It became law on 31 October for groups of education, health and social care professionals working with children and young people in England and Wales to report "known" cases of female genital mutilation (FGM) in under-18s.
The mandatory reporting duty, first announced in March through measures introduced under the Serious Crime Act 2015, requires social workers, teachers and health practitioners, such as GPs and health visitors, to tell the police when they come across a case of FGM in a child or young person.
Reports should generally be made by the end of the next working day after the disclosure of FGM has been made, with failure to do so leaving the professional open to disciplinary action under fitness to practice procedures.
Alongside the introduction of the new duty, the government has published guidance explaining what practitioners need to do to ensure they report known cases correctly. This is the process it recommends following:
Step 1 - Confirming the case
The duty to report a known case of FGM to police is triggered when a young person aged under 18 discloses an instance of FGM to a professional, but not if disclosure comes from a parent, guardian or sibling.
The duty also applies when a professional observes the physical signs of FGM while going about their work. This does not require there to be a full clinical diagnosis before a report is made.
The duty to report it is a personal duty and cannot be transferred to another professional or agency.
Step 2 - How to contact police
While the legislation requires a report to be made to the police, it does not specify the process for making the report. If professionals have existing formal arrangements with police in place, then these should be followed.
Alternatively, the guidance recommends that a report is orally made by calling 101, the non-emergency police number. These calls are routed to the appropriate local police force, with the call handler referring it to the relevant local force team.
Step 3 - Information needed
After the case has been passed to the force's specialist unit, a member of that local team will call back to discuss the case.
Information they will need to be provided with includes:
Your details (name, contacts, role and place of work)
Details of your organisation's designated safeguarding lead (name, contact details and place of work)
The girl's details (name, age/date of birth, address)
If applicable, confirm if safeguarding actions have been, or will be, undertaken.
In all cases, the guidance recommends that a reference number is given for the case and that a record of it is kept.
Step 4 - What happens next?
The guidance says it is best practice to inform the child and her parents or guardians to explain about the report being made and what it means.
This should be done concurrently or in advance of the report. However, if there is reason to believe telling the child and/or parents about the report could lead to the child suffering serious harm or the family fleeing the country, then it should not be discussed.
Upon receipt of a report, the police will initiate the multi-agency response in line with local safeguarding arrangements.
This will be done in consultation with children's social care services, with protection of the child being paramount at all times.
Actions could include a criminal investigation or issue of an FGM protection order.
Duty enhances practitioners’ existing safeguarding role, says DfE official at a conference on FGM
Stephanie Brivio, assistant director for child protection, Department for Education
"We want to bring some reassurance to all professional working with children and families – this duty is not something to worry about; it complements what they are already doing. Teachers and social workers are already the eyes and ears of the child protection system, and this duty only requires them to continue being that.
The duty is clear that anyone can refer – you do not have to go via the designated professional or safeguarding lead in your school or health setting, although it would be good practice to inform them you are making that referral.
Over-reaction can be as damaging as under-reaction. That's why we're going to be talking to local safeguarding children boards (LSCBs) about how they can incorporate the duty into their training and documents. It will be important for LSCBs to understand the prevalence of need in their area and how much FGM is going to be a key issue.
It is important then that teachers are plugged into their LSCB, not least so that they are warned about the response to their referral. The expectation is that teachers and health visitors are vigilant and make referrals, not become investigators.
Also, the fight against FGM will be won in how successful we are will in getting all communities and individuals to change behaviours, and that cannot be done by a single agency.
We need to understand the purpose of education for all our young people so we change community behaviour - building resilience has an important role to play in this package of support. The very best schools deliver the personal, social and health education curriculum which equips them with what they need to speak out."
