A review of the law surrounding Female Genital Mutilation Protection Orders

Home, J; Rowland, AG; Gerry QC, FR; Proudman, C; Walton, K

Abstract

Performing Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is prohibited within the United Kingdom
by the FGM Act 2003. A mandatory reporting duty for FGM requires regulated health
and social care professionals and teachers in England and Wales to report known
cases of FGM in under 18-year-olds to the police. An Application to the Court for an
FGM Protection Order (FGMPO) can be made to keep individual women and girls safe
from FGM. This paper reveals the significant disconnect between the number of
FGMPO applications and known recorded cases of FGM. The introduction of FGMPOs
requires critical exploration as there is insufficient evidence to show that FGMPOs are
effective in protecting women and girls from FGM. It is therefore unclear what impact,
if any, FGMPOs are having upon the protection of women and girls at risk of FGM.
The barriers to the implementation of FGMPOs and possible solutions are discussed.

Citation

Home, J., Rowland, A., Gerry QC, F., Proudman, C., & Walton, K. (2020). A review of the law surrounding Female Genital Mutilation Protection Orders. British Journal of Midwifery, 28(7), 418-429. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjom.2020.28.7.418

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 2, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Jul 1, 2020
• Publication Date: Jul 2, 2020
• Deposit Date: Jun 3, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 1, 2021
• Journal: British Journal of Midwifery
• Print ISSN: 0969-4900
• Electronic ISSN: 2052-4307
• Publisher: MA Healthcare
• Volume: 28
• Issue: 7
• Pages: 418-429
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.12968/bjom.2020.28.7.418
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.12968/bjom.2020.28.7.418
• Related Public URLs: https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/loi/bjom
• Additional Information: Access Information : This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in British Journal of Midwifery, copyright © MA Healthcare, after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.12968/bjom.2020.28.7.418.