CTV News Montreal

Updated: Mon Jan. 30 2012 6:14:16 PM

ctvmontreal.ca

MONTREAL — Three important factors separate so-called honour killings from other crimes, and these factors need to be recognized to better protect future victims, says an expert.

Memorial University of Newfoundland psychiatry professor Dr. Amin Muhammed was called on by Canada's Department of Justice to study the crimes in the spring of 2009, mere months before the Shafia murders.

After studying 11 reported cases in Canada since 1999, his 35-page report concluded that these crimes are distinct from other forms of domestic violence for three reasons:

1. They are planned in advance

2. There is family complicity

3. Perpetrators often don't face negative stigma

His findings, recently obtained by CTV Montreal through an Access to Information request, were sent to the justice department in 2010 to improve its understanding and prosecution of honour cases in Canada. They were then included the Shafia murder trial.

Sociology student Saima Ishaq said the term "honour killing" in itself is controversial, however.

The Pakistani-born Master's student wrote her thesis on honour killings, and argues the cases should not be seen or referred to by the controversial term, but simply as murders of women and girls.

"It's like any other community. Violence against women exists across all cultures, they're just given different names," said Ishaq.

The three factors that separate these crimes from others, however, need to be understood and utilized by those who can protect potential victims, said Muhammad in his report.

The sentiment is echoed by Wendy Thomson, director of McGill School of Social Work.

"(We need) understanding of the particular needs of those communities and not standing back. Not assuming that it's their problem – part of it's our issue," she said.

Youth protection group Batshaw Youth Services had opened files on the Shafia daughters after they complained of mistreatment by their father, but dealing with cultural issues proved to be out of the ordinary, said Madeleine Berard, director of youth protection for the agency.

"This kind of event is so out of our realm of usual youth protection," she said. "Did we know that this was going to go the extreme it went to? Absolutely not. Could it have been foreseen it? I'm not sure. I wish that we could have."

Between Batshaw and its French counterpart, Centre Jeunesse Montreal, officials investigations were launched twice, but both times the case was closed after the girls recanted.

Berard said the group plans to re-evaluate their policies and must now consider honour crimes as a possible outcome.

"Because this kind of crime is now coming to our door, we now need to take that into account in our analysis," she said.

Thomson said she wonders if more could have been done to ease the teenaged girls' difficult lives.

"Are we expecting too much of young girls in this situation? The agencies did what they need to do, but it required the girls to be able to take that step and have the courage to follow it through," she said.

Raheel Raza, a Muslim Canadian author and activist who has written about the need for more equality between the sexes in Muslim communities, believes better communication and outreach may have changed the outcome for the Shafia girls.

"It's an us-and-them issue. If we had treated this as a Canadian problem, that this is happening right here in Canada, and abuse against women is not accepted in Canada, then perhaps it would have been a different story," she said.

Comments are now closed for this story

willyb
Please take some time and watch Wafa Sultan on Youtube. She has many videos that explain Islam from her perspective, she was a Muslim since childhood, she now lives in the US.

Ashif
There needs to be much more stricter rules when applying for citizenship, including an in class component. There also needs to be a way of revoking citizenship from immigrants who choose not to obey the law. We need to be much more strict with the candidates and screening should be done to determine whether individuals are capable of living in Canada. Individuals also need to be educated on how to become responsible and proactive citizens.

Susie-Q Mtl.
There's not much to say here except to thank the jury for a job well done. I had a few doubts as to their guilt or innocence. Then i went into your news video vault. I also checked out other articles. I came up with guilty. May the dead rest in peace. Thank you Jury. Job well done. The 4 of them are in the arms of the angels. Amen.

Nkululeko Tshuma
Murder is murder no matter how u term it.Society should not belittle this kind of violence by calling it Honor killing.who's honor is protected by such barbaric means?Men need to get over their thirst for total domination and acknowledge that society is nothing without the wisdom of a women

Mr John.
@Dennis....
HUH??!!...How about calling it what it is "Honour killings"
Plain and simple....needs no other
name.......

Mr John.
@Al Zwikker....Wrong...all were well documented and reported at the time of each...just at the supper hour news all were mentioned here in Montreal.As well on this site they have been listed in one of the other stories.
@Karene*Girl Power*.....
Good girl...too many times things are mentioned but some editor using their personal views
delete something with the excuse that the comment is not appropriote....

Mr John.
@Janna....You are 100% correct in your statement.....

Dominica Perez
The way Mohammad Shafia stares angrily at the TV cameras and assembled crowds outside the court I'm sure he has internal ways of desiring his kind of justice for them too. The man is despicable and that thing he calls wife and son are equally abhorrent. They still have no permanent Canadian residency I hear, so after they are done their 25 year sentence ship them back to Afghanistan A.S.A.P. Canada can do without evil trash!

Helga Laval
Homosexuals are also victims. Example July 19, 2005 - 2 young homosexual boys were sentenced to death by hanging in Iran. Mahmoud Asgari (16 years)and Ayaz Marhoni (18 years) look it up. And of course many young women/girls like little Geeti. Look at the case of young 13 year old Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow stoned to death in a public stadium by 50 men in Somalia on October 27, 2008. Her crime? She was raped and instead of blaming her rapists they condemned her as a whore that caused the crime herself. A "13 year old little girl"! Look again to Canada in 2007 and see Aqsa Parvez age 16 killed by her father or perhaps to Texas, USA and you'll find the case of Amina and Sarah Said sisters 17 and 18 shot dead by their father New Year's Day 2008. Where does it ever stop??? This cannot be defined simply as "domestic" violence. It's skillfully planned and executed plain and simple with the approval by silence of the community that is responsible for it and they know exactly who they are, no one is fooled by those playing it down as such. To play games with the truth is an insult to common-sense! More will die if we keep up this charade.

Heather, A Canadian Woman, Vancouver
It is my opinion that the people who immigrate to Canada ought to be prepared for the consequences of Canadian law; it does not permit 'honor killing' and in fact it's considered anything but honorable. Canadian law will apply to all those who, choose and apply to, become Canadian.

If this is the country of your choice then you must leave certain tendencies towards violence behind. Presumably, this is one of the reasons that you wish to live in Canada. We are all free to choose our lifestyle however, the consequences of choice do not include death... that is our way. We may disapprove and condemn a person but we do not condone killing, or torture or abuse. We leave the final judgment to our maker... as best that I understand it. Family members are not property/chattels, they are loved and cherished in spite of their shortcomings and our disagreements/opinions. Life is valued very highly in Canada. I would suggest that if those arriving from other countries are not in favor of this, that they choose another country.

Most certainly, women will be honored in this country and are greatly valued as motivating and nurturing forces, wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters with minds and hearts and souls. With joy and love to offer.

I would not treat my dog in the ways I have heard of women being treated in other countries... those ways are barbaric and cruel and exhalt the male ego. I see this as the sad state of affairs in the minds of men who are unable to control themselves and or truly love, anyone but themselves. Canadian men have much to teach you. HG

Stevan Cucic, Guelph, Ontario
As in most cases of domestic violence, police as a rule act when it is too late. Perpetrators of assault should be tried even if the victim chooses not to press charges. This should not be up to the victim, who is likely emotionally invested in the perpetrator. A person who commits a violent crime is not only a danger to the immediate victim, but poses an indirect danger to society. How many cases of domestic abuse have ended in murder because the victims were unwilling to press charges or testify in court, despite seeking help? This mass murder could not have happened out of the blue. If social workers suspect that a client is abused they should notify the proper authorities to initiate an investigation. In case abuse is established, the perpetrators should be prosecuted even if the victim does not press charges.

Al Zwikker
11 other cases? Which were they and why have they not been reported? Is the mainstream media afraid to disclose these "honour Killings" This type of murder must be stopped with publicity and severe prison sentences. As noted by Muslim Immans,this is not a religious offshoot. It is a cultural anomaly that must not be tolerated in this country.

Ottawan270
There is always more that society could possibly do - but realistically we cannot protect everyone from every situation. There is only ONE person to blame here ... and he is the problem - not the support system in Canada. These girls - and the "first wife" - were victims of a brutal man who was raised in a very differnt society, one that we cannot understand. They came here not the other way around. Our systems were built upon circumstances normally encountered in Canada - we cannot make laws and systems fit every possible scenario - including those of society's that condone or turn a blind eye to savagery.

Millicent Wendy
Not only is this case and similar ones like it challenging us to snap out of our politically correct safe place but it is also putting pressure on us to insult our intelligence by refusing to acknowledge the brutal truth and where most of these types of crimes are prevalent. Sorry but I'm not stupid nor will I be led by the nose to accept that white is black when I know better. Despite a group crying foul that I have no right to point the finger in the direction from which the wind is blowing. We're not stupid.

Hanna Sherman
I've searched endlessly to find any info on Christian or Jewish honor killings in Canada in modern times and haven't found a thing on that subject. However many examples of Islamic honor killings in North America and throughout the world. Does that make me a racist because I'm declaring my research and what it is telling me? Should I just pretend that the mounting evidence is a fairy tale?

soomunx
The UK now has protocols and policies to protect potential victims of "honour crimes", they include: believing the woman or girl; not having the parents/relatives in on the interview knowing that intimidation can occur; using an independent (from the community) translator if needed; putting girls/women in safe houses when requested and women and girls in fear of being sent overseas for arranged marriages or potential harm, can put their passport numbers put on a no fly list. We need to do the same.

Janna
The Islamic Qu'ran has scriptures which blatantly support the subjugation of women that are literally used to defend abuse towards them. To dismiss this factoid is to continue living in a world of denial.

Jameel ahmed
Every Eastern immigrant family comes with baggage full of cultural taboos.The most visible one being the socializing and adaptation of fashion and learning of civil liberties. This brings enormous tensions in families who are used to patriarchal behavior and discipline. It is going to take at least two generations before the western values get blended into the Eastern culture which by the way still stays predominant just beneath the surface.

Intermingling of sexes, boyfriend,girl friends, marriages, no matter how outwardly westernized the family, the patriarch wealds influence in molding the family toehold on to their basic beliefs and values. There will never be assimilation but gradual adaptation.

Karene *Girl Power*
And let's be honest about it...no mincing or sparsing words, phrases to pander to the politically correct and overtly sensitive, but these "honor killings" are majority of the Muslim/Islamic culture. If you don't believe me do some research and then evaluate the evidence before being outraged that I just had the nerve to state the facts. You can't argue with the evidence.

Sameer
"[In honor killings]... Perpetrators often don't face negative stigma"

They don't face stigma cause we call them "honor" killings. There's no honor in killing.

These so-called "honor" killings ought to be called "cold-blooded murders".

Eva Campbell
Am I surprised at this terrible crime? No! It is high time that people in the civlised Christian world, that this family chose to live in, face up to the reality that many Muslim people share the values of this family. Time to face up to the fact that we have let these extraordinary viscious people, who excuse their barbaric behaviour on "honour", be sent back to live in Muslim countries.

Dennis
How about calling them "domestic assassinations?" If they're typically premeditated and planned and contain symbolic impact, they are effectively assassinations and not just 1st degree murders.