Police have secured the UK’s first ever female genital mutilation protection order, which bans travel by people who are believed to be at risk of FGM.



As some schools broke up for the summer holidays on Friday, Bedfordshire police seized the passports of two young girls who it was thought could be taken to Africa to be mutilated.

Police obtained the court order under a new power which came into force on Friday. Breaching it is a criminal offence.

DCI Nick Bellingham, from Bedfordshire police’s public protection unit, said: “This legislation is a really positive step forward in the fight against this horrific, cruel crime, and we’re pleased to have been able to enforce it today by issuing a protection order.

“With schools breaking up for the summer holidays today, we will continue to use this legislation where needed to prevent young girls who we believe may be at risk from being taken out of the country.

“This is child abuse, and we will do everything in our power to ensure that children are kept safe and that those responsible are caught,” said Bellingham.

FGM is a procedure that partially or completely removes the external female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

Bedfordshire police said it was estimated that more than 20,000 girls younger than 15 in the UK were at risk of FGM each year, but very few cases are reported.

Signs that FGM may have been inflicted on a child include a lengthy absence from school, health problems including bladder and menstrual trouble, complaints about pain between their legs, and behavioural changes, police said.

A child may also talk about being taken away for a special ceremony, or say that something has happened to them which they are not allowed to talk about.

Bellingham said: “A change in law isn’t in itself enough to end this barbaric practice. I’d urge anyone who suspects that a child is at risk of FGM to contact police immediately.”

The change in the law was announced October last year, amid the Guardian’s End FGM campaign.

Highlights of the Guardian’s Global Media Campaign to help end FGM Guardian

Besides the protection orders, the Serious Crime Act 2015 allows judges to remand people in custody, order mandatory medical checks and instruct girls believed to be at risk of the practice to live at a particular address so that authorities can check whether they have been subjected to it. Victims are also given lifelong anonymity.

Speaking at the time, the justice minister Mike Penning said: “We are introducing an unprecedented package of measures to strengthen protection for victims, encourage them to report the crime to the police and get support.

“We also want to prosecute those who knowingly let this terrible abuse happen to children they are responsible for. We know that legislation alone cannot eradicate this unacceptable practice. But it is important that we change the law where necessary.”

Equalities and justice minister Caroline Dinenage said: “We have fast-tracked these protection orders to make sure women and girls facing the awful threat of FGM can be kept safe.

“I am pleased that authorities are acting so quickly to use the powers. These orders mean girls and the communities around them now know they will have somewhere to turn, that the law is on their side and help is out there.

“The government is committed to ending FGM. We will not stop until this horrific practice is stamped out.”

Separately, a Scotland Yard spokesman said that officers from the specialist crime and operations command were looking to reports that a large number of girls on a flight from Heathrow to Ethiopia on 11 July may have been at risk of FGM.



