Female Genital Mutilation
Baroness Sugg Excerpts(2 days, 3 hours ago)
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Lord Hermer (Lab)
My Lords, I am grateful for the noble Lord’s question and agree with the points that he has made.
Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab Co-op)
We will hear from the noble Baroness opposite.
Baroness Sugg (Con)
My Lords, your Lordships supported an amendment to the Health and Care Act 2022 to make virginity testing and hymenoplasty illegal, as part of broader efforts to address violence against women. Like female genital mutilation, these practices are typically hidden within families and communities, making evidence hard to gather. There have been police investigations here, some of which are ongoing, but there have been no convictions here yet. What specific steps are the Government taking to encourage reporting, and how are they working to build stronger evidence?
Lord Hermer (Lab)
I thank the noble Baroness for her question. This is, of course, another aspect of honour-based abuse, and I am sure the whole House agrees that there is no honour in honour-based abuse. In the criminal justice sphere, to help to bring stronger cases in this area, the CPS and the police have a joint protocol on honour-based abuse, and the College of Policing has just published guidance for managing these types of offences. Separately, the Department of Health and Social Care has multi-agency guidance available for organisations and anyone who may come into contact with women and girls affected by virginity testing and hymenoplasty. It sets out the steps that an organisation should follow, including safeguarding procedures where it deems someone to be at risk of those abhorrent practices. As with FGM, we are determined to do more across the system, not just, but very much including, the criminal justice system. We are convinced that successful prosecutions not only amount to justice for the victims but send a clear deterrent message to society.