14th November 2024

Karma Nirvana’s Reflections on the 2024 Home Office HBA Data Release

Karma Nirvana is deeply concerned by the findings in the Home Office’s publication of the 2024 data on Honour-Based Abuse (HBA) offences recorded by police forces across England and Wales. It highlights significant gaps in the identification, recording, and reporting of HBA incidents.

In 2015, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) highlighted significant deficiencies in how police forces across England and Wales were handling Honour-Based Abuse (HBA) cases, noting inconsistent identification, recording, and response practices. Unfortunately, the recent 2024 data release by the Home Office reveals that little progress has been made in addressing these issues. The HMICFRS findings show that, despite nearly a decade passing since those initial concerns were raised, police forces still struggle with a lack of standardised definitions, insufficient training, and gaps in data collection—shortcomings that hinder a unified approach to tackling HBA.

These persistent issues are reflected in the 2024 figures, which report an 8% decline in police-recorded HBA offences, even as cases handled by Karma Nirvana rose by 13% in the same period. This discrepancy suggests possible under-reporting or misclassification by police, rather than a genuine reduction in HBA incidents. A key factor here is the recent adoption of the Domestic Abuse Risk Assessment (DARA) tool, which replaced the DASH assessment but lacks HBA-specific screening questions. This omission leaves frontline responders without essential indicators to recognise complex HBA dynamics, increasing the risk of overlooking critical cases.

The 2024 data release and HMICFRS findings reinforce Karma Nirvana’s urgent calls for reform: establishing a statutory definition of HBA, expanding data collection to include age, gender, and familial context, and mandating specialised training for frontline professionals. By addressing these issues, the government can foster a more consistent, accurate, and compassionate response to HBA, ensuring that victims receive the support they need and that police forces are held accountable in their duty to protect.

Overview of the 2024 Findings: Police data compared to Honour Based Abuse Helpline data

1. Drop in Police-Recorded HBA Offences: Police data shows an 8% drop in recorded HBA offences, falling from 3,008 in 2023 to 2,755 in 2024—the first decrease since these statistics began in 2020. Yet, Karma Nirvana handled 2,962 cases in the same period, a sharp 13% rise from last year. This gap raises serious concerns. The decline in police-recorded incidents, paired with rising reports to Karma Nirvana, points to potential under-reporting or even misclassification by police forces, rather than a true reduction in HBA incidents.
2. Forced Marriage and Female Genital Mutilation: Among the recorded HBA offences, 201 involved forced marriage—a slight increase, even as overall HBA numbers dropped. Additionally, there were 111 Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) cases, with just over half (54%) reported under the mandatory duty to report.

The 2024 data release and HMICFRS findings reinforce Karma Nirvana’s urgent calls for reform: establishing a statutory definition of HBA, expanding data collection to include age, gender, and familial context, and mandating specialised training for frontline professionals. By addressing these issues, the government can foster a more consistent, accurate, and compassionate response to HBA, ensuring that victims receive the support they need and that police forces are held accountable in their duty to protect.

Read our full report below.