Female genital mutilation (FGM) has been classified as a serious crime in the UK since 1985, and since 2003, it has been a crime to carry it out on a UK citizen abroad – yet despite this, the first case ever to be brought to the courts was earlier this year. The problem is urgent. It recently emerged that the number of women living in England and Wales who have been subjected to FGM is twice as high as previously thought: more than 137,000 women. Many of these women have fled war-torn countries where FGM is prevalent, but some of them have been cut while resident in the UK.
FGM is the partial or full removal of external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. Aimed at curbing female sexuality, it can cause infections, infertility and in the most extreme cases, death. It is commonplace in many parts of Africa and the Middle East, in countries including Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Dubai, Egypt and Turkey.
There are many factors which make the policing of FGM difficult. Many of these problems are the same as those associated with sexual or domestic violence. Victims or witnesses may be unwilling to come forward due to close family or community ties to the perpetrators, who are generally known to the victim. Moreover, those victims tend to be disempowered girls; children with conflicting loyalties who may be reluctant to give testimony against their own parents. There is also the difficulty of evidence. Perpetrators will frequently have no criminal history, and hard evidence can be elusive. Campaigners have also pointed to anxiety on the part of the authorities – from the police, to medical professionals – about offending cultural sensitivities or appearing racist by targeting certain communities. Late last year, a report by the Royal Colleges of Midwifery, Nursing and Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Unite union and Equality Now called for these concerns to be put aside, and for FGM to be treated as child abuse.
Today, in that vein, the government is announcing new measures to tackle FGM. David Cameron will host a Girl Summit with Unicef, aimed at mobilising domestic and international efforts to end FGM and child marriage “once and for all”. Cameron will announce a change to the law, so that parents can be prosecuted if they fail to prevent their daughter being cut. All victims of FGM will get lifelong anonymity. The prime minister will also launch a £1.4m prevention programme, which will help to stop the practice being carried out and to care for survivors. New police guidance on how to handle and investigate new cases will also be unveiled, while social workers will be trained to “proactively” identify cases.
“Abhorrent practices like these, no matter how deeply rooted in societies, violate the rights of girls and women across the world, including here in the UK,” Cameron said in a statement, summarising the government’s attempt to remove cultural concerns from the policing of FGM.
This is a positive step; first and foremost, FGM is an extremely painful, traumatic, and illegal form of violence against women and girls. It is already part of the UK’s duties under international law to proactively try to eliminate the practice; a 2012 UN resolution called for state responses to be properly resourced. Thus far, the sheer lack of convictions for FGM means that the laws against it are not acting as a deterrent. The only way to stamp out the practice here in the UK is to properly enforce these laws so that women and girls are actually protected.
