Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to increase prosecution rates against those who have committed offences relating to female genital mutilation.
Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General
This Government has committed to halve violence against women and girls in the next decade and addressing female genital mutilation (FMG) is critical to achieving this.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) takes prosecuting FGM seriously. It secured the first conviction of conspiring to commit FGM in England and Wales this September and is taking steps to actively increase prosecutions.
Each CPS area has access to a dedicated FGM lead based within the Complex Casework Unit who have expertise in the prosecution of FGM cases. They share best practice to improve the CPS’ response to FGM cases to help increase prosecution rates.
The CPS will provide early investigative advice to the police in all FGM cases, and through the CPS and Police Joint Protocol on FGM, investigators are encouraged to refer every case to the CPS at the earliest stage. The protocol ensures a robust and appropriate criminal justice response and aims to achieve improved and consistent performance in the identification, investigation and prosecution of FGM.
Additionally, the CPS has revised the prosecution guidance for FGM to address common areas of challenge, including the need for expert evidence. The guidance helps prosecutors to navigate the complexities of FGM cases and online training is also available to all prosecutors. The guidance is available here: https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/female-genital-mutilation.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 14 March (HL6096), what assessment they have made of why there have only been two prosecutions for female genital mutilation out of the 229 offences recorded.
Answered by Lord Stewart of Dirleton
The Government is committed to tackling female genital mutilation (FGM) and all forms of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). The familial and hidden nature of FGM presents challenges in bringing a prosecution. Victims are mostly of a young age and vulnerable, and they often do not want to report offences that could lead to them giving evidence against family members. Some identified FGM victims have had the procedure before coming to the UK to live; in these circumstances there may not be jurisdiction to prosecute where the offence had no connection to the UK. Securing prosecutions is important, but it is also essential to protect women and girls at risk and to prevent FGM happening in the first place. FGM Protection Orders, mandatory reporting by front-line staff and an offence of failing to protect a girl from FGM are being used to safeguard those who may be at risk. The Government is funding a feasibility study to explore whether a more rigorous estimation of the prevalence of FGM and forced marriage in England and Wales can be made, to allow a deeper understanding of these crimes. |
The CPS is working closely with stakeholders, including FGM support organisations, to develop a new VAWG Strategy to bring more offenders to justice and to improve victims’ experience of the criminal justice system. It will be published in Summer 2023.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prosecutions were initiated in relation to forced marriage in (1) 2014, (2) 2015, (3) 2016, (4) 2017, (5) 2018, and (5) 2019; and how many such prosecutions were successful in each year.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
From 2014 to date, CPS data for the number of cases prosecuted and the outcomes is:
| 2014-2015 | 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 | 2017-2018 | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 |
Convictions | 29 | 32 | 32 | 37 | 7 | 6 |
Non-Convictions | 17 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 5 | 2 |
Total | 46 | 53 | 44 | 50 | 12 | 8 |
Between 2014 – 15 and 2017 – 18, this data included cases that included the forced marriage flag on the CPS’s case management system as well as cases charged as forced marriage. In 2018 – 19, the CPS conducted quality assurance checks on the guidance for applying the forced marriage flag. The data for that year does not include flagged cases but only cases charged as a forced marriage offence. The most recent data (2019 – 20) includes flagged cases but reflects the updated guidance on applying the flag which has resulted in improved accuracy.