Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 2016-09-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether new guidance has been issued to the police on female genital mutilation following the Serious Crime Act 2015, and if so, when.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical and psychological suffering to women and girls.
On 1 April we published multi-agency guidance on FGM for all professionals which we have put on a statutory footing for the first time. The guidance outlines the new measures to tackle FGM introduced by the Serious Crime Act 2015, and includes information specific to the police.
The College of Policing published Authorised Professional Practice (APP) for the police on investigating FGM in March 2015. The APP includes guidance on how officers can spot the signs of FGM, the reasons why it is practised, how it is carried out and the role of the police in tackling it.
