Tackling Honour Killings through Sexual and Gender Rights Advocacy: Recommendations for Policy and Practice

Honour killing is a term used to denote a form of gender-based violence in which women, often young and unmarried, are brutally murdered by family members for being allegedly involved in illicit sexual practices, therefore dishonouring herself and her family. There is no accurate or current data on honour killings statistics in the Middle East and North Africa due to their unreported and often overlooked nature, and the refusal of continued governments to address the issue.

This policy brief will introduce the notion of honour killings, and highlight key obstacles and recommendations in tackling this long-standing issue throughout the Middle East and North Africa. This brief will also highlight some of the ways in which honour killings – because of their reliance on gender and sexual taboos – can be incorporated into broader sexual and gender rights advocacy strategies.