Thousand women a year call us

Ten years ago the police did not know how to provide safety for women at risk of "honour-based" violence.

They did mediation and returned them home to the hand of harmful families. At best women were treated as victims of domestic violence, an inappropriate strategy.

There is no doubt that more women now have confidence to come forward because changes have been made to the policy and the law; help is available for victims; the police are more reliable; perpetrators are held to account; and women are more aware of their rights. People are also more confident to stand up against killings within communities because they see the perpetrators being held accountable.

But I believe more cases of violence and forced marriages are happening and one of the reasons is the backward culture of fundamentalism.

Five years ago the Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation had fewer than 100 calls a year from women about fear of honour-based violence on our advice line, now we have more than 1,000. Around 420 of these involve women who need in-depth case work and advocacy, and 85 of them are at high risk of being killed.

There is a desperate need for more help and more government funding but our funding is being cut by £48,000. There needs to be more facilities, more education and campaigning, not less. Police, social workers and teachers need training to provide safety for women and young girls. We are happy to provide this.