Children Act 1989 (Amendment) (Female Genital Mutilation) Bill [ Lords ]

Maggie Throup Excerpts

Second Reading Committee debate: House of Commons
Monday 25th February 2019 General Committees

[Maggie Throup (Erewash) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to speak in this Committee, which is timely because public awareness of the abhorrent practice of FGM has increased over recent months and years. As the momentum is firmly behind positive action to ensure that women and girls are fully protected, we as legislators have a duty to strengthen the existing laws, to ensure that the courts have the necessary tools and powers not only to prosecute those who facilitate FGM, but to safeguard victims and those at risk. That is what the Bill does.

Prevention is always better than cure. In the Bill we have the opportunity to protect those in our society who do not have a voice or who cannot speak for themselves because they are children. Unlike male circumcision, the World Health Organisation is clear that FGM offers no health benefits but causes serious harm to women and girls. That can include: severe pain; excessive bleeding; risk of infections; urinary, menstrual, sexual and psychological problems; an increased risk of childbirth complications; and, in the most severe cases, death.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Richmond Park indicated, the campaign against FGM in British society is not, as some people have suggested, a war against religious groups or cultural practices; it is simply about doing what is right, so that women and girls can live a normal, healthy life and have control over what happens to their own bodies. We must recognise that for almost all victims of FGM it is not their choice to be cut, because they are mostly minors. In other cases, victims are coerced into the procedure, heavily influenced by dominant family members or those who play central roles in their communities.

Despite significant progress in strengthening anti-FGM laws in recent years, and the steps that agencies such as social services have taken to identify those most at risk, when the Bill was introduced in the other place there had been no successful prosecutions in the UK. It is therefore bitter-sweet that, as the hon. Member for Swansea East highlighted, the first successful prosecution for the offence of FGM, in addition to failing to protect from the risk of genital mutilation, was brought at the beginning of this month. During the trial, the court heard that the accused had coached her daughter to lie to the police so that she would not get caught. That is perhaps the single piece of evidence that best highlights why the Bill is required.

The Bill clearly has cross-party support. If it allows the courts to safeguard a small proportion of girls at risk, it will have done its job. However many girls we will protect through the Bill, that will be far better than what we have now. I am delighted to be able to support it.