At least a dozen honour killings a year in Britain, many more unreported to police

According to police estimates, at least twelve people are murdered each year by relatives who have accused the of "dishonouring" them.

Many of these cases have involved forced marriages, but according to Tracy McVeigh in the Observer, honour-based violence has also occurred due to girls wearing makeup or talking to boys.

Many honour killings are also hidden from the police, made to look like accidents or forced suicides.

Support groups around Britain are working to combat this problem. The Henna Foundation is based in Cardiff, and Karma Nirvana, set up in Derby by Jasvinder Sanghera, whose sister was forced into a marriage, has recorded 300 calls a month.

In Leeds, HALT Domestic Violence has already helped issue one injunction using the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post.

According to Claire Ward, Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Justice, there have been 64 forced marriage protection orders between the act's implementation on 25 November 2008 and 31st August 2009.

Clearly, more needs to be done to prevent forced marriage and honour killings in the UK.

Diana Nammi, who runs the Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation in London, has told the Guardian that: "Those who are lagging behind now are the religious leaders. They may pay lip service to change but they have networks and contacts and they are not trying to change anything.

"Sharia courts are letting Muslim women down and I am sorry to say that the British government is turning a blind eye to these courts. We have civil laws that cover every individual; none of these religious courts provide the same rights and protections for women."

In London, the Crown Prosecution Service has announced an increase in the number of specialist prosecutors dealing with honour-related violence.

Acting Chief Crown Prosecutor for London, Nazir Afzal OBE, who spoke at the conference where this was announced, has also presented a short DVD on honour-related crime which will be sent to every police officer in Britain.

Pressure now needs to be put on religious leaders to condemn honour-related violence, both in their preaching and when visiting those who worship with them.