Female Genital Mutilation

Baroness Tonge Excerpts

Wednesday 12th February 2014 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Tonge]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in eliminating female genital mutilation in the United Kingdom and abroad.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, last week, to mark the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation, Ministers met with charities and stakeholders and announced a range of measures to combat this harmful practice both in the UK and internationally. These measures include the appointment of a consortium of leading anti-FGM campaigners to deliver a global campaign to end FGM. Ministers from across government have also signed a declaration to demonstrate the Government’s commitment to tackle this practice both in the UK and abroad.

[Baroness Tonge (Ind LD)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply and I commend the Government on their efforts over the past year. I also particularly commend the work of Keir Starmer, the previous Director of Public Prosecutions. Does the Minister realise that it is now more than 10 years since the all-party parliamentary group that I chair produced a report on female genital mutilation, but that during that time, despite many Members of this House and the other place raising the issue, very little progress has been made? Can he explain why over those years there have been many prosecutions in France and other European countries for this horrible, painful and quite disgraceful practice, which is an abuse of young girls, while in this country we have had no prosecutions at all?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I pay tribute to the noble Baroness for her work in this respect, and indeed to many noble Lords across the Chamber. Taking her last question first, I am sure that she and many noble Lords will be aware that in France there is a prescriptive nature to the examination of young girls across the board. At the moment that is not something which the Government are considering initiating here. That said, as the noble Baroness herself has acknowledged, since 2011 there has been a range of initiatives and positive steps. Perhaps I may mention a few. In November 2012, the document A Statement Opposing Female Genital Mutilation was launched, which sets out the potential criminal penalties that can be used against those who allow FGM to take place. In the same month the Crown Prosecution Service launched an action plan for prosecuting cases of FGM. From the international perspective, in March 2013 DfID announced a £35 million programme on FGM, and in June last year the NSPCC, in partnership with the Home Office, launched a dedicated FGM helpline. The Government believe, as do all noble Lords, that this is a heinous practice; it is a crime which has to be tackled both outside and within the community, and they are working with partners to ensure that that happens.