3 July 2014
New report to UK Parliament: FGM is a national scandal
We welcome today’s report by the Home Affairs Committee of the House of Commons “Female genital mutilation: the case for a national action plan”. The Committee recommends the immediate implementation of a national action plan and specific steps to respond to the growing crisis on FGM in UK.
Earlier this year, along with other organisations working to end FGM, we submitted written evidence to the Committee’s inquiry on FGM and we are pleased that careful consideration has been given to the submissions. In particular we thank the inquiry for hearing the voices of FGM survivors as well as experts from across the sector. The report acknowledges that the British Government has failed many girls, that is not acceptable and must not continue to be the case. As Keith Vaz, the Committee Chair commented, “FGM is an ongoing national scandal which is likely to have resulted in the preventable mutilation of thousands of girls to whom the state owed a duty of care.”
The Committee has rightly recommended an urgent action including a national action plan which many of us campaigning on this issue have been calling for. There needs to be an over-arching framework which allows the many agencies involved in tackling FGM to work effectively together.
"This report is an important step in tackling FGM in the UK," Says Ann-Marie Wilson, Executive Director of 28 Too Many. "We support the recommendations which now need to be quickly implemented.There also needs to be clearer guidelines for professionals, especially on reporting FGM and Government needs to respond to the need to fund third sector community projects which the report say recognises as vital."
28 Too Many is a charity working to end female genital mutilation (FGM). Our primary focus is on research and enabling local initiatives to end FGM in the 28 African countries where it is practised and across the diaspora. We also network and advocate for the global eradication of FGM, working closely with other charities/NGOs in the violence against women sector.