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.

But this form of abuse will only be eradicated in the long-term by changing practices and customs in communities where it happens; this requires working with members of these communities to change their views towards FGM.

That is why we want the law to go further, to tackle the crime and change cultural attitudes through a new offence of promoting or encouraging the practice.

Not only do councils have a role in tackling this crime through safeguarding, but they are also best-placed to work with communities where FGM is practised.

For example, in Greater Manchester a forum has been working to protect women and girls across the region by bringing councils, health workers, charities and other groups together to tackle the issue. Bristol’s Safeguarding Children Board has been working to educate young people and train professionals, including nurses and police officers, to spot the signs of FGM.

Newham was awarded London Crime Prevention Funding to provide a one-stop-shop support service to women and girls who are victims of violence – including FGM. The phone number for the one stop shop is a 24 hour line, run by staff and volunteers who are able to support victims in many different languages while workshops are held with religious or community groups.

Many members of communities with a history of practising FGM are making the case against it. However, their task – and that of councils and their partners – is being made more difficult where community and faith leaders continue to promote or encourage the practice.

Currently, a person who incites FGM can be prosecuted under the Serious Crime Act 2007, but it is difficult to prosecute those who argue there are religious or cultural justifications.

In addition, to be guilty of an offence under the 2007 Act an individual has to intend to encourage or assist the carrying out of FGM; mere foresight that it might be carried out as a result of their actions is insufficient to establish intent.

Making it a criminal offence to encourage or promote the practice of FGM – not just the physical act of an individual assisting or carrying out a mutilation – is a necessary step. This will help bring forward cases against those who support it and to help change attitudes towards the practice.

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