12th September 2016 marked a victorious day in the City of Nottingham calendar, by declaring itself the first city in the UK to take a zero-tolerance stance on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). This week that decision has been formally launched and celebrated as part of Nottingham in Parliament Day on October 25th.
The motion was passed at full Council, after being proposed by the Sheriff of Nottingham, Councillor Jackie Morris. The declaration was a significant step for the on-going campaign to raise awareness and educate people of FGM in Nottingham and the laws in place to protect them.
In 2003, The Female Genital Mutilation Act made it an offence for FGM to be performed on UK nationals or UK permanent residents of any age, anywhere in the world, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment and a fine. This meant that it was illegal for UK nationals or permanent residents to perform or aid FGM abroad, regardless of whether the laws of that country permitted it.
However, it is thought that between 500 and 2000 young female UK residents were being taken abroad for FGM during their summer holidays, despite being made illegal. According to the Nottingham Community FGM Steering Group, at least 200 cases of FGM were reported in Nottingham alone last year, and yet Project Azure (the Metropolitan Police Group responsible for managing cases of FGM) has carried out only 122 interventions since 2008. Sadly, only three applications for orders preventing a parent from removing a child from the country for the purpose of FGM were ever made to the Family Courts.
It is a huge step in the right direction for Nottingham to take a stand and announce its zero-tolerance stance on FGM. With an estimated 60,000 people in the UK at risk of being subjected to FGM, and approximately 200 new cases of FGM being reported yearly in Nottingham alone, Valentine Nkoyo, Director of the Mojatu Foundation and Chair of the Nottingham Community FGM Steering Group commented, “this motion couldn’t have come at a better time.”
The Council noted that FGM poses a threat to physical and mental wellbeing and a risk to quality of life for women all over the UK, and thus resolves to work closely with survivors, affected communities and other agencies with a responsibility to safeguard and protect, in its effort to end FGM in Nottingham and prevent children being taken abroad for the procedure. The Council agreed to provide training for staff to recognise signs of FGM, as well as support to potential survivors and aid in raising awareness to keep the subject on the agenda.