Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in relation to female genital mutilation, they are taking steps to investigate additional legislative measures to ensure that more prosecutions are secured.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical and psychological suffering to women and girls.

The Home Office’s FGM Unit works closely with Border Force, who play a vital role in helping to identify and protect potential victims of FGM travelling to and from the UK. Border Force officers work in close partnership with other agencies, including social services and non government organisations. Between June and September, a number of operations took place at airports targeting inbound and outbound flights to and from countries with a high prevalence of FGM, forced marriage and human trafficking.

Information on live police investigations is sensitive and there is therefore a limit to how much information can be shared externally. To help encourage the sharing of best practice, we have recently published statutory multi-agency guidance providing information on this in relation to FGM. The FGM Unit has also recently visited all forces in England and Wales to understand their response to these issues and identify and collate examples of best practice.

We have significantly strengthened the law on FGM, through the Serious Crime Act 2015, to improve protection for victims and those at risk and to break down barriers to prosecution identified by the police and Crown Prosecution Service. Our focus is now on embedding the new legislative measures and we are working with the police, College of Policing, CPS and others to drive progress, including as part of work following HMIC’s review into so-called ‘honour-based’ violence. The Government will however keep the legal framework under constant review.