At 5pm on Friday, 14th July 2023 Westgate Chambers will be hosting a hybrid Honour Based Abuse seminar.

The date has been very specifically chosen.  The 14th July is the National Day of Memory for victims of Honour Based Abuse.  It was established by Karma Nirvana in partnership with Cosmopolitan magazine, change.org and the advertising agency Leo Burnett in 2015.  The day provides everyone with an opportunity to mark the birthday of Bradford-born Shafilea Ahmed who was killed by her parents in 2003 after suffering years of abuse for becoming ‘too westernised’.

This means honour based abuse is still an enormous issue in this country.

In the UK it is estimated that one girl or woman is killed every month in the name of “honour”.

There are currently 17,000 reported incidents of Honour Based Abuse or forced marriage in the UK each year.

Barristers from our specialist Family Law team are running this seminar to play a small part in helping people throughout the country remember those murdered by their families and communities by  addressing the legal side of the key issues and behaviours involved in Honour Based Abuse.

We will be posting more details about the speakers and topics they’ll cover in the coming weeks but, in the meantime, if you would like to book one of the limited places available so you can attend the seminar in person in Chambers, please email our deputy senior clerk Stuart Taylor today.

We will also be providing a Zoom link for those who wish to attend remotely.  Again, if you contact Stuart, he will register your interest and send you the login details before the day of the event.

If you would like to find out more about The National Day of Memory for victims of Honour Based Abuse and the campaigns looking to highlight and combat this horrific issue, please visit the Karma Nirvana website.