Annotation The present study deals with the problem of honor killings in the framework of a broader term of gender-based violence and harmful traditional practices. The author analyzes the "roots" of honor killings and the value of "honor" embedded in the cultural settings, social expectations and established gender roles of the Eastern societies; likewise, she explains the phenomenon through the prism of theoretical constructions from different disciplines: sociology, anthropology, psychology, and criminology. The study focuses on the cases of honor killings in the countries with the highest volume of honor-based violence in the world (Palestine, Pakistan and Jordan) and discusses the problem of honor murders among immigrant communities in Europe taking the examples of the UK, Sweden and the Netherlands. A "pilot research", set forth at the end of the study, suggests that there are certain trends about attitudes and values of immigrants in Europe towards honor-based violence.