HBA & Harmful Practices Happen Here

Savera UK has launched a new campaign in Cheshire to highlight the issue of ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA) and harmful practices like female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage in the county.

The campaign is part of an ongoing partnership with the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire, Dan Price. The joint initiative has seen Savera UK bring its direct intervention service to the county for the first time, providing safeguarding and advocacy for those at risk or under threat of HBA and harmful practices and follow-up empowerment and wellbeing programmes, as well as helping the professionals who work with them.

Since the launch of the partnership in April 2023, Savera UK has seen a 400% increase in HBA and harmful practice referrals from Cheshire, as well as growing demand from frontline professionals for help identifying and responding appropriately to cases. This highlights just how much the service is needed here.

Alongside its direct intervention service, Savera UK also delivers advice, education and campaigns that allow both professionals to recognise and respond to cases of HBA and harmful practices and raise awareness amongst the general public.

Savera UK CEO and founder, Afrah Qassim, said:

“Our work so far with the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire, as well as the significant increase in referrals from the county, has confirmed that HBA and Harmful Practices do indeed happen in Cheshire. It highlights that there is a vital need for Savera UK as a specialist service, which can advocate on behalf of those at risk and help survivors seek their ‘savera’ or ‘new beginning’, as well as providing advice to professionals working with them.

“The growth in referrals has far exceeded our original expectations, which reflects our experience of setting up the service in Merseyside 14 years ago. At the time people questioned the need for such a service because there was no data available to evidence its presence. However, through our direct intervention service, training and wider awareness campaigns to educate professionals and the general public on these issues, it soon became clear that it was lack of understanding and awareness that was allowing cases of HBA and harmful practices to be missed or inaccurately reported more generally as domestic abuse.

“There is power in knowing that these forms of abuse are present in Cheshire, as it means that we can educate and empower professionals to identify such cases, respond appropriately and bring in our specialist services to help survivors and those at risk to escape abuse and find their ‘savera’, which means ‘new beginning’.”

The campaign will feature the stories of HBA and harmful practice survivors, as well as local big screen and bus advertising highlighting the presence of these issues and signposting to help and digital resources, as well as sharing further information, survivor stories and informative content via its social media channels @SaveraUK, using the hashtags #HBAHappensHere and #HarmfulPracticesHappenHere.

There will also be a free training and networking event for professionals in the voluntary and statutory sector on Friday 27th September (12pm - 4pm) at Storyhouse in Chester.

The event, HBA and Harmful Practices Happen Here: Responding as a Frontline Professional, will see Savera UK, Deputy PCC for Cheshire, Gemma Southern, Savera UK Survivor Ambassador, Khatra Paterson, and the Forced Marriage Unit deliver a session highlighting the risk and indicators of HBA and harmful practices, examining past cases and exploring how to further improve response to these issues.

Afrah continued:

“We are already working with a host of Cheshire-based services who, like us, are committed to ending HBA and harmful practices for good and we are particularly grateful for the ongoing partnership with the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire, which helps us to continue this mission in the county. We hope that our event in September will help us to further expand that network and raise more awareness about these issues.”

Dan Price, Police & Crime Commissioner for Cheshire said:

"The services offered by Savera UK in Cheshire are vital. The funding provided by the PCC helps those affected to know where they can get access to the support they need." 

For more information on the “HBA and Harmful Practices Happen Here” campaign, including resources and campaign materials and booking details for the event, visit: www.saverauk.co.uk/happens-here/ or contact info@saverauk.co.uk 

You can contact our helpline 0800 107 0726 (10am – 4pm, Monday – Friday). If you are at immediate risk, please ring 999. 

If you are a professional wishing to get advice or refer a case to Savera UK: www.saverauk.co.uk/professional-interventions/

If you are an individual who needs help or advice from Savera UK: www.saverauk.co.uk/i-need-help/

Ends

Editors notes

Public accountability for the delivery and performance of the police service is placed into the hands of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) on behalf of the electorate.

The Commissioner has wider responsibilities than those relating solely to the police force, including:

• The ability to provide or commission services intended to help victims and witnesses of crime and anti-social behaviour. • The ability to provide or commission services that will secure, or contribute to securing, crime and disorder reduction. • The ability to bring together Community Safety Partnerships at the force level. • A duty to ensure that all collaboration agreements with other Commissioners and forces deliver value for money or enhance the effectiveness of policing capabilities and resilience. • A wider responsibility for the enhancement of the delivery of criminal justice in their area.