Under the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003, it is now an offence for UK nationals or permanent residents to carry out - or assist in carrying out - FGM abroad, even in countries where the practice is legal. The Act also increases the maximum penalty for committing or aiding FGM from five to 14 years' imprisonment.
FGM is unusual in that, unlike other forms of child abuse, those who carry it out genuinely believe that it is in the best interest of the girls concerned. Although no religion requires it, there are some cultures in which the custom remains so embedded that parents may consider the failure to conform as intensely damaging to their daughters' future.
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