IN THIS week’s column I would like to discuss the heart-breaking issue of female genital mutilation and how we all have a part to play in calling out this abhorrent illegal practise, writes NSPCC regional head Caroline Watts. I was staggered by last week’s revelation from the NSPCC’s FGM Helpline that they had been contacted nearly 650 times last year about female genital mutilation.

In fact contacts to the charity’s dedicated FGM Helpline have risen by 36% as figures leapt from 476 contacts in 2017/18, to 645 last year.

Callers worried that girls were about to undergo, or had suffered, the practice included teachers, doctors, relatives, members of the community, and even a small number of people who have been subjected to FGM.

Since its launch in June 2013, the dedicated line has received 2,747 calls, with almost one in five concerns (512 contacts) being so serious they were referred to external agencies.

One worried relative told the Helpline: “I am calling with concerns for a young child in my family who is due to go to Nigeria. There is a history of young females in my family having FGM and there will be pressures from the wider family in Nigeria to continue this practice. The views of the UK about FGM are dismissed in Nigeria and I am really worried about what will happen when she is there.”

FGM has been a criminal offence in the UK for 34 years, and in 2003 it also became a criminal offence for UK nationals or permanent UK residents to take their child abroad to have female genital mutilation. Victims can suffer from constant pain, infertility, mental health problems, life-threatening problems during pregnancy, and even death from loss of blood.

In March this year a mother was jailed for 11 years after becoming the first person in Britain to be convicted of FGM. The 37-year-old woman was found guilty of cutting her three-year-old daughter in their East London home in 2017. There have been three other prosecutions, but they ended in acquittals.

Since NHS records began in April 2015, 20,440 individual women and girls have been identified as having FGM at some point in their lives.

A concerned parent told our FGM Helpline: “A mother I know is planning on taking her young female children out of the country soon in order for one of them to have FGM. I don’t know which country they are going to but I am aware this is the second attempt at having the procedure performed on the child.

“Last time when concerns were raised the trip was cancelled. I know the mother has undergone the FGM procedure and that she has applied to take the children out of school. The children are aware they are going away but I don’t believe they understand why they are going.”

The 36% rise in contacts to the FGM Helpline could be down to greater awareness, better recognition in spotting the signs, and confidence in voicing concerns. I hope today’s column gives anyone who is reading this and concerned about someone they know, the confidence to speak up. Please do reach out for help if you are worried that a girl is at risk of FGM, because the practice causes long term physical and emotional damage.

We know that those who subject their children to female genital mutilation may do so because of cultural norms or believe it will help improve their daughter’s preparation for marriage and womanhood. Yet it’s clear, from the lasting physical and emotional scars on the victims, that it endangers life.

But it is not just about reporting our concerns when we suspect a child is at risk or we suspect that family members are feeling the pressure to succumb to wider community expectations abroad, there has to be prevention work too. The NSPCC believes that age-appropriate Relationships and Sex Education would help teach young people that FGM is abuse, know how to speak up before it happens, and know how to report it if they have suffered from the practice.

Please believe we understand that it can take a lot of courage to speak out knowing that those you love could be investigated, or you could be shunned, and so it’s no surprise that female genital cutting is cloaked in secrecy. However, there is no room for ambivalence, this is child abuse, it violates the rights of the child, and we need more people in communities to join forces to ensure this dangerous practice is ended once and for all.

Anyone worried about someone who has suffered, or is at risk of, FGM can call the NSPCC for free and anonymously on 0800 028 3550 or email fgmhelp@nspcc.org.uk.