There has been legislation in this country to criminalise female genital mutilation (FGM) for 27 years and not one successful prosecution. Three cases referred to the Crown Prosection Service (CPS) in the last two years had significant evidential difficulties and were not pursued. Last week the Association of Women Barristers (AWB) and the CPS held a joint seminar to address these issues.
In the past, slicing the genitalia of girls was a hidden problem, not so now. At the FGM seminar, Dr Comfort Momoh, an FGM midwife, described the haemorrhaging, chronic pain, bladder, menstrual problems, and psychological harm, that women and girls suffer, after having their genital areas altered as babies and sometimes cut open on their wedding nights.
According to the Home Office website it is estimated that up to 24,000 girls under the age of 15 are at risk of FGM in the UK and between 100m to 140m girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences.
In France there have been some successful prosecutions in and around Paris, partly due to a high volume of mutilated women and girls and partly due to better reporting and investigatory procedures.
In August the new constitution of Somalia prohibited FGM on the basis that: “circumcision of girls is a cruel and degrading customary practice, and is tantamount to torture”. And in October, African member states of the UN submitted a draft resolution to the UN General Assembly urging states to condemn FGM and all harmful practices that affect women and girls and to “take all necessary measures, including enacting and enforcing legislation to prohibit FGM”.
A worldwide ban on FGM would demonstrate international commitment to the rights of women and girls. However, successful prosecution of child abuse, depends on there being reports to the police in relation to those at risk or those mutilated, followed by a proactive investigation.
Following the implementation of the Female Genital Mutilation Act in March 2004, it is an offence to carry out any type of FGM. It is also an offence to assist a woman or girl to mutilate her own genitals, or to aid, abet, counsel, or procure, a person who is not a UK national or permanent UK resident to do a relevant act of FGM outside the UK. These offences only apply if the act of mutilation is done to a UK national or permanent UK resident, so there are some limitations in relation to migrants.
The FGM legislation is international. Any act done outside the UK by a UK national or permanent UK resident will constitute an offence and the UK courts will have jurisdiction. The maximum sentence is 14 years imprisonment.
The UK government’s multi-agency practice guidelines assert: “FGM is a form of child abuse ...and therefore should be dealt with as part of existing child and adult protection procedures.” The guidance is intended for teachers, health professionals, police officers and social workers. There is no excuse not to be aware and awareness is needed to identify victims.
The CPS has worked tirelessly to bring about change in law and policy in relation to violence against women and girls. In a speech in July, the DPP, Kier Starmer QC, welcomed improvements in prosecution statistics for domestic violence and other offences where women are disproportionately the victims. He acknowledged however that, so far, there have been no prosecutions in relation to FGM. It is plain that there is real motivation to change that situation.
So, what can we do? There are all sorts of obstacles from identifying a victim, securing a medical examination and then persuading witnesses to divulge who was responsible. Where there is medical evidence, the issue is likely to be identification of those adults involved. The issues are culturally sensitive and in various communities, those investigating will have to achieve cooperation and trust, particularly when inviting a child to give evidence against her parents.
Principles of fairness entrenched in our system of justice should enable suspects to be fairly tried even if it becomes necessary to rely on evidence of frightened or absent witnesses. FGM is one of the situations where the hearsay provisions could be of real use. In international cases, cooperation will be vital.
In the end, whatever the UN response, sometimes the best message is the publicity that follows a criminal trial. These will be difficult prosecutions but they are possible with a bit of will and a lot of effort. The issue is important enough to be a priority in a system which requires justice especially for the most vulnerable of children.