London, Apr 11 : British Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker today launched a new national helpline for victims of forced marriages and honour-based violence, part-funded by the Forced Marriage Unit.

The 'Honour Network', run by the charity Karma Nirvana is a dedicated to forced marriage and honour-based violence helpline, staffed by survivors offering emotional and practical support.

"This helpline is run by survivors, for survivors, is a big step in the fight to raise awareness of the issues of forced marriage and honour-based violence and is crucial in giving victims across the country the confidence to come forward," said Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker.

"We recognise that the scale of these issues remains unknown and much of the problem stays underground. We are determined across Government to continue engaging with local communities and taking action to protect victims to put an end to this appalling practice," he added.

Jasvinder Sanghera, founder of Karma Nirvana said that the Honour Network is about reclaiming the word honour and is designed for victims, survivors or potential victims of honour based crimes to reassure them they are victims not perpetrators.

The Network is designed to identify survivors to help support each other. The helpline will be manned by survivors themselves helping people take a stand against these crimes.

ANI