Announcing new initiatives: The Danish government is stepping up its war against honor culture to support "rebels against outdated cultures".“
The Danish government, through the Ministry for Immigration and Integration (the Ministry of Immigration in the conventional sense), announced a strengthening of its fight against negative social control by deploying more frontline counselors to assist victims of such control. The government will therefore be hiring additional security advisors. This is one of four new initiatives the government is presenting today.
Across the country, security advisors provide expert advice to citizens and professionals in cases of negative social control and honor-related conflicts. The cases in question could be, for example, a child who fears being sent on a re-education trip to their home country, a teenager who is subjected to social isolation as a result of being controlled by the family, or a young woman living in fear of violence and punishment related to honor.
According to the ministry, since the scheme was launched in 2018, security consultants have seen an almost doubling of inquiries, with the number of consultation requests related to or connected with cases of confronting honor culture and social control rising from 186 cases in 2018 to 827 cases during 2024. Therefore, the government will strengthen the scheme so that, among other things, five additional security consultants can be employed.
At the same time, the government wants to create a new advisory service for municipalities that are concerned about negative social control in vulnerable residential areas and allocate the necessary funds so that civil society can play a greater role in the struggle for women’s right to a free life.
The government will allocate a total of 52.7 million Danish kroner in the period 2025-2028 to the four initiatives.
Immigration and Integration Minister Kari Debbad-Beck explained:
“We will not stand idly by while children, young people, men and women let down their loved ones and are subjected to negative social control. That is why I am so pleased that we have some concrete tools to support and protect the brave people who are rebelling against outdated cultures here. They must feel that Danish society is ready to embrace them and guarantee a life full of democratic freedom.”.
Facts about the Danish government's plan to combat negative social control and honor culture
- The existing system of security advisors in municipalities will be strengthened by increasing their salaries to five additional full-time positions. In 2024, the initiative received 6.5 million Danish kroner, and the government will increase this amount to over 10 million Danish kroner annually between 2025 and 2028.
- Funding will be allocated to the Søstre Association for Combating Violence and Control, which focuses on activities targeting girls and women vulnerable to negative social control. Additionally, a suite of applications will be developed and implemented to provide support and counseling to young people seeking to leave extremist religious environments characterized by strict honor standards, where boys and young men are often subjected to negative social control and conflicts related to honor. The government will allocate 10.2 million Danish kroner to the initiative between 2025 and 2028.
- Enhancing counseling for girls to cope with the relinquishment of parental authority as a result of negative social control.
- Funds will be allocated to investigate where and how negative social control and parallel values occur in specific residential areas, and on this basis, a new advisory service will be established for municipalities that have concerns about negative social control in the residential areas concerned. The government will allocate 12.1 million Danish kroner to this initiative in 2025-2028.
Source: Ministry of Foreigners and Integration
