The health and social care system is failing young girls at risk of genital mutilation and more needs done to enact existing child protection laws to stamp out the practice, a new report by health organisations and human rights groups.
More needs to be done by schools, hospitals, healthcare professionals and the justice system to eradicate female genital mutilation, a joint authored report into the practice across England and Wales said today.
Chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) Cathy Warwick said more work was needed to raise awareness of the harm that FGM, classed as torture by the UN, does to the health of girls and women. She said:
"We cannot expect communities or girls and young women to tackle this issue by themselves. FGM robs girls of their childhood and it is an abuse of their human rights.
"This is why we must work collaboratively to ensure that these recommendations, aligned to current policy frameworks, are implemented and monitored.
"FGM is a violation of children and women's human rights, and there is a real need to raise awareness about the damage that FGM can do to young girls and women within the communities that practise it."
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