A question of honor, ongoing
On a deserted road in Jutland, Denmark is a house with an unknown address. The authorities call the residence a “Safehouse”, even though it most of all looks like an ordinary home. It is a secure residence with surveillance cameras and tinted windows in the kitchen that faces the court. All with the purpose to protect a group of teenage girls, who have been living in the shadow of their family, who exposed them to threats, violence and suppression. The girls are placed here because of honor-related conflicts. They did not know that concept, before they fled their families and moved into Safehouse Jylland. But they do know how it feels. The authorities define it as conflicts, “that occur within close, family relations and where the conflicts result from the perception that the honor of the family has been violated.” The girls in these families are at risk of being sent on a re-education journey to a home country, they have never been in, being in line for forced marriage or abusive punishment in the form of incarceration in the home or physical violence. In the most extreme cases it is danger of honor killing. The honor-related girls are in a tension field between fear of negative social control at home and love for their family. At Safehouse Jylland they attempt to create their own identity and a fairly ordinary teenage life.
Made in collaboration with journalist Mikkel Thuesen and photographer Andreas Haubjerg. Learn more about this story on the LUMIX Photo Festival digital platform.
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