University of Gothenburg
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International research on honour-based violence

Honour-based violence is a priority area in the Swedish government's efforts to prevent men's violence against women. As part of this, there is a demand for research-based knowledge in the area.

A Swedish government commission has therefore been assigned to the Swedish Gender Equality Agency, where they are tasked with collaborating with the Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research. In this collaboration, the agency and the secretariat are responsible for different parts. 

In this collaboration, the Secretariat has an independent role to: 

  • produce an international research review on honour-related violence and oppression 
  • based on the results of the overview, conduct a number of in-depth studies in 2025 

The Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research has long experience of and methods for working with scientifically based, international and systematic research reviews. The organisation focus on the intersection between theory and practice and has a close and well-established collaboration with KvinnSam, a part of Gothenburg University Library. 

About the international research overview 

The aim is to provide a comprehensive picture of a complex area: international research on honour-based violence, with a focus on understanding its various manifestations and causes, identifying groups that are exposed, methods of prevention and identifying gaps in research.  
 
Using a systematic search of 13 international databases, the research review summarises and describes international research published over the last 30 years. The international framework is important in order to put the Swedish situation in perspective, to develop understandings and approaches, and to participate in relevant international dialogues on research, policy and practice related to the field.  

Aim and target groups: The aim of both the overview and the in-depth studies is to contribute to the development of knowledge and to be relevant to researchers, policy-makers and practitioners.

Timeline: The research overview will be published in spring 2025. The in-depth studies, and the assignment as a whole, will be finalised in spring 2026. 
 
We collaborate with: 
The working group has included a researcher from Örebro University. The overview has been developed in close collaboration with an international reference group of researchers in the field, from Leeds Law School (UK), University of Economics and Technology  (Turkyie),  University of Denver (US) the Humboldt-Universität  and  Berlin Institute of Migration and Integration Research (Germany) ,and with  librarians at KvinnSam at the University Library of Gothenburg. The project has had regular coordination and dialogue with analysts at the Swedish Gender Equality Agency and with the steering group for the government's overall assignment.  

Assignment from the Nordic Council of Ministers 

In addition to the Swedish government assignment, the organisation also has an assignment from the Nordic Council of Ministers: to produce a survey of the legal and organisational conditions for work against honour-related violence in the Nordic region. The assignment was allocated to Nordic Information on Gender, NIKK, which is based at the Secretariat. 
 
The research-based knowledge perspective of the organisation provides an opportunity to strengthen the knowledge components of both the Nordic assignment and the Swedish context. It can also help to strengthen the impact of both Swedish and Nordic gender equality policy's prioritisation of honour-related violence.