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MPs led by Leicester's Keith Vaz call for action on FGM

The failure to tackle the growing practice of female genital mutiliation is a 'national scandal', according to a committee of MPs led by Leicester's Keith Vaz. The report says an estimated 65,000 girls under 13 are at risk of FGM.

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Leicester MP Keith Vaz leads calls for action on FGM

In a highly critical report MPs have condemned what they say is the scandalous failure to protect girls in the East Midlands from becoming victims of female genital mutilation.

The estimate is that many thousands are affected by the practice which has been illegal in this country since 1985.

The Leicester MP and Chair of the Home Affairs Committee Keith Vaz has called for a national plan of action. He says FGM is a severe form of child abuse which can never be dismissed as "cultural - it's criminal". Our Political Correspondent Alison Mackenzie reports.

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Approx 170,000 women in UK 'have undergone FGM'

An estimated 170,000 women and girls in the UK have been subjected to FGM, according to a report from MPs.

The Home Affairs committee also found:

  • In two London boroughs almost one in 10 girls are born to mothers who have suffered the procedure and are therefore themselves at risk.
  • FGM is most commonly carried out on girls between the ages of five and eight.
  • In some cases it is carried out by a health professional, but is more commonly undertaken by a traditional practitioner with no formal training, without anaesthetic, using knives, scissors or even pieces of glass.
  • The committee said there was still very little information on the girls most at risk.
  • The immediate effects can include severe pain, bleeding, shock, infection and occasionally death.
  • In the long term, many women and girls experience mental health problems, such as depression and post-traumatic stress.
  • Police in the UK have investigated more than 200 cases over the last five years.

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MPs blame courts and police for poor FGM record

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Association of Chief Police Officers (AOCPO) have been "too passive" and lacked leadership when tackling FGM, MPs said.

In a damning report into UK efforts to stop the practice, MPs said:

One reason behind the UK's poor record is that the police and Crown Prosecution Service have historically been far too passive in their approach to FGM by waiting for survivors to come forward.

Yet the nature of FGM means that it is unlikely that this will happen.

It is unacceptable that those in a position with the most access to evidence of these crimes do nothing to help the victims and those at risk.

A key objective for a national action plan on FGM must be to overcome practitioners' own reluctance to address FGM so that they respond to it in the same way as other forms of child abuse.

– Keith Vaz
  1. National

MPs hit out at failure to tackle FGM

The failure to curb the growing practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) in the UK is a "national scandal", according to a group of influential MPs.

Read: Home Office confirms mother fearing FGM deported to Nigeria

Some of the tools used in FGM which were surrendered in Tanzania. Credit: PA

The Home Affairs select committee criticised authorities for not intervening to help thousands of girls who were subjected to "severe physical child abuse".

In a hard-hitting report, the cross-party groups of MPs estimated 65,000 under the age of 13 were at risk of FGM.

The committee blamed a "misplaced concern for cultural sensitivities over the rights of the child" for authorities failing to protect youngsters from the practice, which is largely associated with Africa.

While FGM has been outlawed in Britain since 1985, the first prosecution only took place this year - days before the Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders was due to appear before the committee.

Read: Police target 'high risk' flights in fight against FGM

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