'Honor' Violence Against Women Surging in UK

Violence in the name of family honor affects at least 17,000 women every year in Britain, and the number of unreported incidents may be drastically higher, the Independent reports. Forced marriages, sexual assaults, domestic violence, and so-called "honor" killings are reaching crisis levels, British officials say; they are calling on their consulates abroad to ramp up rescue efforts when daughters, some as young as 11, are sent abroad to marry against their will.

Young women are returned daily to Britain from countries like Pakistan and India, where they have fled from unwanted unions. A chair of the Domestic Violence Working Group calls the worsening situation "the tip of the iceberg" and stresses a need for education to prevent future generations of Britons from subjecting their daughters to violence and oppression. (More honor killings stories.)