The number of reports of violence with an honor motive in the Netherlands has risen sharply in the past year. Last year, the National Expertise Center on Honor Related Violence registered 757 cases, and 673 in 2024. Ten years ago there were 481 cases. The police speak of a “worrying increase”.
The share of cases within the Syrian community in particular is increasing rapidly. In 2016, there were 37 reports involving Syrians, but now there are 257. This means that more than a third of all registered cases can be linked to this group, compared to 8 percent ten years earlier. The police do not report what the male/female ratio is.
The increase is partly because more Syrians have come to the Netherlands in recent years and because honor problems are identified earlier. Most reported cases involve abuse or threats, but sometimes it ends fatally. Last year the center investigated five cases in which someone died, and in one case it turned out that there was actually an honor motive.
A man who had a good job and prestige in Syria is starting over here. Sometimes only the family remains as a source of pride and identity
According to the police, honor problems mainly occur among groups with a migration background, especially among asylum seekers who have not been in the Netherlands for very long. “Newcomers from the Middle East bring norms and values with them in which family honor plays an important role,” says Wilfred Janmaat, head of the center. “Those ideas do not disappear when they come to the Netherlands.” Refugees are also often traumatized by war and their journey to Europe. The traumas reinforce tensions within families and fuel mistrust and social control, says Janmaat, especially in combination with the uncertainty of a new life. “A man who had a good job and prestige in Syria is starting over here. Sometimes only the family remains as a source of pride and identity.”
This can lead to conflict within families, especially if young people behave differently than their parents expect. They grow up between two worlds and clash with more traditional views on relationships, sexuality and autonomy. “A relationship without family consent or even a photo on social media can be a reason for violence,” says Janmaat.
In recent years, several honor-related murders have made the news. In 2024, eighteen-year-old Syrian Ryan was found dead in Joure, Friesland, her body tied up and left in the water. Her father, who is believed to have fled to Syria after the killing, and brothers were convicted for their role in the killing. Ryan would behave too Western. And last summer, 24-year-old Boushra, mother of five children, was found dead in a forest in Almere. Her husband has been on the run ever since.
Syrian community has grown strongly
The growing number of reported cases has several causes. Since the influx of refugees in 2015 and 2016, the Syrian community in the Netherlands has grown strongly, says Janmaat. More than 160,000 Syrians now live in the Netherlands. The center also received cases from the Turkish (109), Moroccan (83), and Iraqi (55) communities, although those numbers remained stable.
Moreover, professionals now more often recognize signals as honour-related violence, according to Janmaat. Schools play a growing role in this. “We are often called by teachers or supervisors who are concerned about a student,” he says. Organizations that work with unaccompanied minors, such as Nidos, also sound the alarm more often. For example, if a minor is suddenly sent back abroad for a forced marriage. Janmaat does not know how often this happens, because it is not registered nationally.
When a report is received at the center, the police maps out what is going on. Then, together with agencies such as Veilig Thuis and youth care, we determine what is needed. Sometimes this leads to criminal action, but not always. Janmaat does not know how often a reported case leads to a criminal case.
The center tries to solve the threat of honor violence within the family, says Janmaat. Sometimes brothers or the father want to do something to their sister or daughter because they think she dresses too scantily, says Janmaat. But she can also do that because a boyfriend forces her to do so. If you convince the family of this, violence can be prevented, says Janmaat.
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Rejected by the family
Sometimes the conflict of honor leads to a rift within the family. This is the case in 1 to 2 percent of cases. Then the family disowns the victim. That has a huge impact, according to the police boss. “An outcast loses [haar of] his network,” he says: “That is a life sentence.”
Janmaat resigned two years ago NRC that more attention should be paid to violence with an honor motive in integration courses. That is now happening, he says. An attempt is also being made to gain more insight into new migrant communities, including through people with the same ethnic background.
Change must come from within. We can explain what the law is, but the people in the community make the difference
This is difficult in the Syrian community in the Netherlands. It is diverse and fragmented, says Janmaat, making it difficult to build a broad network. The police try to do this through key figures – often Syrians themselves – during gatherings and religious moments, such as Ramadan. Honor violence must be discussed through influential people in community centers, social organizations and mosques. “Change must come from within. We can explain what the law is, but the people in the community make the difference.”
The number of reports is not expected to decrease in the coming years. The center – about twelve officers – can now “just cope” with the number of honor cases, according to Janmaat: “But if it continues to increase, not anymore.”
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