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"Shades of foreign evil": "Honor killings" and "family murders" in the Canadian press
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Definition of "Honor Killing"
The definitions of "honor killing" vary in the literature. Dr.'s Shier and Shor summarize commonly used definitions:
- "Some have defined honor killing as “the murder, or attempted murder, of a woman by members of her family who do not approve of her sexual behavior” (Gill, 2009, p. 3; see also Abu-Odeh, 1996)."
- "[Others] argue that honor killings have four key characteristics, which distinguish them from other forms of murder within the family:
- First, the killing is planned and carried out by a member of the victim’s (typically a young woman) family of birth rather than family of marriage (e.g., a father, brother, cousin, or paternal uncle).
- Second, the perpetrator usually does not act alone. Rather, he has the support of a collective that is ready to reward the murder with honor. The honor is thus restored for the collective, not just the individual.
- Third, suspicion is usually enough to prompt the killing, and no proof or evidence of sexual transgressions is actually needed.
- Finally, honor killings are premeditated; these are planned crimes rather than 'crimes of passion.'"
(Shier and Shor, 2016, pg. 1165)
The growing tendency in the media to focus on “honor killings” and present these as “their (i.e., immigrants’ and Muslims’) problem” deflects attention from the real problem: namely, the patriarchal idea that men have the right, or even the obligation, to police the (sexual) behaviors of their female family members, be it daughters, sisters, or wives. Only with the realization that this is an endemic cultural problem, prevalent in virtually all groups within Canadian and other Western societies, can we truly address the serious problems of violence against women and femicide.
