Britain's first trial for female genital mutilation is expected to take place within weeks, following a concerted campaign to bring the brutal practice to an end.
Despite the procedure being criminalised 28 years ago, the case of an unidentified adult woman who was mutilated twice will be the first female genital mutilation trial to be heard in a UK court.
Experts warned that future prosecutions were being hampered however, as doctors, teachers and social workers are systematically failing to report cases of genital mutilation to the police.
According to the latest research, more than 65,000 girls in the UK are at risk of female genital mutilation.
However there were only 93 reported cases in the UK last year - 69 to the Metropolitan Police and 24 to West Midlands Police.
This is despite an estimated 70 girls, some as young as seven, seeking treatment every month.
Speaking to The Times, Detective Superintendent Jason Ashwood, head of a Scotland Yard team specialising in female genital mutilation cases, said: 'I can hardly think of an example of a doctor calling up to say 'I have someone with me in A&E, please can you call an officer'. That just does not happen'.
'It's clear when professionals are seeing people who are survivors or at risk of FGM, it's not being referred to the police, What we need to do is get out people in the public sector to fulfill their safeguarding responsibilities,' he added.
Mr Ashwood went on to say: 'It is child abuse. Police are just at the end of the line of the process. You can only react to what you find and what you are told.'
+2
Pain: A nine-year-old girl winces in pain after undergoing female genital mutilation (file image)
News of the case coming to court comes as the Crown Prosecution Service revealed it is investigating further 10 cases in London alone after establishing a network of specialist prosecutors in each region of the country.
Of the 10 cases being investigated in London, four relate to incidents where a decision had previously been taken not to prosecute, three are at an 'early advice' stage, and another three are entirely new cases.
Later today misisters prosecutors and law officers will meet to mark Female Genital Mutilation Day and outline the next steps in tackling the crime.
No comments:
Post a Comment