Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003
Home Department
John Spellar (Warley, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been (a) charged and (b) convicted under the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003.
Lynne Featherstone (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Equalities Office; Hornsey and Wood Green, Liberal Democrat)
Information on the number of people charged under the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 is not centrally held. There had been no prosecutions under the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 in England and Wales, from its introduction in March 2004 up to the end of 2010.
Research suggests that there may be a number of barriers to prosecution, including pressure from the family or wider community to remain silent. Multi-agency practice guidelines on handling cases of female genital mutilation were published by the Home Office in February 2011; and the Crown Prosecution Service published guidance for prosecutors in September 2011.