Almost new 200 cases of FGM are reported every WEEK in England - with London home to more than half of victims
- Harmful practice involves partial or total removal of female genitalia
- From January to March 2016 there were 1,242, new cases of FGM
- 29 of the females who attended hospital or GPs were under the age of 18
- 7 women or girls affected reported the illegal practice was carried out in UK
Female Genital Mutilation is a harmful
traditional practice that involves the partial or total removal of the
female genitalia and is illegal in the UK
Nearly 200 cases of female genital mutilation are being reported every week in England,new figures have revealed.
More than 1,200 patients were treated between January and March - the equivalent of almost 14 women a day.
Figures
released today reveal there were 1,242 newly-reported cases of FGM in
England - a slight decrease from 1,316 between October and December last
year.
And at least seven of the women and girls reported the procedure had been carried out illegally in the UK.
FGM is a harmful traditional practice that involves the partial or total removal of the female genitalia.
The
practise is illegal in the UK and it is also illegal to take a female
abroad for the purposes of FGM with a maximum jail term for carrying out
or enabling FGM of 14 years.
Since
April 2014, the NHS has been required to collect data on female genital
mutilation (FGM) from women attending hospitals, GP surgeries and
mental health centres.
Other key findings from the Health and Social Care Information Centre report includes:
- Of the 1,242 new cases, 29 females were aged under 18 when they were first seen
- 11 women or girls affected were reported to have been born in the UK
- London accounts for more than half (52 per cent) of newly recorded cases and 60 per cent of total attendances
- Somalia, in Eastern Africa, accounts for more than a third of all newly recorded women and girls with a known country of birth
Women
and girls were most likely to self-report that they had suffered FGM
with almost three-quarters presenting themselves to health
professionals.
Some 81 NHS trusts and 12 GP practices submitted data for one or more FGM attendances.
Tanya
Barron, CEO of global children's charity Plan UK, which works to combat
FGM worldwide, says the new statistics highlight the extent of the
problem in England.
'These latest figures show we still have a way to go in the struggle to end FGM.
'Much
progress has been made, not least at community level, in changing
attitudes around the world and helping tackle the problem where it
occurs.
'But more needs to be done both here in the UK and abroad to stop this fundamental human rights abuse.
'Only by empowering millions of girls and young women globally with quality education and other support will we end FGM.'
Supermodel Waris Dirie, who was circumcised and had her vagina sewn up, campaigns against FGM
Last
year, Home Secretary Theresa May said that in the UK, 137,000 women are
living with the consequences of FGM and a 60,000 are at risk.
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