Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature currently requires accessing the site using the built-in Safari browser.
LONDON (AFP) - Known cases of murder and rape committed to protect a family's honour are on the rise across Europe, forcing police to explore the reasons behind such crimes and how to stop them, officials said.
At a two-day conference in London, British police spearheaded a campaign to fight so-called honour-based violence, typically committed against women to protect a family's reputation.
The problem is greatest in Islamic communities in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa, but it has spread as families migrate, bringing their traditional values with them.
"This is a long, long journey that we are embarking on," said Laura Richards, head of the homicide prevention unit at London's Metropolitan Police.
"We have taken the first step of that journey but there are barriers," she told reporters on the sidelines of the conference, organised by the police and Britain's interior ministry, that concluded Tuesday.
British authorities have started to properly recognise honour crimes over the past three years, but it is a problem that affects countries throughout Europe, where police are only just becoming aware, according to Richards.
"It is in all communities, all cultures, so we have got to start to get upstream with it not just in the UK but across the board," she said.
"We know from the case studies that (honour-based violence in Europe) has increased fairly significantly..."
