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Female Genital Mutilation

Answer

There is a wealth of guidance and best practice available to health professionals on female genital mutilation (FGM), thus there is no one ““common code of conduct”” in relation to this specific issue. These include guidance produced by HM Government, Multi-Agency Practice Guidelines: Female Genital Mutilation, published in 2011. This includes a chapter on guidance for social workers and underlines the importance of applying child safeguarding procedures in order to minimise or prevent harm to the child or children. The guidance advises that when there is a referral to children’s social care, a strategy meeting should be convened with relevant agencies, in order to agree a plan to protect the child. It is suggested that information should be provided to the family on the risks associated with FGM and that securing parental consent for any action plan is desirable. If a girl faces the immediate risk of undergoing FGM, then an emergency protection order can be obtained. The department produced a DVD on FGM in 2006 which gives a general introduction to the health implications of female genital mutilation. It includes interviews with women who have undergone FGM and outlines the appropriate response from healthcare professionals. Clinical guidance has also been produced by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists—Female Genital Mutilation and its Management: Green-top Guideline No. 53; by the British Medical Association—Child Protection: A Toolkit for Doctors, 2009, and Female Genital Mutilation: Caring for Patients and Safeguarding Children, July 2011; and by the Royal College of Nursing—Female Genital Mutilation: An RCN Educational Resource for Nursing and Midwifery Staff, 2006. Communications about FGM are key to bringing the issue to the attention of more people. More than 40,000 leaflets and 40,000 posters have been circulated to schools, health services, charities and community groups around the country. The Department for Education has included advice on FGM in its guidance for schools, Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education, 2006. It has also included advice on FGM for the wider children’s workforce and for all those involved in safeguarding children in Working Together to Safeguard Children: A Guide to Inter-agency Working to Safeguard and Promote the Welfare of Children, 2010. In addition, the Kids Taskforce was commissioned by the Home Office to develop a short film and accompanying teachers’ resource pack to be available for use in secondary schools. The film will be aimed at young people and explain what FGM is, its illegality and lack of religious basis, its physical and mental health consequences and what steps young people should take if they are worried about themselves or someone else undergoing FGM. The accompanying teachers’ resource pack is designed to support teachers to deliver a lesson on FGM. It will contain detailed lesson plans and relevant and applicable classroom materials, such as students’ worksheets, quizzes, debate topics and small group-work activities.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

11474; 729 c464-5WA

Session

2010-12

Notes

Answer received between Monday 1 August 2011 and Monday 8 August 2011.

Subjects

General practitioners Female genital mutilation Nurses Teachers Training

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk