ORCID

Abstract

This thesis critically interrogates the experiences of male victims of ‘so-called honour-based violence and abuse’ (SCHBVA) through an intersectional criminological framework. It draws primarily on Barbara Perry’s theories of ‘Doing Difference’ (2001; 2003) and the ‘in terrorem effects’ of hate crime (Perry & Alvi, 2012), alongside insights from Structural Criminology (Hartjen, 1978; Kramer, 1985) and Humanistic Criminology (Hagan, 1986). Drawing on semi-structured interviews with male survivors and criminal justice professionals, and employing thematic and case study analysis, the study examines how violence is produced and legitimised across intersecting axes of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and religion.Building on Perry’s conceptualisation of ‘Doing Difference’, the thesis argues that inequality is actively performed through social practices, cultural narratives, and institutional responses that mark certain bodies as deviant. Within SCHBVA, male victims particularly those who are homosexual experience a form of ‘double othering’. They are marginalised first by patriarchal norms that deny male vulnerability, and second by heteronormative and religious moralities that cast homosexuality as a threat to communal honour. As a result, they are positioned outside both legitimate masculinity and recognised victimhood.Engaging Perry and Alvi’s notion of the ‘in terrorem effects’ of hate crime, the study further contends that violence against male victims operates beyond the individual. Harm inflicted on proximal victims serves to intimidate wider communities, reinforcing fear and conformity where masculinity, sexuality, and honour are tightly policed. SCHBVA thus functions as a mechanism of patriarchal enforcement, disciplining identities perceived to destabilise hetero-religious order.By integrating Structural and Humanistic Criminology, the research situates these dynamics within broader systems of power. Structural perspectives illuminate how institutional and legal frameworks can reproduce hierarchies that marginalise male victims, while Humanistic Criminology centres survivors lived experiences, agency, and resilience. Together, these approaches reveal how policy, community norms, and criminal justice practices may obscure or delegitimise male suffering within dominant SCHBVA discourse.Overall, the thesis reconceptualises SCHBVA as both a form of hate crime and an expression of structural and cultural violence in which homophobia, misogyny, and religious fundamentalism intersect. It advances a gender-sensitive criminological framework that recognises male vulnerability while challenging the epistemic and institutional exclusions that have rendered such experiences peripheral. In doing so, it positions SCHBVA as a site where hegemonic and heteronormative masculinities are violently enforced, and where the ‘doing of difference’ sustains broader systems of social control.

Awarding Institution(s)

University of Plymouth

Supervisor

Chris Pac-Soo, Sharon Beckett

Keywords

So-Called Honour-Based Violence and Abuse, Forced Marriage, Honour Crimes, Genital Mutilation, Proximal Victims, Distal Victims, Humanistic Criminology, Structural Criminology, Legal Policy & Frameworks, Patriarchy, Hegemonic Masculinities, Islamist-Jihadist Hegemonic Masculinities, Hate Crime, Message Crime

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Date

2026

Deposit Date

May 2026

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

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