Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to increase education and awareness of female genital mutilation in the UK.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. The Government is clear that we will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong suffering to women and girls.

The Home Office’s FGM unit delivers nationwide outreach on FGM. The Unit is providing outreach support to local areas and working to raise awareness of resources available to professionals, including training, best practice examples and information on legislation and policy. Resources include an e-learning package, various communication materials such as leaflets and posters highlighting the legislation and health impacts of FGM, and an online resource pack for local areas.

We ran a communications campaign between October 2018 and February 2019 to tackle FGM. The campaign sought to prevent FGM by changing attitudes among affected communities through raising awareness of the negative long-term health consequences of FGM. The campaign also raised awareness that FGM is a crime and encouraged communities to report via the NSPCC’s FGM helpline. The campaign supported the objectives of the cross-government Violence Against Women and Girls strategy.

Earlier this year, the Home Office trained around 1,300 professionals across the country on FGM and forced marriage protection orders. The events raised awareness of the scope and effectiveness of the orders, along with a practical guide to applying, with the aim of encouraging professionals to always consider them in any safeguarding plans.