The Team

The team

Sarbjit Athwal

Sarbjit Athwal


Founder of True Honour

Survivor of Honour Based Violence and a Forced Marriage. Former Police Community Support Officer, Author of ‘Shamed’. Founder of True Honour. International Speaker and Campaigner.

SURVIVOR – Sarbjit was just 19 when she got married and moved into the house of her husband's very strict family which included her mother-in-law, her husband’s brother and his wife. 

Her sister-in-law, Surjit, was more rebellious and as a consequence was regularly beaten for her disobedience. When the family found out she was having an affair, drastic action was taken. They took her to a family wedding in India, where her mother-in-law arranged for her to be drugged, strangled, and thrown into a river.

When Sarbjit found out what had happened to her sister-in-law she was terrified and was told that if she said a word the same thing would happen to her. Consequently, she was forced into silence. However,  the stress nearly killed her and she was rushed into hospital.

Having lived under threats for many years, fear was her normality.  Lying in hospital being told it was a matter of life or death, Sarbjit began working behind the family's back and became the key witness for the prosecution and murder trial. Her story is told in ‘Shamed’.   
FORMER POLICE COMMUNITY SUPPORT OFFICER
Sarbjit started her career with the Metropolitan Police Service in 2008 after giving evidence in the murder trial at The Old Bailey. Whilst working within the police force she learnt that there was a lack of knowledge, cultural understanding, and awareness which made it very difficult for officers to engage and investigate honour crimes. Sarb also assisted other boroughs when dealing with HBV crimes and helped victims to come forward. She has also lectured at Hendon Police College.  
AUTHOR OF 'SHAMED' - This book will take you through Sarb’s journey and how she survived living in a family who believed honour was worth more than a woman's life. To increase awareness on HBV & FM, this is a MUST read for all.

FOUNDER OF TRUE HONOUR - www.truehonour.org.uk
True Honour was founded after breaking the silence and standing up for justice. Sarb now works with police forces around the country and internationally, ensuring that police officers have the right knowledge and understanding when supporting victims of these crimes. As a survivor, Sarb’s first-hand experience and real life trauma is shared with officers to help them understand HBV and FM crimes better, which in turn enables them to empathise with the trauma victims go through when living under these circumstances. Sarb is a key speaker at the House of Commons. She also works with the Home Office, Local Authorities, Education Sector, and Partner Agencies.
Sarb is very passionate about supporting other victims of honour crimes sending out a strong message that victims do not have to suffer in the way she did. The only way to achieve this is by working collaboratively with one another, to gain a better understanding of the religious and cultural backgrounds of victims.

Sarb’s work has been recognized by many:

2015 - ITV Crime and Investigations
2014 - Women Of Power Conference– Storm Empowerment
2014 - True Honour Award – IKWRO
2013 - Bravest Woman Award – Best Magazine 
2013 - Women's Warrior of the Year at the - Cosmopolitan's magazine  
2007 - Bravery and Honesty - Assistant Commissioner New Scotland Yard 

Charity Board Trustee

The Board of Trustees are the governing body of our Charity. The Trustees are responsible for:

• Safeguarding the good name & values of the organisation.
• Acting in the best interests of the Charity.
• The overall policy, direction, & control of the organisation.
• Shaping strategy.
• Ensuring financial stability.
• Improving performance.

The Board meets four times a year in addition to attending meetings, events, and conferences.

WE’RE HERE TO HELP YOU

Kevin Hurley has spent more than thirty-five years involved in policing and community safety as both a police officer with the Metropolitan and City of London Police, as well as the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey.


He has worked in some of the most challenging countries in the world including Iraq and Afghanistan, where he saw at first hand some of the awful violence and fear that women are subjected to.


Kevin now works as media consultant on both TV and Radio as well as writing for various news outlets.


He is passionate about protecting the vulnerable, those who are victims of so called Honour based violence, forced marriage, and Female Genital Mutilation.


In his spare time Kevin is a Covid volunteer for the NHS.




Kevin Hurley

CHAIR TO BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Dr Clive Driscoll - Deputy Chair & Trustee

Clive Driscoll retired on 31st May 2014 after completing 34 years and 9 months of exemplary service with the Metropolitan Police. 

He retired as a Detective Chief Inspector and investigated several high profile cases, obtaining two convictions in the Stephen Lawrence murder case. He became the first police officer to obtain a conviction in an honour based murder case where no body has ever been found. The Surjit Athwal murder case has been described as a landmark one, where a conviction was obtained against all the odds. 

Clive has investigated child abuse cases, gang related violence, and in 2012 was voted the Senior Investigating Officer for the United kingdom by the Homicide working group. He currently assists victims and victim’s family who feel they have not obtained justice. Clive’s work with a clinic dealing with severe emotional trauma has seen several criminal cases re-opened. Clive has lectured to many police services both in the U.K. and in Scotland and Ireland. 

The convictions of two suspects within the Stephen Lawrence murder case has been hailed as remarkable,  by both Parliament and the police service in general. It also brought much praise from Baroness Doreen Lawrence OBE and Neville Lawrence OBE. Clive has assisted with several investigations surrounding FGM. 

Clive Driscoll
Dr Clive Driscoll 
DEPUTY CHAIR & TRUSTEE
Bill Heasman - Ambassador

Bill retired from the MPS as a Chief Inspector in February 2016. He served in several boroughs including Wandsworth, Lambeth, Hammersmith, Fulham, and finally Kingston where he first met Sarb. He also spent time working centrally for the Professional Standards Department and spent a year as a Staff Officer.

Bill has enjoyed public order and ceremonial work and was proud to have policed Trooping the Colour, New Years Eve celebrations, the Notting Hill Carnival, and other prestigious events for many years. He was a football match commander. One of his finest moments was the planning, preparations, and then delivery of the policing of the Velodrome for London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.  

Despite this his overriding passion was for community policing and working to priorities set by local people. He likes to provide help to those whose voice is not always heard. For example, he set up a ‘Safe Place’ initiative in Kingston supporting the local Learning Disabilities Community, a project that was later spread to all boroughs in West London. Bill set up the first anti-social behaviour desk in London and the first meeting to address ASB exclusively.  

In Hammersmith he created a Borough Association for Neighbourhood Watch, a format that is now used across the whole of London. Bill also has some experience of writing bids to attract funding and as Deputy Borough Commander at Kingston was responsible for a substantial budget. 

Bill currently works for East Sussex County Council in Adult Social Care.
    Bill Heasman
Ambassador
 

Mrs Margaret Lenton 
PRESIDENT & TRUSTEE

Mr Brendan Weir 
SECRETARY

 Mr James Berry
 TRUSTEE

True Honour Patrons

JAMES KEELEY - BARRISTER

Jaswant Kaur Narwal - 
Chief Crown Prosecutor CPS Thames & Chiltern. National CPS lead on FGM, forced marriage, and honour-based abuse

Clive Driscoll
 Jaswant Kaur Narwal
Patron
Jaswant has been with the Crown Prosecution Service since 1989 and following a successful scholarship qualified as a barrister in 1993. She has undertaken many different and varied roles within the CPS. Jaswant is currently the Chief Crown Prosecutor in CPS South East, covering the counties of Kent, Surrey, and Sussex. She has previously served as the Chief Crown Prosecutor in Lincolnshire and also in Sussex as well as being the Deputy Head of Fraud Division working in CPS Headquarters. 

Much of her prosecuting career has been spent in London on the frontline, prosecuting a full range of offences. later Jaswant became the Head of the Old Bailey Trials Unit handling all homicide offences in London including some high profile and heinous murder offences. Jaswant also handled specialist police complaints, led a team of lawyers reviewing past convictions in cases involving corrupt police officers, handled cases arising out of large scale public disorder, and many serious sexual crimes. 

Jaswant was the CPS national lead on victims and witnesses, and piloted the original victim advocacy scheme at The Old Bailey which led to the use of victim personal statements in criminal cases. She is the national lead on youth justice for the CPS. She is also the Vice Chair of both the Surrey and Sussex Criminal Justice Boards. 

She is a mentor to university students, and is committed to improving representation for those from a BAME background across the criminal justice system. Jaswant is also involved in projects showing the impact on women’s wellbeing in the criminal justice system. Her special interests include the prosecution of hate crime, honour based violence, and sexual crimes.  

Jaswant was named Public Service Lawyer of the Year in the Society of Asian Lawyers Awards in May 2010 and shortlisted as a finalist in the National Asian Achievers Awards in 2015. Jaswant was recently appointed as a Commissioner on a National Commission chaired by Baroness Armstrong looking at women who are victims of sexual and domestic violence.

“I really look forward to being a Patron of True Honour to raise awareness of honour based violence, forced marriage, and female genital mutilation, which sadly is still too prevalent in our modern society. It is critical that we keep these issues on the national and local agendas everywhere and in all of our communities, so that they are not lost to ignorance, or become acceptable or even forgotten about. Such behaviours are crimes and cannot be tolerated under any circumstances”.

True Honour Ambassadors

SARAH WOOD
BARRISTER - 5 ST. ANDREWS HILL, LONDON
GRAHAM WETTONE

Graham enjoyed a 30 year career predominantly in frontline policing. He served at Tooting, Wimbledon, Fulham, in Territorial Support Group and finally at New Scotland Yard in the Public Order Branch. He retired in 2010 as a Sergeant and now teaches the required pre-joining Certificate of Knowledge in Policing (CKP) course to prospective police recruits. He also works as a policing expert for Sky News.

"I feel very honoured and privileged to be an Ambassador for True Honour and to be able to offer any support for the charity’s outstanding work. It has been and continues to be very rewarding to work with Sarb and help her to raise awareness and spread the message of support and help available to victims of so called honour based crimes.

I look forward to supporting True Honour and continuing to develop this important work, and improve the understanding amongst society of these crimes.”

Share by: