer fool himself. He knew father

a mental and physical perspective, Mikey

would call him a poofter every day, if he

is not the type to continue that tradition.

knew that it was true, and not only would he

His father takes out his disappointment on

hurl the most appalling insults at him that he

Mikey by regularly giving him a good hid-

could imagine, but he would also go ballistic

7 Counting honour-related cases

and almost certainly kill him (Walsh, 2011).

great humour, Gypsy Boy on the Run (2012),

In the end, Walsh chooses a life beyond

the reader can share in Walsh’s experience

the close-knit world of Roma. In his second

as he ultimately succeeds in finding a place

book, once again a page-turner written with

where he can be himself.

Statistics on phenomena linked to honour-related violence Chapter 1 explains that honour-related violence in the Netherlands is grouped under the umbrella term ‘violence in dependency relationships’. This collective term covers three domains: (1) violence within the nuclear family and the extended family; (2) violence perpetrated by professionals and in an institutional setting; and (3) human trafficking. The official records on violence in dependency relationships often refer to the following numbers of victims: more than 200,000 women, men and the elderly and 119,000 children fall victim annually (Parliamentary Papers II 2011/12, 28345, 117). The figure of 200,000 concerns adults who are victims of domestic violence each year (Van der Veen & Bogaerts, 2010); and the figure of 119,000 refers to the victims of child abuse. Over the years, however, several phenomena associated with migration and multicultural society have also been categorised under violence in dependency relationships, for instance, forced marriage, abandonment in a foreign country, marital captivity and child abduction. These issues are commonly associated with violence perpetrated in the name of honour. Growing problems That a notion like ‘honour-related violence’

1990). He also argues that the media, gov-

has the tendency to expand will come as

ernment, experts and activists reinforce

no surprise. Best argues that the construc-

this process. He even calls them the ‘iron

tion of a social problem goes through

quadrangle’ (Best, 1999). Criminology also

several phases. The first phase entails

tells us that, when the social definition

‘initial claims-making’, i.e. the problem

of a crime problem changes in the sense

first has to be placed on the agenda. It

that it is expanding, the issue in question

helps if a shocking example is put forward

becomes increasingly problematic: ‘In this

as a representation of larger numbers.

paradoxical situation, the judicial response

The ‘validation’ phase then follows: the

and social response compound each other

problem is recognised socially. Phase

again and again: the greater the response

three involves ‘domain expansion’. During

to a problem that suggests that it involves

this phase, the number of professionals

crime, the more visible and more “criminal”

involved in dealing with the problem and

the problem becomes, the more likely this

the problem itself expands as it were (Best,

kind of behaviour is to be counted as part

203

Focus on honour

204

of the problem, and the louder the calls are

process...’ (Brants & Brants, 1991: p. 16). This

to respond firmly in terms of criminal pros-

self-reinforcing process is known as ampli-

ecution, and so on in the self-reinforcing

fication.

Some statistics emerge because of the link made with violence in the name of honour, one that may or may not be justified and has to be examined on a caseby-case basis. In the Netherlands, there are only estimates for forced marriage, abandonment in a foreign country and marital captivity. An educated guess was made for 2011 and 2012 and it suggested that there were at least 181 cases of forced marriage, 178 cases of abandonment in a foreign country and 140 cases of marital captivity (Smits van Waesberghe et al., 2014). The International Child Abduction Centre [Centrum Internationale Kinderontvoering (Centrum IKO)] is an independent foundation that is financed by the Ministry of Security and Justice. In 2007, one year after its establishment, 1,299 requests for an opinion were submitted to the centre. In 2014, the number of applications rose to 5,956. Thus, anxiety about children being abducted and sent abroad is by no means a marginal phenomenon. According to the centre in 2014 ,247 children were kidnapped by a parent or member of the family and taken abroad. In 119 cases the kidnapper was the mother and in 47 it was the father who took the children. In four cases, the family was responsible for kidnapping the child. Most of the children involved in international child abductions went to Germany and Belgium, but countries such as Turkey, Morocco and Egypt were also on the radar (Centrum IKO, 2015).

7.3.2

Comparing international statistics

Why it is difficult to make international comparisons? Comparing international crime statistics is anything but simple. Figures about recorded crime are gathered by organisations that are involved in criminal justice proceedings and safety and security policies. However, differences in safety and security policies, the principle of discretionary powers and legality principles applied in the justice system, and the Public Prosecution Service’s criminal justice policy affect the way the police record criminal activities. This is why it is difficult to get detailed international comparisons (De Haan & Janssen, 2016). To compound matters, the Netherlands is the only country in the world that uses the LEC EGG method as a starting point for counting cases involving violence perpetrated in the name of honour. What’s more, honourrelated cases are categorised differently in the various countries. In the United

7 Counting honour-related cases

Kingdom, violent honour-related cases are categorised as a kind of domestic violence.

Nevertheless, a few impressions According to United Nations statistics, violence committed in the name of honour is responsible for the deaths of around 5,000 women globally each year. Closer to home, a comparative study was carried out in Great Britain, Germany and Turkey into the nature and extent of honour-related violence. (Kromhout et al., 2007). The researchers concluded that, while there may be information regarding honour-related violence in these countries, it is not extensive and it has its limitations. For instance, for Great Britain the only stats available are those for the hundreds of reports made annually relating to forced marriages, or the threat of forced marriages, kept by the Forced Marriage Unit and the Metropolitan Police in London, and the numbers of requests for help that are handled by women’s shelter organisations. The German Federal Criminal Investigations Department reported 55 recorded honour-related killings (including attempted murders) in almost ten years from the beginning of 1996 to the end of 2005 (see also Oberwittler & Kasselt, 2011). The figures relating to forced marriages in Germany are only available at a regional level and these show the number of requests for help submitted to the various organisations. Information from the Turkish suspect records show that 1,091 murder cases with an honour-related motive were committed between 2000 and 2005 in urban police operational areas. Between 2001 and 2005, the gendarmerie operating in the rural areas were confronted with 408 cases of honour-related murder or homicide, or attempted murder or homicide. In Great Britain, the assumption is that the victims of honour-related violence are mainly women of Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi descent. Relatively speaking, many of the victims known to the German Federal Criminal Investigations Department and assistance organisations were Turkish. Information about their region of origin was lacking for both countries. The majority of victims in the Turkish police and gendarmerie records, which include phenomena like blood feuds, are men. Apparently, in East Turkey victims of forced marriages and suicide cases are mainly women. Across all the countries, the perpetrators were mainly adult men: husbands or male members of the family, sometimes spurred on by mothers and mothers-in-law (Kromhout et al., 2007).

205

CLOSE-UP INTERVIEW

The pain of losing honour Henk used to be a director of a large company. He enjoyed his work there until a conflict with the staff changed his life for good: ‘At first I thought it’ll be OK, we’ll talk it out, but when people from the company started making serious allegations against me in the media, I knew we had crossed a line. The ins and outs of what I was blamed for are not relevant; all I want to talk about is what an attack on your reputation can do to you. Suffice to say that I was publicly accused of not having integrity. It was hard to take because I knew that these allegations were lies. Later, an investigation failed to make them stick. When I first heard the accusations, it was like having a trapdoor open up underneath my feet. If your honour and reputation is attacked in this way, it is just like being executed. You’re not killed literally, but your energy and zest for life is sucked out of you; you die socially. Thanks to the media exposure, I was confronted wherever I went. I ended up sitting at home and my world shrank. I lost my faith in people. Prior to all of this, I was always a busy bee; afterwards I hardly did anything anymore. I was emotionally unstable and reacted fiercely to minor issues. When the company had my personal belongings delivered to my house in packing boxes, I broke down even more. I was smoking like a chimney when all of this was going on. Fortunately, I didn’t come down with any serious physical complaints, but my day and night rhythm was disturbed. After eighteen months, I sought counselling from a psychologist. I still go there. The therapist didn’t tell me what I wanted to hear. We had a critical look at my part in the drama. I have learnt that you have to take responsibility, but that you also have to look to the future. When I tried to go it alone, I thought that my future was behind me, and my past lay before me. Thanks to the consultations, I’ve started to feel differently about things once again. Even though some of the allegations were sexual in nature, its didn’t upset my relationship with my wife. In her view, the stories were absurd. When the mudslinging began, my children were old enough to consciously experience it, but they never doubted me. My true friends – you only have a few in the course of life – also stood by me. My family, friends, they are what is priceless. Still, the whole affair has left me with serious scars. If I allow the memories to take hold, they evoke strong emotions that stand in the way of everything I do. However, I have to work for a few more years before I can retire. I would like to do something worthwhile, perhaps in another sector, because my reputation has been stained in my own field. That is why I am not working on this piece under my real name. “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” you can see people thinking. You don’t get offered interesting jobs anymore. Once you’ve lost your honour, you are no longer an equal partner; it’s as though you have a contagious disease. I used to have strong feelings of revenge; they haven’t disappeared altogether. The counselling process that I am going through with the psychologist has worked wonders as far as that goes. Revenge takes its toll in energy and sorrow; it eats away at you. You can’t base the rest of your life on it. Although deep down I cling to the hope that there will come a time when I can bring the truth into the open and that I can be rehabilitated, I am trying to let go of that notion too. Otherwise I will be stuck in the past. That is not what I want. I want to live in the present.’

8

Honour in the future: an interaction of light and shadow

Based on the statistics presented in the previous chapter, it is not likely that we will be considering violence perpetrated in the name of honour as a relic of the past any time soon. So how are we to proceed? In this last chapter, we will be looking to the future. There are two tasks that await us. In the first section, we zoom in on the shadow sides of honour codes. We must not lose sight of these aspects. In addition, we should be looking for the positive connotations of honour as a concept, i.e. those aspects that will expunge the violent interpretations of this notion. Those who have read the close-ups in the various chapters carefully will have noticed the positive sides of honour in their many manifestations. In the second section of this chapter, we look again at these positive interpretations and ask ourselves how we can tip the balance in favour of light in the interaction between light and shadow.

8.1

8.1.1

Focus on the negative aspects of honour

The persistence of violence perpetrated in the name of honour

Various kinds of dependency We discussed Elias’s civilisation theory in Chapter 2. According to Elias, the number of murder and homicide victims dropped in the course of centuries in Western Europe due to the increased interdependence and the development of states that had the monopoly regarding the use of force. The word ‘dependency’ does not evoke positive connotations in everyday language. After all, who wants to be dependent? That said, in Elias’s civilisation theory an increase in dependency is a good thing. This is because interdependence promotes peaceful coexistence. In a positive sense, we could associate the concept of dependency with terms like interconnectedness and social cohesion. Yet the statistics in Chapter 7 show that to this day we are still being confronted with honourrelated violence, even in Dutch society. Following this reasoning, the fact that this form of vigilantism still takes place in certain groups may be construed as those groups not feeling any deep connection with society.

However, another type of dependency which is also a factor in families in which honour codes play an important role: is the one that concerns the individual’s dependency vis-à-vis the group. This dependence is often one-sided: an individual who does not conform to views about family honour is confronted with a collective that makes the decisions about the social and unfortunately sometimes physical death of the family member who is considered a dissident in the eyes of the group. As noted, that is a different kind of dependency than the one mentioned in the civilisation theory. In the latter, violence decreases as soon as mutual dependency increases.

Dependency and involvement Dependence on and involvement in Dutch society and among family groups are interrelated: they are interconnected topics. The fact is that people are not solitary beings. Everyone wants to belong. In a perfect world, people feel that interconnectedness at various levels: in their own families at a micro and meso level, and in society at a macro level. Nevertheless, if they sense aversion or rejection from society, the importance of and dependency on their own circles increases in significance. On the other hand, those who cannot resist the group pressure in the family’s social circle, either try to conform or break away from the group, with or without the help of others, like professionals. It is important to keep tabs on this process, not only broadly at a macro level, but also in a more anthropological way, by paying attention to the daily experience of those directly involved. Then the fact that due to their agency they have the ability to make choices for themselves and to react to the circumstances that arise, will not be overlooked.

8.1.2

Condemning violence perpetrated in the name of honour

How do you do it? Numerous examples were given in the preceding chapters to illustrate the gravity of honour-related violence. This type of violence ranges from serious threats to murder and homicide. In addition, the previous chapter gives an impression of the frequency with which this serious violence is brought to the attention of the police in the Netherlands. At the same time, it points out that the police are by no means aware of all the violence that occurs. As a society, we must continue to focus on and condemn this violence. That said, what is the best way to go about condemning violence? For instance, would appealing to shame help?

209

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210

The end does not justify the means On 17 December 2015, a remarkable report

without this document, they ran the risk

appeared in Trouw, a leading Dutch news-

of being accused of adultery and being

paper: between 2009 and 2013 an Ameri-

rejected by the community. The rabbi

can rabbi was leading a gang who were

wanted to put an end to marital captivity

visiting Jewish husbands who did not

using this initiative. The resolute rabbi

want to divorce their wives. Armed with

was, however, caught when he undertook

surgical knives, screwdrivers, rope and

to kidnap, beat and torture a man in the

tasers, the gang’s aim was to persuade the

presence of undercover FBI agents some

unwilling husbands to sign a ‘get’. A ‘get’

years ago. The court found it difficult to

is a statement that amounts to religious

empathise with this kind of vigilante jus-

consent to dissolve a marriage. Without

tice and sentenced the rabbi to ten years

this statement, wives found themselves in

imprisonment. So, the end does not justify

an awkward position: if they left anyway

the means.

8.1.3

Ridiculing codes of honour

Shaming and ridiculing The philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah (2010) wondered how codes of honour could be changed and even disappear altogether. During his quest for what he called ‘moral revolutions’, he looked for answers in the past and in the present. He examined duelling in nineteenth-century England, binding of Chinese women’s feet during the twentieth century, the abolition of slavery in the British Empire, and honour-related violence in present day Pakistan. Duelling inevitability led to the shedding of blood. The binding of feet was not only an extremely painful process, it also made it virtually impossible for women to walk. Slavery was a gross violation of the humanity of slaves, and honourrelated violence still leads to bloodshed in Pakistan to this day. Despite their far-reaching consequences, honour was invoked to defend these practices. Gentlemen duelled to restore their honour. The feet of women were maimed to underscore the family’s elevated and honourable position. In the slave system, there was a distinction between the honour of white people compared to black people. In Pakistan, certain kinds of lethal violence are still justified by invoking honour to justify the motive. To bring these practices to an end, it was crucial that they were no longer considered to be honourable behaviours.

8 H o n o u r i n t h e f u t u r e : a n i n t e r a c t i o n o f l i g h t a n d s h a d ow

Don Quixote: a parody about honour In 1605, Miguel the Cervantes Saavedra

nant, while his right-hand man’s mount is

published the story of ‘The Ingenious

a donkey. Sancho Panza does not follow

Nobleman Mister Quixote of La Mancha’.

his confused neighbour around because

A parody of the chivalric literature about

he thinks it is an honour to accompany the

honour popular at that time. It is said that,

gallant knight. His motives are bit more pro-

after the Bible, it is the most translated

saic than that: Don Quixote has promised

book on the planet (Achterhuis & Koning,

his sidekick that he is in for a substantial

2014). After reading many of these chivalric

reward. On the way, the dynamic duo

novels, Alonso Quijano, an impoverished

take up the heroic battle against assumed

nobleman, loses his mind and believes

evil. For instance, the knight takes a row

that he himself is a noble knight and that

of windmills to be a group of giants who

his ragtag, down-at-heel neighbour is his

are challenging him. The idealistic knight

squire. Behold, Don Quixote and Sancho

undertakes his quest for honourable acts to

Panza. The wandering knight gets around

win the heart of his great love, the beautiful

wearing a cardboard helmet, mounted

Dulcinea, who is in fact a simple farmer’s

on an ancient nag in a rusty harness, Roci-

daughter from a neighbouring village.

According to Appiah, the tide turned when a sense of national honour was invoked. Based on the historical examples that he chose, Appiah contends that a turning point was reached when these practices became a source of shame and were ridiculed. It was through critical reports in the free press and disapproving reactions from abroad that appealed to the national honour and produced that sense of shame.

211

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212

Ridiculous! The idea that fears and demons can be

shape and choose the manifestation

exorcised by ridiculing them is not new.

that will instil the most fear among the

This strategy is described in the adven-

bystanders – the professor impresses

tures of Harry Potter too. In his third year

on his pupils that they should have the

at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wiz-

creature take on the shape of something

ardry, Professor Lupos teaches Harry and

that they think is funny, because laughter

his friends this in their first lesson: ‘Defence

is fatal to Changelings. While thinking of

against the Black Arts’. When subduing

something funny, they shout the following

Changelings – i.e. beings that can change

curse: ‘Ridiculous!’ (Rowling, 1999).

Another appeal to shame Appiah is not the only philosopher who has appealed to shame to bring about change. John Braithwaite is a well-known criminologist who wrote an important book about what he calls reintegrative shaming. In his classic Crime, Shame and Reintegration published in 1989, he explains that there are two kinds of shame: on the one hand, there is the shame that leads to stigmatisation and, on the other hand, there is a more positive and loving kind of shaming that does not reject people. He uses an example to explain the differences between the two kinds of shaming. Suppose a young man comes into contact with the police for the first time in his life because of a relatively minor offence. Let’s say he gets caught shoplifting. Once he’s caught, he goes red in the face with shame. Those around him – family, friends, teachers, and classmates – condemn his behaviour, but they also write off his future in what they have to say: ‘We knew no good would come of you; you will get nowhere in life’. Braithwaite believes that this is a negative kind of shaming, one that has a disintegrating effect. Of course, it is right that those close to him condemn the theft, but is it fair to write someone off forever on account of a first offence? It would be more positive if those around him reacted as follows: ‘What a stupid thing to do! We never expected you to behave like that, but we’re assuming you’ve learnt your lesson and that you won’t do it again’. In this example, the behaviour is also condemned, but the young man stays on board: he still belongs. That is what Braithwaite means by reintegrative shaming.

8 H o n o u r i n t h e f u t u r e : a n i n t e r a c t i o n o f l i g h t a n d s h a d ow

8.2

8.2.1

Focus on the positive aspects of honour

Smiling about honour?

The risks of appealing to shame What do Appiah’s and Braithwaite’s lessons mean to the future of honourrelated violence? Both claim that appealing to a person’s sense of shame can bring about a change within general thinking and behaviour. Nonetheless, going down these roads is not without risk: if embarrassment and shame are invoked too drastically, this may backfire, as those concerned may embrace the behaviour for which they are being attacked even more. Braithwaite’s appeal is that, in his positive approach to shaming, he advocates maintaining the ties without trivialising the offending behaviour. Calling honour-related beliefs and the use of force into question can only really be done effectively if all those concerned respect one another as people. It sounds great on paper, but how can it be achieved in practice? Smiling as opposed to laughing loudly about honour? At any rate, it will take a great deal of effort to eradicate violence in the name of honour once and for all, and it is questionable whether it will succeed without hurting those who adhere to the codes of honour.

8.2.2

An interaction of light and shadow

Joining forces in a quest for positive honour codes For the sake of clarity, we would like to emphasise that honour does not have to be eradicated. Honour in a positive sense is what drives people to get up every day and try to make something of their lives. The community stands to benefit if people distance themselves from specific kinds of honour that legitimise vigilante justice. However, how can violent honour restoration be rendered dishonourable? In debates about honour-related violence, it is regularly claimed that honour-related beliefs will change once education makes girls and women more resilient. Although this aspiration is certainly important, it will not suffice. We have argued that honour-related violence cannot be construed solely as violence perpetrated by men against women. Boys and men, too, must have a point on the horizon that they can aim for (Janssen, 2006). Through education, they will also get a better view of life beyond their own close-knit social community, reducing the influence of social control and increasing their involvement within the Netherlands. This will diminish the chances of honour-related violence surviving (Van Eck, 2001, 2003b).

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214

In the first chapter, we explained that the government has great expectations of its citizens these days. So, thinking about ‘giving honour restoration a makeover’ is therefore not solely the task of the police and its partners in the field of safety and security. Also, the search for alternative and socially acceptable ways of acquiring and maintaining honour cannot be attributed exclusively to certain ethnic groups. Honour-related violence is a subject that concerns the whole of Dutch society. Consider in this respect the notion of the linked lives put forward in Chapter 3 within the context of the life-course perspective. The lives of the family members directly involved are not the only ones that are linked. In a society, we are all in fact connected and we must ensure that we reach a turning point together.

Light One thing is certain: that job is not over. Having come to the end of this book, many readers may not be able to escape from the impression that there is much to be discouraged about. Though, being pessimistic will get us nowhere. Those professionals who want to effectively carry out their tasks and tackle this kind of violence must not be disheartened and must focus on the positive developments instead. A photographer who aims to capture social abuse with a camera and put it up for discussion cannot do that without light. Moreover, there is light: since the time of the Tank case outlined in Chapter 1, violence perpetrated in the name of honour is no longer an obscure and alien subject. We have acknowledged that we are dealing with a complex and persistent issue of violence. This basis is indispensable for eradicating this violence and for depriving the perpetrators of any honour that they perceive this violence to have.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

These acknowledgements should really be a group photo instead of a piece of writing, because this book has not been produced solely by myself. All the collaborators and I have attempted to draw attention to as many aspects of the strategy that the police and other organisations apply when tackling honourrelated violence in the Netherlands. In the process, many professionals working for the police and other organisations have provided me with valuable advice. I can’t mention all of them, but I would like to shine a light on some of them. I have had many interesting discussions with Paul Duijn about the similarities and differences between social network analyses and family trees. I sought the advice of René Soet about the workings of the protection and security system. With Petra van Loosbroek I discussed at length the residence status of the victims of honour-related violence and the problems they face. John Dijkers and Erik van Benthem explained the ins and outs of the Dutch Police Data Act, and explained to me what is and what is not allowed when it comes to processing and disclosing information. I spoke to Jeroen ten Voorde on more than one occasion about the role of experts in criminal proceedings and the use of the National Expertise Centre for Honour-Related Violence (LEC EGG) analyses in the courtroom. I was often in touch with Jan Verkaik and Wim Henzen to discuss the role of experts within the police investigation process. Daan Driessen and Henk Huisjes casted a critical eye on various versions of this work in progress, and provided me with constructive commentary. I would also like to mention my colleagues at the Centre of Expertise for Public Safety and Criminal Justice at the Avans University of Applied Sciences, where I am affiliated as Professor of Violence in Dependency Relationships. From a life-course perspective, we can say that writing a book is similar to a pregnancy: the mother-to-be is literally and figuratively full of new life and loves talking about it. Furthermore, once the child has arrived, there’s no getting away from the baby photos for those within her environment. That is how I feel about this book. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues for a sympathetic ear and their good tips.

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218

Finally, my colleagues at the LEC EGG deserve a mention. Under the leadership of Willem Timmer, a temporary pilot project was transformed into a national expertise centre whose right to exist, given the extent to which honour-related violence occurs in our society can no longer be challenged. All the examples in this book – the grey text blocks – are cases in which the LEC EGG’s technical experts have been involved. Even though their experiences have been committed to paper and have been put in the open for the general public, these police officers generally operate in the shadows, which is wise given the nature of their work. When it comes to volatile family secrets, an element of discretion is essential to prevent further escalation. Nevertheless, their place in the shadows also means that many people have no idea of the dedicated way in which they go about their duties each and every day. For this reason, I would like to dedicate this book to them in particular, and to all the other professionals in the safety and security sector who are committed to helping those who are vulnerable and in need. It is an honour for me to have had and have the opportunity to work with you! Janine Janssen The Hague, January 2017

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Cooney, M., ‘Family honour and social time’, in: The Sociological Review, 2014: 87-106. Cornelissens, A., Kuppens, J., Ferwerda, H., Huwelijksdwang. Een verbintenis voor het leven? Een verkenning van de aard en aanpak van gedwongen huwelijken in Nederland, The Hague: WODC, 2009. Craeynest, P., Psychologie in de levensloop. Inleiding in de ontwikkelingspychologie, Leuven: Uitgeverij Acco, 2013. Davies, P., ‘Lessons from the gender agenda’, in: S. Walklate (Ed.), Handbook of victims and victimology, Devon: Willan Publishing, 2007: 175-201. Davis, K. & Haan, W. de, ‘Vechtverhalen. Geweld in de (re)constructie van mannelijkheid’, in: M. Althoff & J. Nijboer (Eds.), Zoeklicht op geweld. Sociale conflicten in het publieke domein, The Hague: Boom Juridische uitgevers, 2010: 77-94. Dettmeijer, C.E., Esser, L.B. & Noteboom, F., Zicht op kwetsbaarheid. Een verkennend onderzoek naar de kwetsbaarheid van kinderen voor mensenhandel, The Hague: Nationaal Rapporteur Mensenhandel en Seksueel Geweld tegen Kinderen, 2016. Dijk, T. van & Oppenhuis, E., Huiselijk geweld onder Surinamers, Antillianen en Arubanen, Marokkanen en Turken in Nederland. Aard, omvang en hulpverlening, Hilversum: Intomart, 2002. Dijke, A. & Terpstra, L., De dochters van Zahir. Tussen traditie en wereldburgerschap, Amsterdam: Uitgeverij SWP, 2010. Dijken, P. van & Nauta, A.H., ‘Bloed- en eerwraak onder Turken in Nederland’, in: Algemeen Politieblad, 127, 1978: 227-231. Dijkstra, S., ‘Met de vingers in de oren. Kinderen als getuige van geweld tussen hun ouders’, in: Tijdschrift over kindermishandeling, 1, 2001: 5-9. Dilthey, W., Der Auf bau der geschichtlichen Welt in den Geisteswissenschaften, Leipzig: Teubner, 1927. Dobash, R.E. & Dobash, R.P., Violence against wives: A case against patriarchy, New York: Free Press, 1979. Doğan, R., ‘Is honor killing a “Muslim Phenomenon”‘? Textual interpretations and cultural representations’, in: Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 31, no. 3, 2011: 423-440. – ‘Different cultural understandings of honor that inspire killing: An inquiry into the defendant’s perspective’, in: Homicide Studies, Vol. 18(4), 2014a: 363-388. – ‘The profiles of victims, perpetrators, and unfounded beliefs in honor killings in Turkey’, in: Homicide Studies, Vol. 18(4), 2014b: 389-416. Drost, L.F., Goderie, M., Flikweert, M. & Tan, S., Leven in gedwongen isolement. Een verkennend onderzoek naar verborgen vrouwen in Amsterdam, Utrecht: Verwey-Jonker Instituut, 2012. Drost, L., Smits van Waesberghe, E. & Los, V., Opgesloten in eigen huis: Een onderzoek naar aard en omvang van verborgen vrouwen in The Hague, Utrecht: Verwey-Jonker Instituut, 2015. Dutch Council for Social Development, Tussen af komst en toekomst. Etnische categorisering door de overheid, The Hague: RMO, 2012. Dutton, D.G., Hamel, J. & Aaronson, J., ‘The gender paradigm in family court processess: Rebalancing the scales of justice from biased social science’, The Journal of Child Custody, 7, 2010: 1-31.

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Eck, van C., ‘Eerwraak in Turkije. Protest tegen de “traditiemoorden”’, Justitiële Verkenningen, No. 8, 2000: 87-97. – Door bloed gezuiverd. Eerwraak bij Turken in Nederland, Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Bert Bakker, 2001. – ‘Kritiek die geen hout snijdt’, Tijdschrift voor Criminologie, 4, 2003a: 413-414. – Purified by blood. Honour killings among Turks in the Netherlands, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2003b. – ‘Eerwraak en eergerelateerd geweld: Güldünya, Ayse en andere slachtoffers’, Trema, mei, 2005: 257-261. Ee, E. van, ‘Trauma en eer. Een explosieve mix’, Proces, No. 6, 2014: 423-431. Ee, E. & Kleber, R.J., ‘Child in the shadowlands’, The Lancet, 380 (9842), 2012: 642-643. – ‘Growing up under a shadow: Key issues in research on and treatment of children born of rape’, in: Child Abuse Review, Vol. 22, Issue 6, 2013: 386-397. Eisner, M., ‘Long-term historical trends in violent crime’, Crime and Justice. A Review of Research, 30, 2003: 83-142. Elakkary, S., Franke, B., Shokri, D., Hatwig, Sv., Tsokos, M. & Püschel, K., ‘Honor crimes: Review and proposed definition’, Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology, 10, 2014: 76-82. Eldén, Ǻ, ‘Men’s violence and women’s responsibility. Mothers’ stories about honour violence’, in: M.M. Idriss & T. Abass (Eds.), Women, Honour, Violence and Islam, Abingdon: Routledge, 2011: 128-141. Elder, G. (Ed.), Life course dynamics: Transitions and trajectories, 1968-1980, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1985. Elder, G.H., Kirkpatrick Johnson, M. & Crosnoe, R., ‘The emergence and development of life course theory’, in: T. Mortimer & M.J. Shanahan (Eds.), Handbook of the Life Course, New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 2003: 3-19. Elias, N., Het civilisatieproces: sociogenetische en psychogenetische onderzoekingen, Part 1 and Part 2, Utrecht: Het Spectrum, 1982. Elias, N. & Scotson, J., The established and the outsiders. A sociological enquiry into community problems, London: Frank Cass & Co, 1965. Eppink, A., Cultuurverschillen en communicatie, Alphen aan de Rijn: Samson, 1986. Ericksen, K.P. & Horton, H., ‘“Blood feuds”: cross-cultural variation in kin group vengeance’, in: Behavioral Science Research, 26, 1992: 57-85. Ermers, R., Eer en eerwraak. Definitie en analyse, Amsterdam: Bulaaq, 2007. Erp, J. van, Naming en shaming in het markttoezicht. Een onderzoek naar de openbaarmaking van sancties op de financiële markt, The Hague: Boom Juridische uitgevers, 2009. Fallers, L.A. & Fallers, M.C., ‘Sex Roles in Edremit’, in: J.G. Peristiany, Mediterranean family structures, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 1976: 243-260. Feldman, Sh., ‘Shame and honour: The violence of gendered norms under conditions of global crisis’, in: Women’s Studies International Forum, 33, 2010: 305-315. Ferwerda, H. & Leiden, I. van, Eerwraak of eergerelateerd geweld? Naar een werkdefinitie, Arnhem: Beke, 2005.

References

Fildis, A.T., ‘The historical roots and occurcence of honour-related violence in non-Muslim and Muslim societies’, in: The Journal of Women of the Middle East and the Islamic World, 11: 2013: 1-15. Franken, S. (Ed.), Wet politiegegevens. Praktijkhandboek, The Hague: Politie, 2016. Garssen, J. & Duin, C. van, ‘Allochtonenprognose 2008-2050. Naar 5 miljoen allochtonen’, in: Bevolkingstrends, 57 (2), 2009: 14-21. Geertz, C., ‘Religion as a cultural system’, in: M. Banton (Ed.), Anthropological approaches to the study of religion, New York: Praeger, 1966: 1-46. – Anthropological reflections on philosophical topics, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000. Gemert, F. van, Ieder voor zich. Kansen, cultuur en criminaliteit van Marokkaanse jongens, Amsterdam: Aksant, 1998. Gennep, A. van, Les rites de passage, Paris: Emile Nourry, 1909. Gezik, E., Eer, identiteit en moord. Een vergelijkende studie tussen Nederland, Duitsland en Turkije, Utrecht: Nederlands Centrum Buitenlanders, 2003. Ghorashi, H., Paradoxen van culturele erkenning. Management van diversiteit in nieuw Nederland, Amsterdam: Vrije Universiteit, 2006. Gietman, C., Republiek van adel. Eer in de Oost-Nederlandse adelscultuur (1522-1702), Utrecht: Uitgeverij van Gruting, 2011. Gill, A., ‘Honour killings and the quest for justice in black and minority ethnic communities in the UK’, paper gepresenteerd op de Expert Group Meeting on Good Practices in Legislation to Address Harmful Practices against Women, United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women in Collaboration with United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Ethiopia, 25-28 May 2009. – ‘Feminist reflections on researching so-called “honour” killings’, in: Feminist Legal Studies, 21, 2013: 241-261. Gillmore, D.D. (Ed.), Honor and shame and the unity of the Mediterranean, Washington D.C.: American Anthropological Association, 1987. Gluckman, M., ‘Gossip and scandal. Papers in honor of Melville J. Herskovits’, in: Current Anthropology, 4(3), 1963: 307-316. Goffman, E., The presentation of self in everyday life, New York: Doubleday Anchor Books: 1959. Groenemeyer, A., ‘Ordnungen der Exclusion – Ordnungen der Gewalt. Eine Frage der Ehre? Überlegungen zur Analyse des Zusammenhangs von Exclusion und Gewalt’, in: Soziale Probleme, 1. Jahrgang, Heft 2, 2005: 5-40. Haan, W.J.M. de, ‘Een mond vol tanden. Enkele gedachten over de zin van casuïstische criminologie’, in: Ontmoetingen. Voordrachtenreeks van het Lutje Psychiatrisch-Juridisch Gezelschap, 11, 1, 2005: 39-49. – ‘Violence as an essentially contested concept’, in: S. Body-Gendrot, P. Spierenburg (Eds.), Violence in Europe, New York: Springer, 2008: 27-42. Haan, W. de & Janssen, J., ‘De macht van het getal. Over de waarde en risico’s van criminaliteitscijfers’, in: M. Boone, Ch. Brants & R. Kool (Eds.), Criminologie en strafrecht, The Hague: Boom criminologie, 2016: 57-81.

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Haas, N., Public Support for Vigilantism. Leiden: Universiteit Leiden, 2010. Haas, T. de, De zorgende gemeente. Decentralisaties in de sociale zekerheid. Een leidraad voor integraal beleid, Amsterdam: Y-Publicaties 2013. Harris, R., An Officer and a Spy, London: Hutchinson, 2013. Hart, M. ’t, Magdalena, Amsterdam: De Arbeiderspers, 2015. Headland, T.N., Pike, K.L. & Harris, M. (Eds.). Emics and etics: The Insider/Outsider Debate, Frontiers of Anthropology, Vol. 7. Newbury Park, California: Sage Publications, 1990. Heestermans, H., ‘Hoe schelden we?’, in: Justitiële verkenningen, (3), 2003: 49-53. Helpdesk Privacy/Programmabureau Eergerelateerd Geweld, Eergerelateerd geweld en ernstige dreiging. Privacyaspecten bij de aanpak van eergerelateerd geweld en ernstige dreiging, The Hague: Ministerie van Justitie/Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties, 2008. Henzen, W., ‘Inzet deskundigen in opsporingsonderzoek’, in: N. Kop, R. van der Wal & G. Snel (Eds.), Opsporing belicht. Over strategieën in de opsporingspraktijk, Apeldoorn: Politieacademie, Lectoraat Criminaliteitsbeheersing & Recherchekunde, 2011: 381-387. Hofstede, G., Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations, Thousand Oaks CA: Sage Publications, 2001. Hoving, I., Dibbits, H. & Schrover, M. (Eds.), Cultuur en migratie in Nederland. Veranderingen van het alledaagse 1950-2000, The Hague: Sdu Uitgevers 2009. Huijnk, W. & Andriessen, I. (Eds.), Integratie in zicht? De integratie van migranten in Nederland op acht terreinen bekeken, The Hague: SCP, 2016. Iliffe, J., Honour in African history, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Iribarne, P. d’, Eer, contract en consensus: management en nationale tradities in Frankrijk, de Verenigde Staten en Nederland, Amsterdam: Nieuwezijds, 1998. Irwin, K. & Adler, C., ‘Fighting for her honor: Girls. Violence in distressed communities’, in: Feminist Criminology, 4, 2012: 350-380. Jackson, M., The politics of storytelling: Violence, Transgression and Intersubjectivity, Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 2002. Jafri, A.H., Honour killing. dillema, ritual, understanding, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Jakimow, T., ‘A site for the empowerment of women? The clash of patriarchal values and development norms in a family-based NGO’, in: Ethnograpy, 13(2), 2011: 213-235. Jami, E., Het recht om ex-moslim te zijn, Kampen: Uitgeverij Ten Have, 2007. Jamous, R., ‘From the death of men to the peace of God. Violence and peace-making in the Rif’, in: J.G. Peristiany & J. Pitt-Rivers (Eds.), Honor and Grace in Anthropology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992: 167-191. Janssen, J.,1 Eindrapportage. Pilot eergerelateerd geweld in Haaglanden en Zuid-Holland-Zuid, The Hague: Politie Haaglanden, 2006. – ‘Discussie. Over culturele en andere achtergronden van eergerelateerd geweld’, in: Tijdschrift voor Criminologie, 49(4), 2007: 400-406. 1

In deze literatuurlijst staan diverse publicaties van J. Janssen (et al.). Uit een aantal van deze publicaties zijn letterlijke fragmenten in dit boek opgenomen.

References

– Instroom en vroegherkenning van mogelijke eerzaken bij de politie. Een onderzoek naar casuïstiek uit 2006. Deelrapport 1, The Hague: Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Ministry of Justice, Programmabureau Eergerelateerd Geweld and Landelijk Expertise Centrum Eer Gerelateerd Geweld, 2008a. – ‘Organisaties, cultuur en eergevoel. Over complexe institutionele samenwerking bij de aanpak van eergerelateerd geweld’, in: Proces, No. 4., 2008b: 132-137. – ‘Cultuur en emotie in de interpretatie van eergerelateerd geweld bij de politie’, in: D. Siegel, F. van Gemert & F. Bovenkerk (Eds.), Culturele criminologie, The Hague: Boom Juridische uitgevers, 2008c: 223-234. – ‘Geweld’, in: W. Stol & A. van Wijk (Eds.), Inleiding criminaliteit en opsporing, The Hague: Boom Juridische uitgevers, 2008d: 93-105. – Your Honour or Your Life? An Exploration of Honour Cases for Police Officers and Other Professionals, The Hague: Stapel & De Koning, 2009a. – Analyse van mogelijke eerzaken: het gebruik van de checklist en inzet van externe deskundigen. Een onderzoek naar casuïstiek uit 2006. Deelrapport 2, The Hague: Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Ministry of Justice, Programmabureau Eergerelateerd Geweld en Landelijk Expertise Centrum Eergerelateerd Geweld, 2009b. – ‘Overeenkomsten én verschillen tussen huiselijk en eer gerelateerd geweld’, in: Justitiële Verkenningen, No. 8, 2010: 115-125. – Weaving social networks. Tips for police officers and other professionals about building and maintaining networks in a multi-ethnic society,The Hague: Eleven International Publishing, 2012. – ‘Verloren eer van een veelpleger’, in: Tijdschrift voor de Politie, No. 9/10, 2013a: 64-66. – ‘De rol van religie bij het af bakenen, verklaren en aanpakken van eergerelateerd geweld’, in: Tijdschrift voor Religie, Recht en Beleid, (4) 1, 2013b: 5-15. – ‘Eer in de voetballerij. In gesprek met Frank Paauw’, in: Proces, No. 6, 2014: 418-422. – ‘Bont én blauw. Over de vraag naar de relevantie van de etnische achtergrond van politieambtenaren’, in: Cahier Politiestudies, No. 35, 2015a: 183-199. – ‘Eer, geweld en homoseksualteit’, in: Tijdschrift voor de Politie, No. 5, 2015b: 31-34. – ‘Geweld achter de voordeur bij leden van 1% motorclubs’, in: Tijdschrift voor de Politie, No. 8, 2015c: 34-38. – The Colours of the chameleon. Exploratory research into the involvement of police officers in honourrelated conflicts, The Hague: Eleven International Publishing, 2015d. – Af hankelijkheid en weerbaarheid. Over het complexe en bonte werk van de professional bij de aanpak van geweld in af hankelijkheidsrelaties, lectorale rede, Den Bosch: Expertisecentrum Veiligheid, 2016. Janssen, J. et al., De eerste tussenrapportage pilot ‘Eer gerelateerd geweld’, The Hague: Politie Haaglanden, 2005a. – Pilot eer gerelateerd geweld in Haaglanden en Zuid-Holland-Zuid. Tweede tussenrapportage, The Hague: Politie Haaglanden, 2005b.

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