MPs warn of FGM 'crisis'
Neil Puffett
Thursday, July 3, 2014
A national action plan is urgently needed to tackle the "growing crisis" of female genital mutilation (FGM), MPs have said.
A report by the home affairs select committee said immediate action must be taken to prosecute those involved with FGM abuse, professionals should receive better training, and support services for both victims and those at risk of FGM should be improved.
The committee said that successful prosecutions would send a “clear message” to those involved that FGM is taken seriously in the UK and will be punished accordingly.
It also suggests that girls identified as being at risk of FGM could be “periodically” assessed by medical professionals, as is the case in France.
Meanwhile, multi-agency guidelines on tackling and preventing FGM should be made statutory to ensure that those who need it receive training.
The report also recommends mandatory questioning on FGM when booking antenatal interviews and at GP registration, and calls for all schools to improve teacher awareness at in-service training days as soon as possible.
Provision of better services for women and girls affected by FGM, including refuge shelters for those at risk, is also recommended.
Chair of the committee, Labour MP Keith Vaz, described FGM as an “ongoing national scandal” that is likely to have resulted in the preventable mutilation of thousands of girls.
“Successive governments, politicians, the police, health, education and social care sectors should all share responsibility for the failure in recent years to respond adequately to the growing prevalence of FGM in the UK,” he said.
“It is unacceptable that those with clear access to evidence of these crimes do nothing to help those at risk. We must follow the example of France and remove any barriers to referral.
“Conversations and checking must become the norm. In 12 months’ time, if reporting does not increase, we must make a failure to report a criminal offence.”
According to the World Health Organisation, about 20,000 girls under the age of 15 in the UK are at risk of FGM each year.
A two-year pilot project to tackle FGM launched in London last month.