We are True Honour
Support for Honour-Based Violence
We work to support survivors of Honour Based Violence (HBV), Forced Marriage (FM) and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and pledge to help all victims of abuse, however we can.
In a emergency, dial 999
Call us for help on 07480 621711 or email contact@truehonour.org.uk
OUR SERVICES
Support
We offer confidential, culturally informed one-to-one support to help victims feel safe, understood, empowered.
TRAINING
We deliver specialist training to professionals, strengthening awareness and responses to honour-based abuse.
ONLINE
We provide accessible online guidance, resources, and remote support for anyone needing safe, discreet help.
Celebrating 10 years of true honour
A decade of saving lives. On 8 September 2026, True Honour celebrated its 10th anniversary with a reception at the Houses of Parliament, in Committee Room 14. Survivors, professionals, partners and supporters came together to honour the journey so far and set the course for the next ten years.
A Parliamentary Welcome
The evening was hosted by Dr Gian Power OBE, with a parliamentary address from Kirith Entwistle MP. Our heartfelt thanks to Kirith and to every Parliamentarian who joined us in standing with survivors of honour-based abuse.
Launching the One Chance Rule™
At the heart of the evening was the One Chance Rule™. A victim of honour-based abuse may only get one chance to ask for help, and if that chance is missed, the cost can be a life. Every professional has a responsibility to recognise that one chance and act.
Dr Clive Driscoll, Deputy Chair, set out where the rule came from and why it matters. Ludmila Ibesaine, Head of Safeguarding at the NHS, showed how it can protect lives across health services.
Voices From the Evening
Kevin Hurley, Chair – Chair’s welcome and closing reflections
Sarbjit Athwal, Founder & CEO – Why True Honour Had to Exist
Raj Dhillon, Trustee – Surjit: The Woman, the Family, the Legacy
Dr Clive Driscoll, Deputy Chair – Our Impact & the One Chance Rule™
A survivor supported by True Honour – What This Work Means in Real Life
Sarah Wood, Barrister & Ambassador – Justice Beyond the Courtroom
Kevin Dent KC, Barrister & Patron – Justice, Prevention & the Responsibility to Act
Ludmila Ibesaine, Head of Safeguarding, NHS – NHS Safeguarding & the One Chance Rule™
Who Was in the Room
Around 90 guests joined us, including MPs, senior police, barristers, NHS safeguarding leads, community leaders, charity partners and survivors. Together, they showed that ending honour-based abuse is everyone’s responsibility.
Remembering Surjit
True Honour exists because of Surjit Kaur Athwal. Ten years on, her story still drives everything we do.
There is no honour in abuse.
Our President, Patrons & Ambassadors
True Honour is proud to be supported by people who stand with survivors and help us break the silence on honour-based abuse. Click on anyone to read more.
President
Patrons
Ambassadors
Survivor Ambassador
Supporters in Parliament
Our thanks to Kirith Entwistle MP, who gave the parliamentary address at our 10th Anniversary Reception, and to James Berry, former MP for Kingston & Surbiton, who hosted the launch of True Honour in Parliament in 2016.
True Honour
Empowering Lives, Ending Hidden Crimes
At True Honour, we are driven by a single, powerful mission: to stop abuse and save lives. We offer crucial support to victims of honour-based violence (HBV), forced marriage, and female genital mutilation (FGM).
Our approach is rooted in personal experience, providing a unique perspective that fosters real change. Through comprehensive training, tireless advocacy, and direct support, we empower survivors, influence policies, and build safer communities. Join us in breaking the silence, restoring dignity, and creating a world where no one has to suffer in the name of ‘honour.’
Our Inspiration
The Story of Surjit Kaur Athwal
True Honour was created in memory of Surjit Kaur Athwal, whose life was tragically taken in 1998 in a so-called ‘honour killing’. Surjit was a young mother full of hope, strength, and potential, a woman who deserved safety, freedom, and a future. Instead, she was betrayed by the very people who should have protected her, lured from the UK to India, and murdered for the false notion of ‘honour’.
Her death was not only a profound loss but a powerful reminder of the hidden dangers many victims face behind closed doors. Yet from this tragedy emerged a landmark moment in British legal history: the successful prosecution of those responsible. This case exposed the severity of honour-based violence, challenged cultural silence, and forced the nation to confront a crime that had long been ignored.
Surjit’s legacy lives at the heart of True Honour.
Her courage and the long fight for justice that followed continue to inspire our mission to protect victims, challenge harmful practices, and ensure no one else suffers in silence.
Every life we support, every survivor we empower, and every professional we train is part of the change born from Surjit’s story. We honour her by standing with victims, amplifying their voices, and working tirelessly for a future where no life is lost in the name of so-called ‘honour’.
Shamed: The Honour Killing That Shocked Britain
by the Sister Who Fought for Justice
In 1998, Sarbjit Athwal was called to what appeared to be a routine family meeting in a quiet west London home. But behind the closed doors of that dining room, a horrific plan was being set in motion. Presiding over the gathering, the elderly family matriarch raised her hand, silencing the room before declaring chillingly:
“It’s decided. We have to get rid of her.”
“Her” was Surjit Kaur Athwal — Sarbjit’s sister-in-law.
A young mother. A woman full of hope, strength, and potential.
Within three weeks of that meeting, Surjit was lured from London to India, drugged, strangled, and her body thrown into the Ravi River, never to be found again.
A Book That Became a Lifeline for Thousands
Shamed is more than a memoir.
It is a testimony of resilience.
It is a call for justice.
And it has become a lifeline for victims who believed they had no voice.
Sarbjit’s story has inspired and empowered thousands of survivors worldwide, giving them the courage to seek help, break their silence, and step forward into safety and freedom.
Sarbjit Athwal
A Nine-Year Fight for Justice
In the aftermath, Sarbjit lived in fear, surrounded by silence, threats, and unimaginable pressure. Yet she refused to turn away.
In secret, and at great personal risk, she began a nine-year fight for justice, a journey that would test her courage, her safety, and her very identity.
Her decision to come forward broke new ground and marked a turning point in British legal history.
Sarbjit became the first person from within a perpetrator’s family to testify in an honour killing trial.
She became the Prosecution’s key witness.
She became the first to waive her anonymity in such a case.
And she was instrumental in securing the UK’s first honour-killing conviction without a body ever being found.
Her bravery changed not only the outcome of the trial, it changed the national conversation around honour-based violence.
Our President, Patrons & Ambassadors
True Honour is proud to be supported by people who stand with survivors and help us break the silence on honour-based abuse. Click on anyone to read more.
President
Patrons
Ambassadors
Survivor Ambassador
Supporters in Parliament
Our thanks to Kirith Entwistle MP, who gave the parliamentary address at our 10th Anniversary Reception, and to James Berry, former MP for Kingston & Surbiton, who hosted the launch of True Honour in Parliament in 2016.
