Barrister tells doctors to be ‘hyper-alert’ for warning signs of female genital mutilation

One of Britain’s top female barristers today urged doctors to be “hyper-alert” to the risks of girls suffering female genital mutilation to help police bring a landmark first prosecution for the crime.

Rosina Cottage QC, who specialises in rape and abuse cases involving young and vulnerable victims, said medical professionals could play a key role in ensuring perpetrators are brought to justice by raising the alarm as soon as they see evidence that a girl has been harmed.

She said such information needed to be passed on “as soon as possible” so that travel documents, phone and email records which could used in court to support a prosecution could be gathered before it was too late.

Her call, timed ahead of the school summer holidays when girls are often taken abroad for surgery, echoes a similar plea from London’s chief crown prosecutor Alison Saunders for doctors to be ready to alert authorities when they treated girls who had become victims of the unlawful practice.

Ms Cottage, who recently secured the conviction of Edmonton teenager Opemipo Jaji for the rape of an 11-year-old girl in an Enfield park, said such help was vital because of the secrecy surrounding the crime and the reluctance of victims to report an offence often carried out by parents or relatives.

She said social workers and other local authority staff should also help police and insisted that greater co-operation was essential to send a message to potential offenders that culprits would be brought to justice. “Where there is a girl about whom there is serious concern then action needs to be taken as soon as possible,” said Ms Cottage, “particularly at this time of year, doctors need to be on hyper-alert.

“The impact on a child can vary, but in extreme cases it can violate their body to the extent that every single day of their life may be affected. The effect in those cases can’t be overstated.”

Ms Cottage said she accepted that doctors might be concerned that a victim’s plight could be worsened if a crime was reported and the child was removed from an otherwise loving family. But she insisted that the protection of future victims meant action was needed.

“There needs to be a prosecution to highlight the danger,” she said.

FGM has been illegal since 1985, but no prosecutions have been brought. Six cases investigated by the Met between 2009 and last year are being reviewed by the Crown Prosecution Service. Files on two more recent cases are also being studied.

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