Legal Update: Call for action plan on FGM
Catrin Gosby
Monday, July 21, 2014
The home affairs committee has published a report calling for a national action plan on female genital mutilation. Catrin Gosby, researcher at Coram Children's Legal Centre, examines the report's proposals.
Although the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) has grown in salience both within the UK and internationally, particularly in recent years, there has been a distinct lack of progress by successive governments to tackle the issue effectively. The home affairs committee report, Female Genital Mutilation: The Case for a National Action Plan, critically addresses these shortcomings and proposes how these may be overcome.
Crucially though, given the lack of action so far, it seems reasonable to ask how seriously the government is taking the issue, and whether this report will lead to any tangible changes. For example, FGM has been illegal in the UK since 1985, yet this year is the first time anyone has actually been prosecuted. While the report does discuss why it is difficult to bring a case of FGM to court, it does not excuse the fact that there have been several decades since the 1985 Act was passed in which to strengthen the will and capacity of the police and CPS to bring a successful prosecution. This impunity not only leads to girls in the UK being put at risk, but undermines the credibility of development organisations such as the Department for International Development in working on FGM projects abroad due to their inability to prevent the practice in their home country.
This is not to say that the practice of FGM in the UK is only just coming to light, civil society organisations, and more recently media publications like The Guardian and The Times, have been campaigning on this issue for years, but with few results and limited resources.
The proposals
The report focuses on five related areas which together could provide for a comprehensive plan for addressing FGM: improving prosecutions for FGM; working with relevant professionals in a variety of sectors; legislative changes; working with communities; and improving services for affected women and girls. By creating a multifaceted approach to how the UK deals with the issue of FGM, it increases the likelihood of success and reduces the chances of actual or potential victims falling through the gaps.
The home affairs committee has called for changes to ensure that evidence leading to prosecution for FGM is easier to obtain, including, for instance, a guarantee of anonymity to encourage those affected to come forward. It was also noted that legislation could be strengthened, such as expanding the definition of FGM which would promote the safeguarding of girls, and make prosecution more likely.
Training needed
The report also identified a chronic lack of reporting or referrals by medical professionals of FGM cases. Some limited progress has been made, such as measures to be implemented in September this year to encourage reporting, but more action is needed. There is a lack of knowledge and training on how healthcare professionals should respond to FGM. The report also proposed increased levels of clinical and mental health services to those affected by FGM and that they should be widely publicised and available.
Educators and those who work in schools are in a unique position of regular contact with young girls and so may be better positioned to make referrals to relevant bodies such as the police or medical services.
The report also discussed the important role of civil society organisations, both in the commendable work they have already done in increasing public awareness of FGM and in working with communities to try to end the practice. The home affairs committee highlighted the need for the government to provide further assistance to these organisations so they can be more effective in their work.
While these proposals would lead to a more comprehensive strategy for dealing with FGM in the UK, how successfully they will be translated into action remains to be seen.