Abstract
Introduction: Honour-based violence (HBV) is a long-standing global phenomenon. Cultural expectations surrounding gender-roles are thought to contribute to its occurrence. This study focused on the South Asian community living in the UK. A review of relevant literature identified a need for research incorporating the views of South Asian women about their experiences of HBV to increase understanding of the phenomenon and address the elevated mental health concerns among such populations in response to this cultural and familial abuse. Existing research remains at a descriptive level and fails to explore the way in which survivors make sense of legal and social sanctioning of violence. At present there appears to be a gap in exploring survivor experiences of HBV in context rather than in isolation, which could help to tailor public services to protect and support these women. As such, the current study aimed to explore South Asian women's experiences of the system within which they suffered HBV. Method: A qualitative research design was employed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five female survivors of South Asian origin of what they classified as honour-based violence. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to interpret the data. Results: Analysis yielded three themes which were 1) "I felt caged"; 2) "Get an arranged marriage, and that's it" ; 3) "I just wanted to literally kill myself..." The themes represented control, marriage, and psychological impact respectively. Discussion: This study both supported and challenged previous research in the area. It highlighted complex power-relations and more subtle forms of abuse than previously explored in HBV research and gave an insight to perpetrator perspectives through the lens of the survivor. Findings allowed the consideration of interventions, systemic and otherwise, which could be applied when working with both survivors and perpetrators of HBV in South Asian communities in Britain, as well as ideas for further research.