Bury Integrated Safeguarding Partnership
Working together to safeguard adults and children in Bury
Female genital mutilation (FGM)
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) sometimes referred to as female circumcision, refers to procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs for non medical reasons. The practice is illegal in the UK.
Key facts from the World Health Organisation
- The procedure has no health benefits for girls and women
- Procedures can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating and later cysts, infections, infertility as well as complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths
- More than 125 million girls and women alive today have been cut in the 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East where FGM is concentrated
- Mostly carried out on young girls sometime between infancy and age 15
- Is a violation of the human rights of girls and women
Mandatory reporting duty for FGM
On Saturday 31 October 2015, a new mandatory reporting duty for FGM was introduced. The duty requires regulated health and social care professionals and teachers in England and Wales to report known cases of FGM in under 18s to the police. Further details can be found in the Gov.uk - Home Office Guidance on Mandatory reporting of FGM. Please also refer to the Greater Manchester Safeguarding Procedures - FGM.
Training
A free e-learning package for professionals is available via the Training webpage.