In the last couple weeks, two sets of dishonor killings were committed on American soil. The first were the murders by arson of a suburban Chicago family (husband, wife, three-year-old child, and fetus). The second were the slayings of the beautiful Said sisters in suburban Dallas. And too few people are willing to call them what they are: dishonor killings. This hesitancy is almost certainly going to doom other people in their situations, for dishonor killings have very specific and unique triggers, modus operandi, and aftermaths that need to be better understood by social workers, teachers, employers, law enforcement officials, and other people on the front lines of early identification of risk.

Ellen R. Sheeley, Author
“Reclaiming Honor in Jordan”