NHS reports rise in cases of female genital mutilation
The number of hospital and GP visits related to female genital mutilation (FGM) has increased by 15% in the past year, NHS figures show.
According to the figures for the 2023-2024 budget year, there were 14,355 visitors. NHS Digital Statisticscompared to 12,475 the year before.
There was also an increase in the number of individual women and girls attending NHS services related to FGM, from 5,870 in 2022-23 to 6,655 in 2023-24. Visits are another measure, as an individual can have multiple visits in a year.
FGM is a procedure where the female genitals are deliberately cut, injured or altered when there is no medical reason for it. The procedure has been illegal in the UK since 1985 and in 2003 the law was tightened to prevent girls from travelling from the UK and undergoing FGM abroad.
Since the NHS began collecting statistics on FGM in 2015, a total of 37,615 individual women and girls who have undergone FGM have been reported by NHS Trusts and GP practices, and there have been a total of 102,155 consultations related to the condition.
Barnardo’s National VGV Centre was established in 2015 to support people who have been affected by FGM. The organisation works with local authorities, the police and the NHS to identify girls at risk.
Rohma Ullah, head of the National FGM Centre at Barnardo’s, said there is often a lag between when FGM actually takes place and when it is recorded, as it is most often discovered during midwife or gynaecologist appointments.
“Female genital mutilation is a form of child abuse that has a devastating and deadly impact on the lives of girls and women. At the heart of every case is a girl who has been cut,” Ullah said.
She added: “More needs to be done to protect girls – and to provide support to everyone affected. That support is simply not available at the moment.
“We know that the prevalence of FGM should be treated as a public health issue. Change must come from working within communities affected by it and local authorities must develop strategies that enable dialogue with their communities.
“It is also vital to introduce mandatory training for all those working to support children and vulnerable adults. This training should focus on how to recognise the signs of girls who may be at risk or who have undergone FGM – and how to alert the relevant support services.”
In 2019, the NHS announced the opening of eight specialist FGM walk-in clinics across England, providing thousands of women with access to support.
In 2023, a woman was found guilty of handing over a three-year-old British girl for female genital mutilation (FGM) during a trip to Kenya, the first conviction of its kind.
NHS England has been contacted for comment.