End FGM
Female genital mutilation is a hideous crime which almost always goes unreported. Around 24,000 girls are currently at risk of FGM across the UK which means that this is a problem that cannot be ignored in Staffordshire.
Standing against female genital mutilation
The Commissioner’s Office received additional funding from the Home Office Violence against Women and Girls Service Transformation Fund in March 2017 to develop and implement a Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) service in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
The specialist service is now in operation to tackle FGM across the region. Run by the National FGM Centre, a partnership between Barnardo’s and the Local Government Association, the free service for adults and children – male and female – provides:
- Specialist support in the community for families at risk of FGM;
- Advice and training for professionals, including social workers who work with children and families who have been identified as at risk of FGM;
- Counselling and therapeutic support for victims, including referrals to other services such as health services and clinics;
- Educating and raising awareness within communities affected by FGM, with the aim of changing attitudes and beliefs around the procedure;
- ‘Community champions’ within the region, recruited from volunteers who have been involved with or supported by the service, to help raise awareness of the health implications for those who undergo the procedure;
- The creation of a multi-agency FGM Steering Group which reports to the Domestic Abuse Commissioning and Development Board.
It is a criminal offence in the UK to perform, or to assist in carrying out, female genital mutilation.It usually happens between the ages of four and ten and can have serious consequences for a woman’s health and in some instances lead to death.
Barnardo’s and Staffordshire Police joined forces with a number of organisations; Border Force, the National Crime Agency and other Police Forces across the West Midlands, to implement Operation Limelight at Birmingham Airport in August. The joint operation is a proactive airside operation targeting inbound and outbound flights to ‘countries of prevalence for FGM’.