Baroness Rendell of Babergh asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many
prosecutions there have been under the Female Genital Mutilation Act, which
received Royal Assent on 3 March 2004.
The Attorney-General (Lord Goldsmith): My Lords, there have been no such prosecutions
although there are some ongoing investigations. But the success of the Act is
not necessarily to be measured solely in terms of
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the number of prosecutions. Prosecution after the fact does not relieve the
victim of a lifetime of pain and discomfort. Ideally, we want to obviate the
need for prosecution by preventing this practice occurring in the first place.
To that end, the 2003 Act is intended to send a powerful message of deterrence.
Baroness Rendell of Babergh: My Lords, I thank my noble and learned friend for his Answer. Does he agree
that part of the reason for there being no prosecutions may be the widespread
ignorance among the public and some health professionals that female genital
mutilation is against the law? Is he aware that, in a research by the Development Support Agency, 50 per cent
of those interviewed did not know that female genital mutilation was an illegal
practice and 31 per cent of those questioned said that they did not care if it
was and still intended to go on doing it? Is the Attorney-General aware also
that of 50 midwives attending a recent midwifery conference, fewer than five knew that female genital mutilation was against the law?
Lord Goldsmith: My
Lords, I absolutely agree with my noble friend that raising awareness,
particularly among the practising communities, and educating them about the
dangers and unacceptability of this brutal practice is essential. I had not
been aware of the details that the noble Baroness has just mentioned until she
kindly provided them in advance.
The Government are doing a lot to raise awareness.
They are promoting work through FORWARD, which is the leading body actively
working with communities to bring an end to the practice; the ACCM, the Agency
for Culture and Change Management; and BWHAFS, Black Women's Health and Family
Support, which is giving significant financial support. I agree with my noble
friend that it is important that that work is continued. To that end, I have
invited those groups to meet me along with the FGM group of the Women's
National Commission to discuss the issues further.