More reports of honour-related threats and violence, police say

The number of family honour-related crimes reported to a special police unit rose to 757 last year, up 13% on 2024, according to new figures.

The national expertise centre said the increase is partly because its professionals are drafted in more quickly and that there is greater awareness, and therefore reporting, of the issue.

There has been a steady increase over the past few years, with 594 cases reported in 2022 and 619 in 2023. While Syrians account for around one third of cases, the second biggest group have a Dutch background, a police spokeswoman told Dutch News.

Wilfred Janmaat, head of the agency LEC EGG, said the increase across the board is concerning. “A lot of suffering is hidden behind these figures,” he said. “And the figures show an increase in the number of victims. At the same time, the various bodies involved are finding their way to us more easily.”

Physical abuse and threats accounted for the biggest percentage of the reports, although the threats are not always concrete, the report said.

“This category also includes people who feel threatened, for example because they fear repercussions from their social environment if a secret, such as a pregnancy or an extramarital affair, were to come out.”

In 2025, LEC EGG handled four honour killings involving five victims, one of whom was male.

Some 34% of reports related to families with a Syrian background and 20% to the native Dutch. A further 15% were Turkish, 11% Moroccan, 7% Iraqi and 6% Afghan, the police said.

Around one in five cases involve more than one ethnic group.