Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to tackle female genital mutilation.

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 Government significantly strengthened the law in 2015 to improve protection for victims and those at risk, and to break down the barriers to prosecution.

The Home Office’s FGM unit delivers nationwide outreach on FGM, speaking at awareness-raising events across the UK. We continue to provide free resources for frontline professionals, including: a resource pack, e-learning, statutory multi-agency guidance and a range of communication materials.

Between October 2018 and February 2019, the Home Office ran a communications campaign to tackle FGM, called ‘Let’s Protect Our Girls’. The campaign sought to prevent FGM by changing attitudes among affected communities and by raising awareness of the negative long-term health consequences of FGM. The campaign also made clear that FGM is a crime and encouraged communities to report via the NSPCC’s FGM helpline.

Last year, the Home Office trained around 1,300 professionals across the country on how to apply for FGM and Forced Marriage Protection Orders. The events raised awareness of the scope and effectiveness of the orders, with the aim of encouraging professionals to always consider them in any safeguarding plans.

Operation Limelight, a joint operation between Border Force and the police, continues to raise awareness of FGM and forced marriage at the border in order to safeguard potential victims.