Peer-reviewed article
A review of the law surrounding female genital mutilation protection orders
Joseph Home, Andrew Graeme Rowland, Felicity Gerry, Charlotte Proudman, Kimberley Walton ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This paper examines UK law on female genital mutilation (FGM) protection orders, which are court-issued measures designed to protect girls and women from FGM. The authors find a significant gap between the number of protection order applications and recorded FGM cases, and note there is insufficient evidence that these orders actually work to keep young people safe. The paper discusses barriers to using these orders and suggests potential solutions.
Key points
- FGM is prohibited in the UK under the FGM Act 2003, with mandatory reporting duties for health, social care professionals and teachers in England and Wales
- Courts can issue FGM protection orders (FGMPOs) to protect individual women and girls from FGM
- A significant disconnect exists between the number of FGMPO applications and known recorded cases of FGM
- There is insufficient evidence to demonstrate that FGMPOs are effective in protecting women and girls from FGM
- Barriers to FGMPO implementation are identified and solutions discussed
Limitations
This is a legal review rather than an empirical study, so it cannot provide quantitative data on outcomes or effectiveness of protection orders. It focuses on UK and Australian law but does not evaluate the actual protective impact of FGMPOs on affected girls and women.
Abstract
Performing female genital mutilation (FGM) is prohibited within the UK by the FGM Act of 2003. A mandatory reporting duty for FGM requires regulated health and social care professionals and teachers in England and Wales to report known cases of FGM in under 18-year-olds to the police. An application to the court for an FGM protection order (FGMPO) can be made to keep individual women and girls safe from FGM. This paper reveals the significant disconnect between the number of FGMPO applications and known recorded cases of FGM. The introduction of FGMPOs requires critical exploration as there is insufficient evidence to show that FGMPOs are effective in protecting women and girls from FGM. It is therefore unclear what impact, if any, FGMPOs are having upon the protection of women and girls at risk of FGM. The barriers to the implementation of FGMPOs and possible solutions are discussed.