The National FGM Centre – the UK’s only centre dedicated to dealing with female genital mutilation is in danger of not being able to operate as the government reduces its funding. 

The centre receives referrals on girls at risk from FGM, carries out assessments, takes out protection orders and trains thousands of teachers, social workers, police officers and lawyers. 

Cash has been quietly withdrawn from the unit – set up by Theresa May, when she vowed to end FGM “within a generation”. 

This heartless move has been made despite hundreds of new victims of FGM being identified every month and just one successful prosecution for the practice, despite laws being on the books for 35 years. 

The Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 replaced the Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985, extending the ban on female genital mutilation to address the practice of taking girls abroad to undergo FGM procedures and increase the maximum penalty from 5 to 14 years imprisonment. In 2015 the act was amended to include protection orders to safeguard potential victims of FGM and a legal requirement that healthcare professionals and teachers report cases of FGM in under-18s to the police. It is also illegal for British citizens to take girls overseas during “cutting season”. For thousands of girls in the UK school holidays mean FGM “cutting season”. 

Girls who are cut face a lifetime of physical and emotional pain. This is an example of more hidden abuse. 

UK laws to protect women and children must be implemented fully and impartially, irrespective of the culture, ethnicity, or religious beliefs of the perpetrators. The safety and welfare of the child is paramount.    

FGM is a crime. 

Taking away the centre’s funding shows that the government is not taking FGM seriously. UKIP demands grants to the National FGM Centre be restored.  

Pat Mountain

Abuse and Exploitation Spokeswoman 

Image: Amnon s (Amnon Shavit)., Campaign road sign against female genital mutilation (cropped) 2, CC BY-SA 3.0