True Honour

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 standing with survivors, challenging abuse and working to save lives.

On 8 September 2026, over 100 people gathered at the Houses of Parliament to celebrate True Honour’s 10th anniversary and mark the next chapter of our work.

The reception brought together survivors, parliamentarians, professionals and supporters from across policing, health, law, education, local government, the charity sector and community organisations.

It was an evening of remembrance, reflection and shared determination, recognising how far we have come and the work still needed to protect people experiencing honour-based abuse.

Lived Experience at the Heart

True Honour was founded on lived experience and the determination that others should not have to face abuse alone.

Throughout the evening, speakers brought together survivor voices, professional expertise and personal reflections. Their contributions showed why listening, recognising risk and responding safely can make a life-changing difference.

We reflected on the journey from speaking out against abuse to supporting survivors, training professionals and challenging the barriers that prevent people from seeking help.

At the heart of that journey is Surjit Kaur Athwal, whose life and memory continue to shape our purpose. Remembering Surjit means continuing to speak out and working to ensure that others have the safety, support and choices she was denied.

Launching the One Chance Rule™ National Safeguarding Initiative

The anniversary also marked the launch of True Honour’s One Chance Rule™ National Safeguarding Initiative.

When someone experiencing honour-based abuse finds a way to ask for help, the professional they approach may have only one safe opportunity to recognise the danger and act.

Drawing on lived experience and expertise in safeguarding, policing, health and justice, speakers explored how that principle can become part of everyday professional practice.

The initiative calls on organisations to strengthen how they recognise risk, respond safely and take responsibility when someone may need protection. Through training, partnership and practical action, we are working to turn that commitment into lasting change.

Looking Ahead Together

The breadth of experience in the room reflected a shared responsibility: protecting people from honour-based abuse requires action across professions, services and communities.

We thank every speaker, survivor, partner and supporter who helped make this milestone possible, and everyone who has stood alongside True Honour over the past decade.

As we look ahead, our commitment remains clear: to stand with survivors, strengthen professional understanding and help ensure that a chance to protect someone is never missed.

There is no honour in abuse.

Help your organisation recognise the signs and respond safely.

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 WORK IS SUPPORTED BY..

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.