LGA responds to latest FGM figures

7 Dec 2017 09:37 AM

Cllr Anita Lower, Deputy Chair of the Safer and Stronger Communities Board at the LGA and Chair of the Advisory Board for the National FGM Centre, run by the LGA in partnership with Barnardo’s, responded to new quarterly statistics released yesterday by NHS Digital about the number of identified cases of FGM in England from July to September 2017

“The fact that there have been more than 14,000 new cases of FGM identified over the past two years highlights the scale of the challenge facing all agencies seeking to stop this horrific form of abuse.

“While it is encouraging that newly recorded cases of FGM have fallen slightly since the previous quarter, it is still concerning that there were more than 1,000 such cases, including 15 involving girls under the age of 18 and 20 cases where the procedure was undertaken in the UK.

“It is vital that health trusts and GP practices continue to submit FGM data to help build reliable and accurate figures reflecting the prevalence of FGM across the country.

“In the areas where the National FGM Centre is working, social work provision to girls and families affected by FGM has been quickly and significantly improved through the intervention of the Centre’s social workers, who are embedded in council safeguarding teams. Hundreds of referrals have been received in areas that previously only recorded a handful of cases each year.

“The Centre’s pioneering prevention and intervention work is having an effective impact on reducing FGM by modelling good practice, sharing expert knowledge and building trusting relationships with families and communities with which they are engaged.”

LGA publication: Community engagement on female genital mutilation

Notes

The NHS Digital quarterly figures show that there 1,060 newly recorded cases of FGM (fewer than the 1,255 in the previous quarter) in England from July to September 2017, of which 15 cases involved girls under the age of 18 (including five aged under 10) and 20 cases where FGM was undertaken in the UK.