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Written Question
Female Genital Mutilation: Prosecutions
Wednesday 29th March 2023

Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 14 March (HL6096), what assessment they have made of why there have only been two prosecutions for female genital mutilation out of the 229 offences recorded.

Answered by Lord Stewart of Dirleton - Advocate General for Scotland

The Government is committed to tackling female genital mutilation (FGM) and all forms of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). The familial and hidden nature of FGM presents challenges in bringing a prosecution. Victims are mostly of a young age and vulnerable, and they often do not want to report offences that could lead to them giving evidence against family members. Some identified FGM victims have had the procedure before coming to the UK to live; in these circumstances there may not be jurisdiction to prosecute where the offence had no connection to the UK. Securing prosecutions is important, but it is also essential to protect women and girls at risk and to prevent FGM happening in the first place. FGM Protection Orders, mandatory reporting by front-line staff and an offence of failing to protect a girl from FGM are being used to safeguard those who may be at risk. The Government is funding a feasibility study to explore whether a more rigorous estimation of the prevalence of FGM and forced marriage in England and Wales can be made, to allow a deeper understanding of these crimes.

The CPS is working closely with stakeholders, including FGM support organisations, to develop a new VAWG Strategy to bring more offenders to justice and to improve victims’ experience of the criminal justice system. It will be published in Summer 2023.


Written Question
Forced Marriage: Prosecutions
Monday 3rd August 2020

Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prosecutions were initiated in relation to forced marriage in (1) 2014, (2) 2015, (3) 2016, (4) 2017, (5) 2018, and (5) 2019; and how many such prosecutions were successful in each year.

Answered by Lord Keen of Elie

From 2014 to date, CPS data for the number of cases prosecuted and the outcomes is:

2014-2015

2015-2016

2016-2017

2017-2018

2018-2019

2019-2020

Convictions

29

32

32

37

7

6

Non-Convictions

17

21

12

13

5

2

Total

46

53

44

50

12

8

Between 2014 – 15 and 2017 – 18, this data included cases that included the forced marriage flag on the CPS’s case management system as well as cases charged as forced marriage. In 2018 – 19, the CPS conducted quality assurance checks on the guidance for applying the forced marriage flag. The data for that year does not include flagged cases but only cases charged as a forced marriage offence. The most recent data (2019 – 20) includes flagged cases but reflects the updated guidance on applying the flag which has resulted in improved accuracy.