Love, Honour and Disobey

Domestic violence in black and ethnic minority communities.

Domestic violence claims the lives of two women each week.

Women on average suffer 7 years of domestic violence before seeking help.

Ethnic minority women on average suffer longer.

Domestic violence can affect all women from all backgrounds.

“I just want to run away but where would I go? This family, this culture, society, they will never accept me, they will think, what sort of woman is she, she’s bringing shame to our family, to our family honour”. Kiranjit Ahluwalia

“ Standing at the intersection of race, gender and class, Southall Black Sisters have changed the landscape of feminist activism”. Baroness Helena Kennedy QC

Kiranjit is just one of the many thousands of women who have been subjected to domestic violence. For 25 years a small group of women, Southall Black Sisters, have been working to combat domestic violence and help women, including Kirajit, who have been abused. Love, Honour and Disobey tells the story of domestic violence in Britain’s black and ethnic minority communities through the eyes of SBS.

The film interweaves powerful person testimony from abused women with a forceful analysis of the issues that make domestic violence an even more terrible experience for minority women.

Getting to the heart of the multicultural debate it looks at all forms of domestic violence raging from honour killings to forced marriages. And it examines the role of immigration controls, culturally sensitive policing, religious fundamentalism and the attitudes of minority communities themselves in continuing to endanger the lives and well being of many women.

Love, Honour and Disobey is essential viewing for anyone who wants to understand violence within black and ethnic minority communities. It will be useful for training teachers, social workers, police, lawyers, health workers and any other professionals, refuges and women’s groups.

Running time: 58 minutes