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Prevention of Female Genital Mutilation in the UK

July 2006

In July 2006 the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), in conjunction with the Foundation for Women’s Health, Research and Development (FORWARD), Africans United against Child Abuse (AFRUCA) and the Somali Information Integration Centre, launched an ongoing awareness and prevention campaign to inform parents, carers and professionals that it is illegal to participate in any sort of arrangement for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) either inside or outside the UK. The BMA is strongly supporting this campaign which reflects Association policy opposing FGM.

FGM is an extremely painful procedure with both immediate and long term health risks, including haemorrhage, tetanus, septicaemia and even death. The procedure is often carried out in unsterile conditions without anaesthesia. In the longer term women experience problems with their sexual, reproductive and general health. FGM has also been shown to increase mortality during childbirth. The maximum penalty in the UK for aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring or carrying out FGM is 14 years of imprisonment.

The number of girls and women world-wide who have undergone genital mutilation is estimated at between 100 and 140 million, with at any one time a further 2 million girls at risk of mutilation. The practice is prevalent in 28 African countries, and some Middle East and South East Asian counties; increasingly it is found across Europe, America, Canada and Australasia. In the UK FGM is seen in some immigrant ethic groups who have often come into the country as refugees; the main groups are from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Yemen. Estimates on the prevalence of FGM in the UK vary, however the Department of Health estimates around 74,000 women in the UK have undergone FGM and a further 7,000 are at risk.

Young girls in the UK living in communities who practice FMG are at increased risk during the long summer holidays, when absence from school will not be noticed and there is the opportunity to travel abroad to undergo mutilation.

The MPS campaign has targeted at risk communities in London through the media, posters and information leaflets to raise awareness of the health and legal implications of FGM. It aims to empower vulnerable children at risk of mutilation and to educate their parents and carers regarding the consequences of the practice. It is also targeting statutory professionals, to ensure they respond appropriately to children at risk.

The BMA has both endorsed the campaign and recently updated its guidance on FGM to reflect recent legal and policy developments - use the link on the right to read the updated guidance.