Thousands of girls in danger of genital mutilation are being failed by the health and justice systems, a coalition of health professionals has warned in a report that recommends aggressive steps to eradicate the practice in the UK.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) should be treated the same as any other kind of child abuse and evidence of it must be reported to the police, according to the report.
Janet Fyle, a policy adviser of the Royal College of Midwives and one of the report's authors, said that just as it was inconceivable that a health worker would not report evidence of child abuse to the police, it should be equally important to report evidence of FGM.
"If we are applying child protection laws, we cannot pick and choose which crimes against children we pursue," she said.
"We are not asking for more money or legislation, we are just asking that child protection laws should work for all children not just some." » | Conal Urquhart | Monday, November 04, 2013
