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Children's services experience major increase in FGM cases

2 mins read Social Care
The number of children believed to have been victim of female genital mutilation (FGM) or at risk of it has more than doubled over the last year, government figures have revealed.

Analysis of Department for Education data by the National FGM Centre shows that FGM was a feature in 1,960 social work assessments by councils in 2017/18, compared with 970 cases the previous year.

The figures also show that abuse of children based on faith or belief - which includes witchcraft and spirit possession - has risen by 12 per cent, with councils dealing with more than 30 such cases a week. In 2016/17 there were 1,460 cases, rising to 1,630 in 2017/18.

The National FGM Centre, which is run by the Local Government Association (LGA) and Barnardo's, says the figures are "alarming" and probably don't reflect the true prevalence of the crime as services are gradually becoming better at identifying FGM concerns.

Leethen Bartholomew, head of the National FGM Centre, said: "Whilst we are making progress in tackling FGM, these alarming statistics show it is still being practised in communities across England.

"Even more concerning is that these figures are likely to just be the tip of the iceberg because many cases of FGM go undetected.

The centre's work includes training social workers to become better at identifying girls who may be at risk of undergoing the practice, and to know how to report it.

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