Virtual honour: violating and restoring family honour through the Internet
authors | Janine Janssen |
Ruth Sanberg | |
Dave van der Sluis | |
journal | Cahiers Politiestudies (ISSN: 1784-5300) |
volume | Jaargang 2011 |
issue | 20. Technology-led policing |
section | Artikelen |
date of publication | Aug. 25, 2011 |
language | English |
pagina | 275 |
abstract | Although honour codes may seem old-fashioned, these traditions have found their way into virtual reality. Violent or threatening behaviour based on honour codes can be classified as either violating honour or as restoring honour. Police files of honour based violence contain examples of both types of behaviour and of individuals who use the Internet to reach their goals. This article deals with two key questions: how have honour codes found their way into virtual reality, and what does this imply for police practice regarding honour based violence? These questions are addressed through a description of the current method for the police to handle cases of honour based violence and the work of the Dutch national centre of expertise on honour based violence (LEC EGG), an assessment of internet use among ethnic minorities in the Netherlands, cases from the archive of the LEC EGG and some considerations on policing cybercrime in general. This leads to the conclusion that to fully assess the risks in cases of honour based violence, it is necessary for the police to take into account the online activities of victims and offenders. |