3. Women at Risk of “Honour Crimes” on Account of Pre- or Extra-Marital Sexual Relations Women accused of pre- or extra-marital relations and women with children born outside wedlock, including as a result of rape, are reported to be at risk of being stigmatized and targeted for killing by their (extended) family members on account of having brought shame to the family by having transgressed cultural, social or religious norms.14 Prior to the outbreak of the war in 2011, albeit no official statistics on “honour crimes” were available, NGOs and women groups estimated there to have been hundreds of “honour” killings every year.15 The number of “honour killings” is reported to have increased since 2011.16 Fear of “honour killing” and other negative repercussions is reported to be a reason for women and girls to abandon the newborn after giving birth if the pregnancy was the result of an illicit relationship.17 No information was found among consulted sources in relation to the treatment of unmarried women with children by specific religious and/or ethnic communities in Syria. However, based on reports, “honour” killings are not geographically limited and occur across the country both in urban and rural areas and among all religious and ethnic groups.18 14 15 16 17 18 school, access heath and financial services, or engage in legal employment”; West Asia-North Africa Institute (WANA), Contingency Planning for Post-Conflict Syria, September 2016, https://bit.ly/2lZt283, p. 49. “Women and girls who have babies as a result of rape remain at risk of honour killings if it becomes known the child is a result of rape. At the very least, they face divorce and ostracization from their family and community”; UN Human Rights Council, “I Lost My Dignity”: Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in the Syrian Arab Republic, A/HRC/37/CRP.3, 8 March 2018, www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/1433339/1930_1527146239_a-hrc-37-crp-3.pdf, para. 99. ACCORD, Können unverheiratete Paare in Syrien Kinder haben und in einem gemeinsamen Haushalt leben? [a10120], 12 April 2017, https://bit.ly/2JHQs9U; Harvard Human Rights Journal, Why Non-Marital Children in the MENA Region Face a Risk of Statelessness, 6 January 2015, https://bit.ly/2LyiKqI. Despite some legal reforms enacted since 2009, the criminal law in Syria is reported to play a role in condoning “honour crimes” because it provides for a lesser minimum sentence for perpetrators who murder women in the name of “honour” as compared to minimum sentences for other forms of murder. “The 2009 amendment introduced punishment of only two to three years, which was increased to five to seven years in 2011. In contrast, the punishment for murder is 20 years hard labour.” And further: “It is within a judge’s discretion to determine if a murder is an honour crime, and judges frequently take the defendant on his word, admitting no other evidence”; ILAC, ILAC Rule of Law Assessment Report – Syria 2017, https://bit.ly/2ux8hyV, pp. 54, 57. See also, EuroMed Rights, Syria ̶ Situation Report on Violence against Women, November 2017, https://bit.ly/2laTThb, pp. 1-2. See also, US Department of State, Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2018 – Syria, 13 March 2019, www.ecoi.net/en/document/2004226.html; UNDP/UNFPA/ESCWA, Syria Gender Justice & The Law, 2018, https://bit.ly/2kRhGCy, p. 14 The Guardian, 'They See no Shame': 'Honour' Killing Video Shows Plight of Syrian Women, 12 November 2018, https://bit.ly/2lmbR07; The Syrian Observer, Honor Killings Increased Fourfold Since Start of Syria Crisis, 5 July 2016, https://bit.ly/2VdMDRH. “Reasons for abandoning children include the fear of honor crimes, where unmarried pregnant women and girls choose to abandon their baby rather than risk rejection or physical violence from family that could result in death”; Child Protection Working Group, Desk Review ̶ Child Protection Priority Issues in Syria, June 2013, http://bit.ly/2mg01oM, p. 3. “In many parts of Syrian society, the concept of honour is constructed around notions of female virginity before marriage and sexual fidelity afterwards”; UN Human Rights Council, “I Lost My Dignity”: Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in the Syrian Arab Republic, A/HRC/37/CRP.3, 8 March 2018, www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/1433339/1930_1527146239_a-hrc-37-crp-3.pdf, para. 95. “According to UNHCR branch office in Damascus, honour-killings mostly occur in remote areas where people are more likely to follow old tradition and customs, but they also take place in the city. UNHCR explained that honour-killings occur among all ethnic groups including the Kurds, the Arabs, the Druze and the Christians”; Danish Refugee Council, Syria: Kurds, Honour-Killings and Illegal Departure, January 2007, www.refworld.org/docid/46dd2a5e2.html, pp. 15-17. See also, France 24, No Prison if You Kill Your Daughter in the Name of Honour, 17 September 2009, http://rec.f24.my/12IC.T; The New Humanitarian, Popular Campaign Takes Aim at “Honour Killings”, 23 October 2005, https://bit.ly/2laIaPE. 4