A case of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is being reported every 96 minutes in the UK

Statistics have shown that a case of female genital mutilation (FGM) is reported in England every 96 minutes, according to official health figures. Some 5,484 instances of the ‘brutal’ and potentially lethal practice were reported from October 2014 to September 2015, and experts say many other victims go unreported. It just goes to show that FGM is not an act specific to Africa and Asia alone but the world as a whole. Tanya Barron, chief executive of Plan UK charity which campaigns against female genital mutilation (FGM), said: 'Recognising that FGM is a fundamental abuse of girls’ rights is the first step to ending the practice.’

She warned that many more ‘unseen’ cases are not found in data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre. It covers FGM newly discovered by medical professionals. Many relate to women cut years ago. The data, released ahead of tomorrow’s International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM, show 1,385 cases were reported between July and September. Some 758 were in London with the next biggest cluster (227) in the Midlands and east of England. FGM is mostly done for cultural and religious reasons in Africa and Asia. It is illegal here in non-medical instances, but the first prosecution ended when a doctor was cleared last year.
Nimco Ali, who set up the Daughters of Eve charity which works to protect women from FGM and was herself was cut as a seven year-old while on holiday in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa, said: ‘FGM is a brutal practice, but it is also a very simple one to end. If you stop one woman having FGM done to her then you break that link and prevent is being done to the next generation.
Human rights organisation Equality Now has previously estimated that 137,000 women and girls in England and Wales have been cut. Spokesman Brendan Wynne said the HSCIC figures are ‘just the tip of the iceberg’.
He said bringing in mandatory reporting of cases of the practice by healthcare professionals - which came into force in October - is a crucial step in tackling the practice, but called for more education in schools.

Source: DailyMail