FGM: council leaders say it is too hard to protect girls under current laws We need to be able to prosecute community leaders who support female genital mutilation, says councils' association
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a horrific form of abuse and council workers see first-hand the devastating impact it has on its victims' mental and physical wellbeing.
Local authorities are determined to end this practice and protect the thousands of women and girls estimated to be at risk in the UK.
The government is right to toughen up the law through the Serious Crime Bill. The lack of prosecutions in the past 30 years highlights why something needs to be done to bring more people to justice.