Fall in FGM victims in Nottinghamshire seen by NHS services

FGM, where female genitals are deliberately cut, removed or changed without a medical justification, is most commonly inflicted on girls under 15, particularly from Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Forward, an African women-led organisation working to end violence against women and girls, said the crime is a "hidden form of violence" and added current data does not capture the true size of the problem in the UK.

NHS Digital figures show about 95 patients with FGM injuries in the former NHS Nottinghamshire clinical commissioning group area were seen by health professionals throughout 2022, down from about 100 the year before.

About 55 of the patients last year had their injuries recorded for the first time.

Across England, about 6,855 patients with identified FGM attended NHS services last year, up from 6,245 in 2021.

A Forward spokesman said current data fails to capture the true size of the problem in the UK: “The majority of this data represents maternity cases, because girls under 18 years are less likely to access much-needed support services, due to fear of being reported as part of the mandatory reporting criteria.

“The UK government approach to tackling FGM fails to address prevention of FGM and this data again demonstrates the tip of the problem of FGM in the UK.

The charity said there is “no clear understanding” of what progress has been to tackle FGM in the UK and called on the Government to review the impact of existing policies.

In the UK, FGM has been banned since 1985 and classed as a serious crime since 2015, but the practice remains widespread, especially in some African countries.

More than half of patients last year did not state what country the harmful procedure was performed in. A significant proportion, 22 per cent, said they were injured in East Africa, 9 per cent in Western Africa, 8 per cent in Northern Africa, 5 per cent in Western Asia and 2 per cent in the UK.

A Home Office spokesman said: “Female genital mutilation is a crime and is child abuse. We are committed to tackling this awful practice and to do everything we can to protect victims and prevent these crimes from happening.”