Source: Barnardo’s published on this site Friday 13th July 2018 by Jill Powell
Much more needs to be done to support survivors of female genital mutilation and protect girls at risk, as the latest NHS statistics reveal there is a newly recorded case of FGM every two hours in the UK.
The National FGM Centre says it is vital for agencies, such as the police, education, health and social care, to work better together to prosecute those who carry out this type of abuse.
According to the latest figures released by NHS Digital (released on July 5) there were 6,195 women and girls treated for FGM in the past financial year and, of those, 4,495 were newly recorded cases.
Of the 6,195 women and girls, 85 cases of FGM took place in the UK.
The most common age range when FGM took place was between 0 and 10 years old. But the statistics reveal it can take years before a medical professional is aware of it – often during an appointment with an obstetrician or gynaecologist.
FGM was detected when the person was still a child (under 18 years old) in just 70 of the 6,195 cases – with it more commonly being discovered during a medical appointment when the woman was aged between 25 and 40.
The National FGM Centre is run by Barnardo’s and the Local Government Association.
Its head, Leethen Bartholomew, said:
“Shockingly, the figures confirm that dozens of women and girls born in the UK have undergone FGM, despite the practice being illegal for over 30 years.
end of quote. Yet there still hasn’t been a single successful prosecution to hold perpetrators to account. FGM is child abuse and it’s vital that we work with affected communities to change hearts and minds about the practice. Agencies must also work better together to prosecute those who fail to protect girls from this type of abuse.”
