Annual statistical report into Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) published

23 Jul 2020 11:58 AM

NHS Digital has today published the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Enhanced Dataset annual report 2019/20.

Published alongside the report is a two-page summary of data since the Enhanced Dataset collection began in April 2015.

The cumulative summary report identifies what proportion of women in the dataset have key pieces of information recorded.

The key pieces of information are:

• The type of FGM¹ (including sub-type where relevant)
• The age when the FGM was undertaken
• The country where the FGM was undertaken

The summary report also looks at what proportion of women and girls that had their FGM carried out in the UK, had a Type 4 genital piercing as an adult (18 and over).  This analysis is limited to those women and girls that have all three key pieces of information present since all three are needed to determine this.

The data, on the recording of FGM, collected in the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Enhanced Dataset is submitted by healthcare providers² in England, including acute hospital providers, mental health providers and GP practices. Providers record information on women and girls who have undergone FGM and who have had an attendance with the NHS where that FGM is relevant. 

The Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Enhanced Dataset report features counts of:

• Distinct individuals – referring to all women and girls seen in the reporting period where FGM was identified. Each person is only counted once.
• Total attendances³ – all attendances where FGM is identified or a procedure to treat FGM is undertaken. Inclusion in this category does not necessarily mean that the FGM has recently been undertaken.

The FGM Enhanced Dataset cannot measure the total prevalence of FGM in England, only those cases of FGM recorded since the collection began on 1 April 2015.

Other data in this publication includes:

• Age at attendance
• Country of birth
• Clinical treatment function where attendance occurred
• Whether deinfibulation⁴ was undertaken at the attendance.

Read the full report

Female Genital Mutilation April 2019 – March 2020

Notes for Editors

1. The four FGM Types defined by the World Health Organisation (https://www.who.int/) are:

• Type 1: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and/or the prepuce (clitoridectomy).
• Type 2: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (excision).
• Type 3: Narrowing of the vaginal orifice with creation of a covering seal by cutting and appositioning the labia minora and/or the labia majora, with or without excision of the clitoris (infibulation).
• Type 4: All other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, including pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterization.

The FGM Enhanced Dataset includes these additional categories:

• History of Type 3: Current state where a woman or girl had FGM Type 3 but has since been deinfibulated.
• Type 3 - Reinfibulation Identified: Current state where a woman or girl has been closed previously, opened and is currently closed again.
• Unknown: When the FGM category could not be ascertained. It is acknowledged that even for experienced healthcare workers who frequently see women and girls with FGM it can still often be difficult to determine the type of FGM that had been undertaken.

2. There are 204 NHS trusts, 1,545 GP practices and 19 other organisations registered on the FGM Enhanced Dataset collection system.
3. Total Attendances refers to all attendances in the reporting period where FGM was identified or a procedure for FGM was undertaken. Women and girls may have one or more attendances in the reporting period. This category includes both newly recorded and previously identified women and girls.
4. Deinfibulation is the surgical procedure to open up the closed vagina of a woman or girl with FGM Type 3. Deinfibulation is often undertaken to facilitate delivery during childbirth.