Book review: Men, Masculinities, and Honour-based Abuse
| Published date | 01 September 2020 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0269758020938253 |
| Date | 01 September 2020 |
| Subject Matter | Book reviews |
points out, the soft law approach is problematic in that it can ‘give the appearance of victim
rights where few exist’ (p. 219).
The book contains eight chapters that are logically divided into three parts: I) Victimology and
victim rights in comparative contexts, II ) The victim in internationalised systems of criminal
justice and III) Victim rights in law and policy. While the author takes care of minimising repeti-
tions, some reiterations are unav oidable given the book’s focus on the in terlinkages between
various levels of governance from different perspectives. One of the main strengths of the book
is that it uses an ambitious, multi-layered, comparative approach while simultaneously presenting
the analysis of the material in an accessible way. This is particularly useful for scholars doing
research in this field, as the book partially functions as a much-needed handbook in this regard.
Moreover, the book frames the advancement of victim rights in the context of conceptual devel-
opments within victimology and, thereby, further strengthens the link between the field of victi-
mology and the human rights agenda. I found Chapter 3 of the book to be of particular interest as it
lays out the different ways in which victim rights are inculcated in law and policy. Here the author
identifies how victim rights have been realised using different measures, for example through the
ratification of international instruments, policy transfers, law reform processes and commissions of
inquiry. This serves as a useful conceptual framework to understand how legal and policy change
can come about by way of different socio-legal processes and procedures.
While the book gives an account of the way in which victim rights have manifested in domestic
laws and policies, and how these developments have been influenced by international norms and
practices, there is less focus on the relevance of the socio-political aspects underpinning these
developments. In the discussions about comparative issues (Chapter 3) and victim rights in domes-
tic law and policy (Chapter 6), it is evident that victim rights have often been advanced in relation
to specific cases or particular groups of victims with the support of grassroots movements. How-
ever, these themes could have benefited from a more in-depth analysis and reflection in the final
chapter – for instance, about the ways in which victim rights become politicised and the role of
social movements in that context, and their implications for the advancement of victim rights and
the field of victimology.
Overall, however, this does not take away from the book’s core strength, which is to success-
fully present a stratified comparative analysis of victim rights in an accessible way and within a
victimological framework. This is no small feat and is of significant value for those interested in
the advancement of victim rights, especially scholars working within the field of law, victimology
and socio-legal studies.
Mohammad Mazher Idriss (ed.)
Men, Masculinities, and Honour-based Abuse
Routledge. Abingdon, UK, 2020 230pp.; ISBN 9780367204440 (hbk.)
Reviewed by: Mariel McKone Leonard, University of Mannheim, Germany
DOI: 10.1177/0269758020938253
What is honour-based violence/abuse (HBV/A)? Who are its victims? The answers presented in
much of the media and even academic literature are of a barbaric form of violence, in which young
Book reviews 369
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