Spiritual abuse and immigration abuse have been included in prosecution guidance for the first time to help prosecutors tackle emerging harmful practices.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has today published strengthened guidance for prosecutors to help tackle ‘honour’-based abuse, forced marriage and a widening range of harmful practices.

The updated guidance reflects growing concerns around evolving forms of abuse and sets out how prosecutors should build robust cases where victims may be controlled, coerced, or unable to safely support a prosecution.

Newly included are harmful practices such as dowry abuse, immigration-related exploitation, transnational marriage abandonment, and spiritual or ritualistic abuse linked to beliefs in witchcraft, spirit possession or demonic influence.
Virginity testing and hymenoplasty have also been added to reflect changes in legislation.

The guidance recognises the close link between ‘honour’-based abuse and these harmful practices, emphasising the importance for prosecutors to consider family pressure, cultural expectations, and coercive control when making charging decisions and building cases.

Baljit Ubhey, Director of Policy at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “‘Honour’-based abuse in all its forms is a serious crime, and it has no place in our society.

“Victims often endure immense pressure, fear and coercive control from those closest to them, which can make seeking help incredibly difficult.

“Our updated guidance equips prosecutors to identify emerging patterns of abuse, understand the wider context in which it occurs, and take swift, effective action to safeguard victims and bring perpetrators to justice.”

Selma Taha, Executive Director of Southall Black Sisters, said: “We welcome the Crown Prosecution Service’s updated guidance on ‘honour’-based abuse, forced marriage and harmful practices, aligned with its VAWG Strategy 2025-2030 commitment to delivering high-quality, research-informed casework that builds victim-survivor confidence in the justice system.

“The explicit recognition of dowry-related abuse and immigration-related exploitation is critical. These are patterns we see routinely in our frontline work with Black, minoritised and migrant women, yet they are too often overlooked.

“That is why it matters that this guidance has been shaped through consultation with specialist ‘by and for’ organisations such as ours, grounded in frontline expertise. The real test now is action. It must deliver measurable improvements in safeguarding for victim-survivors and ensure real accountability for perpetrators, through sustained partnership with specialist services and a whole-system commitment to tackling the root causes of VAWG.”

Solicitor General Ellie Reeves MP said: “This government is on a mission to halve violence against women and girls, and I am determined to make our justice system work for all victims.

“That’s why I’m proud to welcome the CPS’s strengthened guidance, which gives prosecutors the tools they need to recognise patterns of abuse and build robust cases to ensure perpetrators are punished and victims are protected from harm.”

Tackling spiritual-related abuse

The CPS has expanded its guidance to support prosecutors handling reports of abuse linked to faith, belief or ritual and reflecting our growing understanding of how these cases present in real-life situations. 

This includes harm justified by accusations of witchcraft, spirit or demonic possession, or involvement in ritual or satanic practice.

This type of abuse can impact anyone, including children, adults and vulnerable adults, and can take many forms including financial abuse, physical violence, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect or homicide.

These cases often involve:

• violent exorcisms
• beatings, starvation or forced ingestion of harmful substances
• scapegoating children or vulnerable adults for misfortune
• extreme psychological, emotional and sometimes sexual abuse
• homicide.

While there is no standalone offence for this type of abuse, the updated guidance makes clear that prosecutors must treat these cases as serious criminality within the wider context of harmful practices and ‘honour’-based abuse, assessing which offences may apply on a case-by-case basis.

Immigration related abuse

The updated guidance also highlights immigration related abuse – a form of domestic abuse and harmful practice where perpetrators exploit a person’s immigration status to control and entrap them.

This can include threats of deportation, withholding vital documents, restricting access to support services, financial control, reporting them to the authorities – as well as practices such as transnational marriage abandonment, where a spouse is deliberately taken abroad and left there without resources to prevent their return to the UK.

While not a standalone offence, prosecutors are urged to consider all relevant criminal offences and apply domestic abuse and coercive or controlling behaviour guidance when assessing these cases.

Putting victims at the centre

The revised guidance further strengthens the CPS focus on safeguarding and victim support, highlighting:

• early protective measures, such as Forced Marriage Protection Orders (FMPOs)
• careful and appropriate use of interpreters
• culturally informed expert evidence to explain context
• evidence-led prosecutions where victims cannot safely engage
• close partnership working with specialist organisations

The guidance delivers a core commitment under the CPS Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy, launched in November 2025, ensuring prosecutors are equipped to respond to evolving forms of abuse and protect those at greatest risk.