Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent female genital mutilation in communities affected by that practice.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) 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 has provided £100,000 through the FGM Community Engagement Initiative. The fund was open to organisations across all parts of the UK to bid for up to £10,000 to carry out community work to raise awareness of FGM amongst women already affected by FGM, young at-risk girls, as well as men in the community.

The organisations that were funded were:

Africa Advocacy Foundation;

All FM;

BAWSO (Black Association of Women Step Out);

Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid;

FORWARD (Foundation for Women’s Health Research and Development);

Integrate Bristol;

Katherine Low Settlement;

Manchester BME Network;

Manor Garden Welfare Trust;

NESTAC (New Step for African Community);

Safe Hands for Mothers;

and Springfield Community Flat

The Government’s specialist Home Office-led FGM Unit launched on 5 December 2014. The Unit provides outreach support to local areas and communities in England and Wales, coordinates cross-Government activity, acts as a hub for effective practice and works with the police, voluntary and community sector, survivors and professionals to develop policies and practices to end FGM.

Additionally, through the Serious Crime Act 2015, we are introducing a new mandatory reporting duty which requires known cases of FGM to be reported to the police.