Contents
Overview
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is the partial or total removal of external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. It’s also known as female circumcision or cutting. Religious, social or cultural reasons are sometimes given for FGM. FGM is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and age 15 and can happen both in the UK and abroad.
However, FGM is child abuse. It’s dangerous and a criminal offence.
There are four main types of FGM:
Type 1 (clitoridectomy) – removing part or all of the clitoris
Type 2 (excision) – removing part or all of the clitoris and the inner labia, with or without the removal of the labia majora
Type 3 (infibulation) – narrowing the vaginal opening by creating a seal, formed by cutting and repositioning the labia
Type 4- other harmful procedures to the female genitals, including pricking, piercing, cutting, scraping or burning the area.
There are no medical reasons to carry out FGM. It doesn’t enhance fertility and it doesn’t make childbirth safer. It is used to control female sexuality and can cause severe and long-lasting damage to physical and emotional health such as
- Severe and/or constant pain
- Pain or difficulty having sex
- Infertility
- Bleeding, cysts and abscesses
- Infections such as tetanus, HIV, hepatitis B and C
- Difficulties urinating or incontinence
- Problems during pregnancy and childbirth
- Organ damage
- Mental health problems
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is illegal in England and Wales under the FGM Act (2003). It is a form of child abuse and violence against women. A mandatory reporting duty requires teachers to report ‘known’ cases of FGM in under 18s, which are identified in the course of their professional work, to the police.
What should staff be vigilant for?
It is essential that all staff and volunteers are aware of possible signs and symptoms of FGM that may include:
- A long holiday abroad or going ‘home’ to visit family
- Relative or cutter visiting from abroad
- A special occasion or ceremony to ‘become a woman’ or get ready for marriage
- Female relative being cut – a sister, cousin, or an older female relative such as a mother or aunt
- Running away from, or planning to run away from home
- Behaviour changes on return from a holiday abroad
- Bladder or menstrual problems
- A reluctance to go to the doctors
- Finding it difficult to sit still and looking uncomfortable
- Complaining about pain between the legs
- Mentioning something secretive somebody did to them
- Difficulty walking and standing
- Secretive behaviour, including isolating themselves from the group
- Reluctance to take part in physical activity
- Repeated urinal tract infection
- Spending longer in the toilet
- Disclosure
How to report
As with Forced Marriage there is the ‘One Chance’ rule. It is essential that settings /schools/colleges take action without delay and make a referral to children’s services through MASH, or the Police should their concern be such that the child is at immediate risk of harm or has already been subject to this procedure.
Any concerns should be shared with the designated safeguarding lead.
If a teacher is informed by a girl under 18 that an act of FGM has been carried out on her or a teacher observes physical signs which appear to show that an act of FGM has been carried out on a girl under 18 and they have no reason to believe the act was necessary for the girl’s physical or mental health or for purposes connected with labour or birth, the teacher should personally make a report to the police force in which the girl resides by calling 101.
Parents or carers should not be informed of any such enquiry if FGM is the cause for concern.
There are no circumstances in which a teacher or other member of staff should examine a girl.